When Ethyl comes to speak with them, Alvar grimaces. "I..." They sigh. "Thank you, Ethyl. I hadn't truly realized that I was going to be ill, but I'm not surprised. Damned rats and their befouled mouths."
Her instructions provoke a nod, but then they smile wryly. "Of course, I do appreciate the possibility of a joke."
Winter heeds Nyarai's inquiry. "I suppose? I've not heard it from anything else but that eye, but some of the guards reported the doppelgangers that attempted to infiltrate the chapel utter those words as they died. Perhaps the shrines of Pharasma and Desna shield us from whatever is influencing such questions of identity?"
Winter aids Ethyl with her divine magic and clerical knowledge , ensuring the party is treated for diseases and is healed enough that an 8 hour rest will be sufficient.
Alvar, before being treated by their doctor, finds Brenton once more in the shrine room containing the necessary ingredients the casters need for their spells and potions. Seeing the toys, Brenton's eyes light up and solemnly receives them.
"Thank you, misser devil." He clutches the carved knights, his knuckles whitening, before he retrieves a shadow lantern from a corner of the room. It isn't anything spectacular, fashioned to cast lights in the shape of Taldane knights on walls and other surfaces. "This is ... was my brother's, Debis. We lost each other after things got scary. If you find him ... could you give it to him? It helped him sleep."
Still tending to the two children among the refuges, Tolman gives Brenton a comforting pat on the shoulder. He gives Alvar a solemn look. "The boys' parents were slain by bandits not far from Thrushmoor. Forced to witness such cruelty at such a young age... While other family members were sought out to take them in, Brenton and Debis were committed here."
The others milling around the chapel cast hopeful glances at the party as they tend to wounds or speak to Winter. The atmosphere is still grim, but the efforts of the party seemed to have raised spirits if only a bit. Seeing them return with wounds but alive gives them hope.
Alvar considers several responses to Brenton. 'I'm not a devil?' No. 'I'm not a mister?' No, not that either. 'Sleep is probably the last thing you want a living person to do outside of this room, and your brother's probably dead?' That's the worst one yet. Finally, they settle for a courteous nod. "If we meet, I'll certainly give him his toy back." They take the lantern and slip it into their backpack.
Tolman's information prompts a nod. "I had wondered why such young children were here." They say softly. "Tragic." Family... I don't really feel anything meaningful there. I wonder why... presumably, I wasn't very close to them. Unsurprising, really, given what I am.