Ano’s fur bristles and her head whips towards the left door, immediately unsheathing her rapier.
“Hey what’s-” Cherry asked before getting cut off.
“Shh, quiet! There’s something in there!”
She can’t figure out what the thing behind the door is saying.
Donimah follows the group, keeping her ears open.
She looks at the others.
"Right door's empty. No traps or residents."
Upon Ano's announcement that the other door is in fact occupied, she quiets down and creeps up to the door for a better listen.
@Dominah
The speaker is pissed and does not like Nualiah, as her name is preceded by what you think are swear words
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Ano's head tilts curiously. She just recently learned this language...
"Uh...okay, how do I...uh...Алло? Там кто-то есть? Мы не причиним вам вреда, обещаем."
The sounds of gnawing stops
А? А почему ты говоришь на абиссальском? The voice inquires before switching to common
Good Day, my name is Alicia, Paladin, abyssal swearing expert, occassional booze appreciator, stand up comedian and currently damsel in distress. I mean, I think I am out of the cage, so its like Damsel in half distress? You hear something that sounds like a bite
You hear metal groaning
Any moment Another bite sound
The sound of Metal breaking
YESSSSS FREEDOM! No where is my gear and where is that.... whoever is speaking seems to be surpressing some colorfull curses with a great deal of effort
the name comes out with cold fury
I wonder if this... Another pause indicating barely repressed heavy swearing Lamashtan clown carriage ensemble actually left my gear within easy reach of my cage, like in a random pre-Thrune Chelaxian 2 copper-opera?
Alicia stretches as she looks around in the room she is in. I think the door is still closed.
"Nualia's dead," Donimah deadpans, making a "ta-da!" gesture towards Ano. "You're talking to the amurrun who killed her."
A paladin...lovely...she'll probably be preachier than Zeldrith can be...Is this a *thing* with cambions? she wonders to herself.
You see an incredibly well proportioned , women with, currently, an unruly mane of white hair descending down her back, who seems to be picking up a holy symbol, and cleaning it.
The woman is clearly a tiefling, but her features are if anything too perfectly symetrical, her elf-like ears maybe too long and her blue eyes too stunning, almost putting her in the "uncanny valley" territory as far as most humans would be concerned.
She is also... big. As you do a double take, it occurs to you that while she looks very well proportioned, her full height including her massive pair of horns would easily be north of 7 feet, and you get the idea that she could armwrestle lumberjacks based on her physique.
As Domina pronounces her statement, the tieflings eyes turn to Ano.
My Lady, I need det The tiefling begins to speak as she pauses, perhaps picking up something about Anos reaction.
Good day newly met friends, may I detect evil on your group? Anyone who does not detect as evil gets a drink from me at the Rusty Dragon She offers to the rest of the party
"No need to detect evil on me or the cleric, we both follow forces aligned with heaven. I doubt they'd take to kindly on us being outright evil." She pauses for a minute. S*##. Should have disguised my voice.
Juriya reluctantly gives her name, staring up at the tall figure in front of her. "Juriya Arima, daughter of the local alchemist family and amateur empiricist investigator -- so you can guess I follow Zohls. We both... to put it one way, would rather not rely on our instinct in our pursuits. Please don't tell anyone I'm a kitsune? People can be judgemental to things they haven't seen before, but we were expecting combat so I decided to switch into a form with veritable claws."
You can change shapes? Thats very interesting! The Tiefling says as she takes in Juriyas form, seemingly narrowly repressing an urge to pet the fox tail.
Like, I wish I could do that because being 7 feet tall can get really annoying in some dungeons, like, if I got a silver for every time I hit my horns on some ceiling that would be a sizeable revenue stream. She says with a warm smile
If your race is a secret, my code as a Paladin of Kelinahat compells me to always respect, and within reason protect, the lifes, liberties, material possessions and secrets of those I fight alongside.
She turns to Ethan,
recognizing his holy symbol
Oh, I greet thee, follower of the stagfather, she of ebon wings sends her regards, and may your hunts be ever fruitfull. She says to Ethan, suddenly switching to being polite and formal.
She shows her holy symbol, a jeweled short sword in front of a moon, facing downward. The jewels on her holy symbol are clearly painted rocks, not actual jewels.
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Ano jumps back when Alicia bellows Nualia’s name. At Donimah’s words, she folds her ears and says, “Y-Yeah. I tried to get her to come to her senses but…it almost got me killed. We ended up capturing her and…I didn’t really want to. But she wanted nothing more than death…to be with her…”Mother”.” The catfolk shudders. “We’re here because we’re trying to see what was down there. At the lowest level. Apparently there’s something down there Nualia was looking for. But what about you? How did you end up here?”
She turns to Ethan,
[dice=Ethans holy symbol]d20+3
recognizing his holy symbolOh, I greet thee, follower of the stagfather, she of ebon wings sends her regards, and may your hunts be ever fruitfull. She says to Ethan, suddenly switching to being polite and formal.
She shows her holy symbol, a jeweled short sword in front of a moon, facing downward. The jewels on her holy symbol are clearly painted rocks, not actual jewels.
Ethan lowers his bow and stows the arrow back in his quiver. "Well met, sister of the shrouded sword of justice," Ethan says, with a warm smile. "Formalities are wasted on me, m'lady. I am a simple missionary and traveling midwife. You may call me Ethan." He offers his hand to the paladin.
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Arrian's eyes widen and jaw drops as the last things he expected to find in Thistletop were a paladin prisoner and for her to be bigger than he is!
"Well met Alicia. I am Arrian, Inquisitor of Cayden Cailean. I didn't expect to meet someone bigger than me down here that wasn't trying to kill me."
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"Donimah Southlander, Wizard, Thassilonologist and Apprentice of the Order of Cyphers, at your service," Donimah says with a bow.
She thinks on the deity invoked, Kelinahat...
"You walk in the shadow of an honorable spirit," she says with a nod. "She has a place of respect in the hearts of the Shoanti people."
Something like... understanding... flushes through Alicia face.
She appraoches Ano and... hugs her.
Almost motherly, while whispering something in a language she thinks only these two know.
Что ты чувствуешь себя дерьмом после того, как тебе пришлось опустить того, кто когда-то был другом... это не потому, что вы слабы, несовершенны или что-то в этом роде. Это потому, что вы хороший.
My Lay on hands doesnt do anything for mental anguish, yet at least but
She says in common
Ano feels strangely rejuvenated, with remaining wounds she has closing.
As to why I am here, long story. She begins while still hugging Ano
My Patron is highly interested in drawing light from darkness. There is apparently a goblin leader, named Gogmort, who abandoned Lamashtu. For a Goblin, thats a pretty risky and dangerous thing to do. Lady Kelinahat sometimes just... knows of such things, and sent me to help him along, at least thats how I interpreted that vision I got.
Unfortunately, as Nualiah took great glee in informing me, Lamashtu also knew this, at least part of it, and that Kelinahat would send someone, so I was ambushed by Nualiah and her consorts before making contact. In the woods around thistletop. Out of reflex, I smited the mercenary Oscric, which didnt do anything, while Nualiah smiting me was... very unpleseant. I was bested, captured and brought here. Nualiah wasnt quite that certain of her cohorts full allegiances, so she had them beat me to prove they are on the board. The mercenary Oscric actually refused, stating that he is paid to fight, not to torture, the Goblin Gogmurt did as little as possible, but probably thinks I would bite his head off if I got free, which may or may not be something I did to another goblin. Others of her cult were... creative. I am a Paladin and can heal myself quickly, thankfully enough.
You can sense a degree of anger at being captured, and at smiting the wrong target.
I was listening to her villainous monologes on how she would raze sandpoint, there is indeed something evil down here, I dont know exactly what. My guess is she wanted, after *breaking me* sacrifice me to it, to bind the "it" to her. There are ... a bunch of very evil things who would be very delighted by a fallen aasimar sacrificing a risen tiefling Paladin, so it really doesnt narrow things down much, but my guess is thats going to be the hardest fight any of us ever had.
She says with a shrug while still hugging Ano
Oh, Paladin talk. She says with a chuckle as her eyes flare blue while she looks at the ceiling
Detect evil, but not directed at any of you.
She is showing she has the ability to detect evil, and thus prove her words of being a Paladin, without actually looking at you and invading your privacy
So, good news, the holy orders of Iomedae, Abadar and Torag requisitioned all the holy sticks to be inserted into saintly Paladin rear ends, so there wasnt one left for me. As long as you dont torture prisoners we are fine, and none of you gives off a "I AM A BUDDING HELLKNIGHT ARMIGER LETS TALK ABOUT MY COLLECTION OF WHIPS" vibe.
She says
in a way that is fairly endearing and well, fun.
Kelinahat prefers to talk with those of uncertain allegiance before striking them from surprise, but thats her expectation of me, not of those I travel with. Against a known foe, she is very much in favor of stealth and surprise attacks, and specifically values creativity that allows for the triumph of brain over brawn
She chuckles at herself, and winks at Yuriya, likely due to Alicias rather brawny nature
but she is just insisting that a stunning surprise strike happens to real foes, not to someone who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I am explicitly allowed to have an... opportunistic relationhsip with objective reality, as one of my instructors put it, but If I give my word freely it binds me. Kelinahat prefers taking prisoners over killing in principle, but she is not Shelyn, and I can be pragmatic about such things, but I need reasonable justification for each sapient life I take.
She finishes her "Paladin talk", apparent she has made such talks before, and strives to come across as "non preachy" as possible.
Did anyone by chance saw an enchanted plate armor? Made for a female of my size? Reason effing Nualia didnt take it is that it was too big for her, and Osric, who is more similar in size to me, didnt want to wear anything with boobs on it.
"I can only describe it as Old Dead-Eye's will that I am here," Ethan says to Alicia. "Sandpoint is a far larger community than the thorps and hamlets I typically visit, but something about the news of the Cathedral's dedication and the Swallowtail Festival seemed important; that I must be there. Of course, I'm sure the Stagfather rolled his eye at the fact that I arrived a few days late, and missed the ruckus that set these events in motion. Sometimes, the gods choose the flawed and imperfect for a task, and I suppose my presence among these heroes is testament to that." He turns and nods his head in acknowledgement of his companions.
@Ethan
Funny, I left Sandpoint shortly before the rucus you described. Lady Ameiko is a good friend of my order, although I never met her before.
Alicia nods
The Stagfather is... perhaps a too conservative god for my tastes, but then this is based on "reputation" and on "everyone knows", and Kelinahat knows how often that is wrong.
I dont actually personally know any of his clerics, as such I am most glad to make your acquaintance Mr. Sowe.. I mean Ethan
It is good though that survival skills are covered, I am more of a city girl, and while I can see in the dark well, my eyesight has never been great. She adds
@Arrian
An inquisitor of Cayden Caylean? She pauses
I hope you are not here to judge me for my various antics and shenanigians involved in procuring booze in Magnimar while under the age of 18, because these legal procedures would take a lot of time, oweing to the wide variety of the shenanigians involved.
She says with a friendly wink in her eyes
@Dominah
Honor to you and your ancestors, noble Shoanti She replies formally, almost seemless switching personalities
An apprentice of the order of Cyphers? She seemingly fights down the urge to detect evil on Dominah
Cryptography is actually one of my hobbies, although Kelinahats favored versions tend to be less scientific and more artistic and poetic.
Alicia knows that her equipment is found in the jailer's room. Going through a door to the north, she finds not only her gear, but also a key chain with keys to the cells in the prison.
To the north of the prison, there's a door.
There appear to be 2 angry dogs in here.
Can someone help me with the plate armor? Its a bit annoying to don on my own
She asks as she quickly and methodically picks up her gear and weapons, including a one handed scimitar, a two falchion with an inscription in celestial reading "not suitable for shaving", and a polearm with the name "Skellingtons final friend" marked into the shaft.
Her plate armor, boots and cloak are well made and magical, the boots having both Cayden Caylean and Kelinahats symbols, it appears they are stagger proof boots Sabatons.
Alright, lets *reconnoiter" the evil lurking here, Hold of Belkzen style if feasable
The Hold of Belkzen is a warlike coalition of Orcish tribes, bordering the worldwound, Tar Baphons domain and Lastwall.
Its current leader, Ardax White Hair, gained great fame for fighting the demons, in one instance he said to his at that time superior
I reconneutered the demon outpost. Now it is a crater.
She seems to project and infectious aura of optimism
+4 to saving throws vs fear effects within 10 feet of Alicia
"I am no expert with heavy armor, but if you tell me which straps and buckles need cinching, I will be happy to assist. However, if you prefer female assistance, I will respect your wishes."
Ano is stunned silent by the hug. And the warmth of healing the hug gives. So much that she stands still as the group leaves, and it takes Cherry pecking her head to make her come to her senses.
She immediately catches up with everyone, where Ano addresses, "I-I uh, I'd like to apologize about...well Nualia. A lot of things happened with her, and...honestly, had I just been there for her as a friend-"
"Hey," Cherry chirped, "Haven't we been over this? You're not at fault for Nualia being the way she is. She had a good friend, and she chose to abandon it."
"But still I..." the catfolk began to argue, only to see that it would be better to drop it.
The Tiefling smiles at Ethans reply
The part just about my shoulderblades, I have the bone setup for wings but no actual wings, is a bit annoying from the rear, in a dumb situation I can fasten them with my tail and a cleverly placed mirror, but its preferable of someone with actual hands does it.
She quite professionally goes through various stuff of "how to don plate armor". You do note that her armor has some strips of leather on it at which people could hold on.
That armor originally belonged to a Bloodrager, there is a spell called "Cheetahs sprint" which lets a Bloodrager go really fast, for 6 seconds, and since Lysara was even swoler then me, she could use her rage to bulk up, have her allies grab on to the straps and then cross 250 or so feet in 6 seconds, while acting as a really fast carriage for up to 4 allies. She jokingly called it "Abyss express".
She then looks at Ano
You do not make Nualiahs decisions, you are not responsible for her.
She says with an intense and sudden seriousness
Her Aura of evil was about as strong as a bearded devils one? I watched a hellknight trial once, strong, but not overwhelming. There are actual Demons and devils, manifestations of pure evil, who have weaker auras then what she was rocking. Redeeming her...
Redeeming someone somewhat more powerful then you are is really rare. Iomedae did it with a dread knight, and that is one of her holy and most sacred acts, part of literally her apotheosis into a full deity. Most Iomedaens would dispute that the dread knight was stronger then her 1v1.
You blame yourself for a narrow failure, but without appreciating that just about anyone else would have done much, much worse in your situation. You gave her a chance, you found her, you captured her, you gave her a clean death. I am an effing Paladin, and I did much worse, given that I got captured by her instead, and I am not sure I would have killed her cleanly or at all, had I gotten a rematch.
She pauses
By the way, that you refuse to accept my words, that you wish with all your heart that you could have done better, that you question yourself of what you could have done differently, that you wish you could go back in time... All of this speaks for you. Doubt is a treasure, it keeps us from becoming what we fight. Keep your doubts alive Lady Ano, they will serve you well.
She says with an upbeat smile
Shouldnt keep you, or us from partying after we vanquish this evil here and return to sandpoint.
She adds with an even more upbeat smile
Also, does your companion a) drink and b) sing? I always wanted to sing with a songbird? Ideally a mildly tipsy one because that should be funnier.
She finishes with a complete tone change, almost seeking to recruit Cherry into her pep talk.
Alicia knows that her equipment is found in the jailer's room. Going through a door to the north, she finds not only her gear, but also a key chain with keys to the cells in the prison.
To the north of the prison, there's a door.
** spoiler omitted **
"Two angry dogs behind this door. Not sure why they're angry but if no one has fed them that could be a reason."
To Alicia, "I'd have to research the holy texts but I don't recall Cayden lecturing anyone about drinking while underage. I'm also unfamiliar with armor this heavy but I can buckle buckles and secure straps if you explain to me which goes where."
"Does anyone have any dried meat in their packs? I'm no expert on dogs, but giving them bits of meat always seems to win them over," Ethan suggests.
"I'd wager a guess he has differing opinions on weak beer used for its sterile nature and something absurdly potent like any sort of vodka, or gods forbid alchemically purified alcohol. That will do things to you. Also, wait. Dogs? Don't Goblins kill them for sport? I think I have some rations, which might include dried meat."
Arrian:
No big difference from medium armor, just a bit more straps, a bit more buckles and my not entirely normal anatomy. And I am happy that Cayden is indeed no party pooper! She smiles encouragingly
Ethan:
I got some skill in animal handling, but no dried meat Alicia says as her stomach grumbles and she looks around sheepishly
"Your anatomy could be worse. Have you tried fitting gloves over claws or a mask over a snout? All horns need are holes, from what I gather."
Not personally, but a friend of mine has hooves. Like, she is prettier then me above the waist, but its... she ended up shagging a hoovesmith.
The horns can be pretty annoying too, they are also not positioned to actually hit enemies with them, trust me I tried, like, my neck muscles arent properly aligned with it, I get my hair in the way and, while a bunch of things fight with both horns and teeth, I never figured out how to both at the same time.
Honor to you and your ancestors, noble Shoanti She replies formally, almost seemless switching personalities
An apprentice of the order of Cyphers? She seemingly fights down the urge to detect evil on Dominah
Cryptography is actually one of my hobbies, although Kelinahats favored versions tend to be less scientific and more artistic and poetic.
"Not what I meant," Donimah replies. "We draw our name from the Cyphergate in Riddleport, an ancient Thassilonian structure. What we study are Thassilon's runes and the arcane power that can be channeled through and drawn from them."
She marvels a bit at how much Alicia can talk and gets a bit of a sheepish look on her face. Did the others think she talked that much?
"Who's this 'Orsric' you mentioned? You talking about Orik?"
Burly guy who works, I guess worked for Nualia? Didnt detect as evil, sword and shield fighter, fairly competent.
She shrugs
Oh, you speak Thassilonian? Out of interested, how do I see "Eat steel you feebleminded, noodlearmed, limpwristed pile of refuse?" in that language?
She looks at Donimah with an expression of pure innocence.
It is for scientific purposes.
She says with an earnest earnestly
It clearly is not, but she seems to be collecting insults
"Uh, 'ದುರ್ಬಲ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನವನೇ, ನೂಡಲ್ ಧರಿಸಿದವನೇ, ಕುಂಟ ಮಣಿಕಟ್ಟಿನ ಕಸದ ರಾಶಿಯೇ, ಉಕ್ಕನ್ನು ತಿನ್ನು,'" she replies. "Have a need to insult ancient archmages from before the days of Earthfall often?"
Ano is stunned silent by Alicia’s words. She knows better than to rebuke that.
As for the mention at Cherry, he chirps, “No thank you. I’m pretty sure if I get tipsy I become dead. And I can’t do that, I’m on guardian duty.”
Ano was hopeful that her blush of embarrasment doesn’t go through her fur.
Alicia takes exact notes, and tries to repeat the phrase
But says something like "Iron supplements are great for curing your carpal tunnel syndrome!" instead
There is an actual reason to be learning Thassilonian though, since nearly nobody speaks it, it can be a good base for coded communications. There are a bunch of ways to get around it, like, comprehend language spells etc., but if you actually speak it, you can use a contextual cypher or a simple substitution cypher on top of it being Thassilonian and you have something thats is kind of hard to crack.
Substitution Cyphers being something like... replacing all letters in an alphabet with the letter 2 letters after them.
She pauses thinking for a moment
nkmg vjku, she says in simple common code.
they are very easy to break because in common, the frequence of individual leters in normal language is well known, and if you have a long enough text you can break it this way. But if you stack that on an unknown language, comprehend language doesnt tell you what the actual alphabetical order of a languages alphabet is, so unless the guy trying to break your code actually learns the language "normally" such a relatively simple combination can work quite well, even against some magic codebreaking. She pauses
Ah crap, am I giving unprompted lectures in Cryptography, while in a dungeon, to relative strangers, again? She says with a self deprecating chuckle
"I've got some jerky in my rations. It's a popular item at The Hagfish."
"Let's give it a try," Ethan says. "Give it to Alicia, and step back. We'll cover her if the dogs aren't interested in being friends."
Ethan positions himself a a few paces from the dog's door, then nocks an arrow and draws his bow, ready to loose.
Ok girl, you got this, dont show your teeth!
Alicia alters her bodily posture to be a bit less threatening to a dog, and the approaches them, offering the jerky.
Ano unsheathes her rapier, prepared for whatever bad happens.
Juriya does the same, unsheathing her rapier and preparing her open hand's claw.
Alicia has a heavy shield in her left, and the jerky in he right, he scimitar currently sheated at her side, and both Falchion and Bec de Corbin slung over her back.
Arrian hands Alicia the jerky and stands ready to defend her if the dogs are more angry than hungry.
They can certainly try She replies to Arrian with a grin that shows her own fangs
As the door opens, dogs cannot be initially seen. It seems to have an altar with some charred bones on it. However, before the group can come in and investigate, a horrible howl can be heard. Ano, Arrian, Donimah and Juriya remember this scream from yesterday, as it filled their hearts with a terrible supernatural dread.
rounds.
I have a feeling that these are some bad doggoes.
She says, actively reconsidering her current armament of... jerky.
For a split second, Ano feels the fear that her mother is after her again…but she resolves herself, and shakes the fear out of her body.
Juriya, despite her infamous lack of strength-of-will, is able to steel herself once again against the other canine.