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Aldelenna refuses to leave Venssa to fend for herself in the city. Waving a subtle fare thee well to her friends, she stays tight close by her side, alert for danger, but standing with casual confidence. "Any news from the church mice?" She asks Venssa after she's had time to converse with the little buggers.
After bidding adieu to Reginar, and as soon as Fin, Cole, and Venssa are ready, Aldelenna will join them in heading back to The Gar's Last Meal, and their awaiting quarters. Before heading to bed she'll give Fin a lingering good night kiss. "Sleep tight Finlogan." She says, and then enters the room she shares with Venssa to rest away the day's weariness. Contemplating all that has been revealed to them. she hashes several schemes for infiltrating the trust of the city's wealthy elite, as she drifts off to the world of her dreams.
Reginar looks at the table. "It's not an easy path, but perhaps it will be easier for you to see for yourselves." He finishes his ale. "Seek into the center of the city, into the places of wealth and power. You'll soon find the temple. It can hardly be missed." "So, you suggest we try and infiltrate the good graces and personal confidence of some of the city's wealthy and powerful..." Aldelenna says, looking around the table at the rough and ready group of companions she travels with. Then, locking eyes with Rankev, she says, "It seems you have returned to us at the pinnacle of perfect timing. We'll need your airs to get inside some of this town's derrieres." She winks at the sorcerer. Then she looks at Reginar and says, "You don't happen to know names or titles for any such citizens?"
You and me both... :P I think half the contiguous U.S. is under some kind of weather advisory for the next 48 hours. :D
Aldelenna spits out her ale along with bits of food when Rankev walks up, here of all places. "What in the nine hells?!" She exclaims. "I thought you were dead, or gone, or both. You've got a fair bit of explaining to do Mr. Davis. For starters where did you disappear to?"
As is her style Aldelenna will, in fact, weave the story of their harrowing adventure from Kassen town to Kassen's tomb and back, including every detail, leaving nothing out. After all, what good can come of hiding the truth when the truth is what they seek? As she finishes her tale she says, "so, there you have it. What insight do you have into these matters? What direction to point our further investigation?"
Aldelenna smiles at the roundabout compliment made with a, rather too, observant eye. "You're not wrong." She then looks to her comrades in arms, some long friends, some new, and says, to them all. "Perhaps retiring to some place more private would serve us all better? We've got rooms at The Gar's Last Meal. Perhaps we should head over there, and see if Puglas has a private parlor we can use?"
Happy Holidays, all! Indeed! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and Happy New Year!!
Aldelenna winks at the man that gave her a couple good pieces of information, and says, "Oh, aye, I could, if sticking around were what I was after. Just so happens, not sticking around is what I'm here for." She punctuates her sentence by quickly getting up and going over to the table where her friends have gathered surrounding Reginar. Once there, she looks to the ranger and says, "Heard tell you might be in the service of the Pathfinders. That true?"
Taking a break from her performance, and sitting next to some of the 'customers' who seemed to enjoy her sashay, but also seemed respectable, Aldelenna asks: "Do you know the Ranger Reginar? What do you hear about him? Is he a good man, trustworthy?"
Leering eyes are by no means new to Aldelenna, it's part and parcel of her trade, and on occasion men's lust has brought her good fortune as she can use it to tease coin or information out of them. She must always remember though, as her mentor taught her, there's a point where teasing taken too far must give over to actual carnal pleasure, or it could lead to bodily harm. So knowing, she moves about the room a bit more as she plays. She swings her hips in that seductive way, that way that says, this is only a shadow of how I can move my hips between the sheets, hoping she'll get the attention of someone that knows a thing or six about where they might find Reginar.
Still here, still willing. I hope things at home and IRL calm down for you.
"I do believe you're right Fin." Aldelenna says with a wink and a smile, then she pulls out her lyre, and starts strumming the same tune and singing along as loudly as she can, trying to get more of the feast hall involved in the revelry. Best to set a joyous mood all around if we're going to try and get some information from people. She thinks to herself as she plays.
"Oh, my friend... If only you knew." Aldelenna thinks to herself when Puglas makes a swift judgement about her lack of a bawdy spirit, but she leaves it alone. After hearing about a feasting hall further in the city, she realizes that her friend Venssa is really going to need to adjust her thinking about cities and travel if she's going to have the serenity necessary to make good decisions. To that end, she leans down to Venssa's ear and whispers, "Forest Bounty, that sounds nice, like being back in the woods." Then she pulls up and gives the girl a big smile. Turning to Puglas, and, making a quick check to make sure she too isn't overheard she says in a low tone, "Is Reginar's absence from here outside of the normal for him? Also, do you know a place we could get at least a good sketch map of the whole city? We'll more than likely need it to navigate, unless we want to trust to following people around for our entire stay."
"Got an entertainer on staff?" Aldelenna asks, after patting Hansyn on the shoulder to thank him for the offered coin.
Aldelenna peeks her head inside the door and looks around to see if there's already an entertainer of any sort... "Here for a bit of a rest on land, we've been aboard-ship for too long know. Bite to eat might serve as well, got any battered and oil-fried fish?"
Aldelenna grabs Venssa and hugs her close. Whispering in her ear, "Stay close, we'll find some place quiet soon enough. We need you with us in body and mind Venssa." She pulls the druid along as she follows after Cole and Fin, looking back to make sure Hansyn and Lodric are on their heels.
"Who was it we were supposed to meet again?" Aldelenna says after thanking Ewem and captain Walren for the safe journey. Waiting for an answer, she takes time to check over her gear once more, making sure everything is there.
For those looking, Aldelenna closes her eyes for the briefest of moments, and begins to mumble some words. Then, waving her hand at the spot on the ship where the cargo hold empties onto the deck she opens her eyes, and nine Razmiran soldiers in full war gear with crossbows at the ready, spill out of the hold and form up into a three by three formation, staring at the enemy vessel. She nods at Venssa, smiling, winks, and says, "That'll give 'em pause to think, perhaps, and if not, it will at least give them something other than all of us to target with their ranged weapons."
Aldelenna sets the string of her crossbow into place and loads a quarrel. "Just point me where you want me boys. I'll plug 'em full o' holes! If they need plugging that is." She winks and then looks for a good position from which to fire.
After finishing her delicious food-fish breakfast, Aldelenna follows Fin over to the railing to watch for danger, and, of course, to spend a little quality time with her favorite half-elf ranger. "Under different circumstances, this would be a rather romantic journy." She whispers into his ear, placing a small kiss on his earlobe, before leaning on the rail to look at the water as it moves swiftly along the barge's edge.
Aldelenna, far from put off by the large Kellid's nakedness, after stretching out her sleepy muscles, walks immediately to the man's rear and gives it a playful slap. "Ewem! The hell kind of fish is that?!" She asks pointing at the ugly massive fish heads.
Once the barge has started its way on the water, Aldelenna moves to the prow and watches the sky and landscape pass by. She pulls out her new magical flute and plays a few of the sea shanties she learned from some of the sailors that passed through Kassen now and again. Using the flute's illusion magic, she creates colorful bits of water spray and images of her imaginings of some of the strange sea creatures she's heard about.
Bowing slightly first, and holding back a giggle at the captain calling her a "proper lady," Aldelenna smiles ear to pointy ear, and then climbs aboard. "You have my sincerest thanks captain. I've no doubt the journey will be pleasant and smooth. If I can help out in any way, don't hesitate to ask. I'm no stranger to manual labor." She says before departing to place her pack and gear where the captain directed. Upon returning to the deck, she follows up Cole's question with, "Are there any interesting sights along the route?"
Aldelenna checked, re-checked, and then checked her gear again. There was a lot more trepidation involved in this leaving. Excitement, to be sure, but more fear, because once the boat pulled away to the horizon, "home" would be only a memory. Pulling her pack onto her shoulders, after the quadruple check, she hugged everyone at the Silvers long and tight. Even Trelvar, hung over, and surly, but Asina she hugs the longest and the tightest. She whispered in her ear, "Don't fret, sister, you can handle everything this place can throw." Walking the short distance to the docks from the tavern caused the butterflies in her stomach to do a jumping dance, but seeing Fin, Cole, and Venssa on the deck of the Black Mist causes her to smile, and her butterflies to calm. "Good morrow!"[b] She calls to the dwarf captain of the barge. [b]"I'm Aldelenna Dusksong, a minstrel of some local repute. I'm part of Lodric's retinue." She says and then offers a quick bow to both the captain and her supposed employer. "Permission to come aboard captain?"
Jimes reassurance does little to assuage Aldelenna's fears that Asina will be soon overwhelmed without her there. Jocyn's present sobriety is welcome, but still, she cannot but wonder how long it will last. Seeing Asina mingling with some of the town's well reputed youth, gives her an idea. When her work permits, she stops by the table with Asina, Turik, and Gimble. She says, "You know Asina, I think Turik and Gimble would make fine staff here at the Silvers, don't you? They are well liked by the people, have a solid reputation for good work, and ambitious spirits. They could wait tables and serve, simultaneously, as stalwart guards. Hmmmm, just a thought. Ohp, gotta get back to work." Aldelenna winks at the two as she strides back to sling drinks and words with Asina's customers.
Waiting for all of her companions to lead the way, Aldelenna mumbles to Fin as they leave the tower, "I'll need to square things away with Trelvar again. With all this coming and going, I might just have to quit my position at the Silvers?" She says biting her lip with more than a bit of trepidation at giving up the only solid source of legitimate income she's ever had. Stealing wealth has never been too much a problem for her, taking from the arrogant rich, to feed the humble poor, has been part and parcel of her life for years unnumbered, but that was always the easier with the guise of legitimate employment and entertainment income. Yet, it was the life of adventure that called her forth before, and that same spirit calls her forth now. On the river with her friends, sailing to parts unknown, sounds all too exciting to pass up. Then she says to all of her traveling companions, old and new, "Come by the Silvers tonight, if you can, we can break bread, and get to know one another a bit better before we set sail on the morrow."
Aldelenna listens patiently, neither excited nor dreading an adventure on the river to Tamran. With Fin, Cole, and Venssa, she feels safe enough. They've proven that together they are a strong force for good. Yet Lodric and Hansyn have still to prove their worth. Yet she cannot fault them for it. It was only scant weeks ago she was untested as well. She nods when Fin asks his questions, wondering the same things.
Aldelenna, unlike her more military companions, waits at the threshold of the room to be acknowledged and welcomed into the men's counsel. She twists at her always stray strand of red ringlets, and then says, in a very mild volume. "Ahem... Gentlemen? I believe you brought us here for some reason, yes?"
Aldelenna gives all of her friends massive hugs, squeezing them just as tight as she can. When she hugs Fin she gives him a light kiss on his strong neck. "I'd love to stay and visit my friends, but The Silvers has been busier than usual. Anything I can get you all? Food? Drink? Trelvar's promised I'll get off from work in time to go with you all to Holgast's. Jimes is going to cover for me." She reassures them, one hand playing, as ever, wistfully with the lone red strand of ringlet curls that never wants to stay tucked behind her slightly pointed ears.
Hello all! Sorry for my lengthy absence. I completely forgot to mention that I was going to be offline for a week during last week!!! :? I am here, I am excited to start this new phase of the adventure. Unfortunately having been gone for a week left me with a fat pile of work to do. I may not get a post in until late this afternoon, or even tomorrow. Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm not gone. :)
Woot! College of Lore grants proficiency in three new skills, so you'll see her skills are quite a bit different now. I took Expertise (also a gift at third level) with Perception and Insight, since Aldelenna is going to, hopefully, be a strong part of the social interactions moving forward, and her Perception was just bothering me! So that gives her a new Passive Perception of 14 instead of 10. She also got the ability Cutting Words, which you can read about on the linked Abilities sheet in her profile. All that and she got to learn one new spell; I took Charm Person, because she should have had that one already. :D She also got one more 1st level spell slot, and two second level spell slots. I didn't take a second level spell because a few of her spells benefit from being cast out of a higher slot. :) GM Koldoon, please look things over and let me know if anything looks wonky. As always I did everything in Hero Lab.
Excellent, excellent! I will, no doubt, have time today to level up Aldelenna and get her updated materials posted into her alias today. Looking forward to our investigation into the mask of the living god. :)
Aldelenna squeezes Asina good and tight, holding her for a long moment before letting her go. She then withdraws, grabs Asina's left hand in both of her own and squeezes it while looking into her eyes. "It wasn't what anyone expected, but we're here. We're safe, and the Everflame will keep the people's spirits high through the long winter." She smiles, a crooked half smile, one that clearly displays Asina's astute observation of her current emotional state. Then she leans in and offers more in her own soft whisper. "There's more too, more that needs finding out. I might be leaving again, and soon. You and Jocyn'll have to watch over things at the Silvers if I go." The look she gives her speaks volumes that her voice cannot, trepidation, but resolve as well. She has seen its beginning and she is resolved to see things to their end.
Aldelenna listens, nods, and leaves, draping one hand along Finlogans arm as she goes, saying, "Two days." She goes back to show her bright and smiling face to the revelers, her mask to the people of Kassen. It is her duty, at times like this it is her curse, to bring joy to those around her no matter what lies in her own heart.
After Cole finishes his expectedly terse description of things, Aldelenna begins her tale. Words are her weapons, as has been for quite some time. Long ago she learned that lacking strength did not mean she lacked power. Her beauty, her body, her masks, her words, these are her power, and now is the time to wield them in war. "Your motives are ruined." She begins, and pauses, looking each of her superiors in the eyes to make sure they understand exactly what she means. "The quest is meant as a source of strength for the town. A ruse of valor, a disguise of victory. I know that now, as I have never known it before. Yet, here we stand to tell you that many were slain, and worse, their bodies used as weapons against us. So whatever it was you hoped would happen, has been destroyed by the evil that disturbed the crypt and woke the dead within it." She looks to Cole, Fin, and Rankev to produce the relics they found on the corpse in the lowest chamber. "These items speak of some greater scheme, a plot of which disturbing Kassen's tomb was only one small part. You could not have known such things were afoot, so no blame rests on you. There is no shame in the theater of the quest. It was designed to bring hope and perspective through the winter, those are noble aims. Yet even the noblest of goals can turn foul in this world." She waves her hand around her head in a circle, indicating the sphere of Golarion. "There were traps, yes, and there were traps. There was danger, yes, and there was, and IS still, danger. There is hope, yes, but there must be more hope, and in order to bring that hope, those with power must wield it to ferret out the source of such evil, and put it, finally, to rest." Aldelenna finishes, as she began, staring at the elder statesmen, and women, of the town, and imploring them, with her eyes, to see the dark truths of the matters at hand.
Of course the mayor is right. There are many times the heart must be ruled by the head. He is also right that Aldelenna not only knows this, perhaps better than any, but is also trained in making her face and body show something to the world that is a mask of her true self. So it is that she does exactly as is expected. Her face, her body, her music, they are all light, joyous, celebrating. She takes out the magical flute that was no doubt left by the people of the town with this express purpose in mind, and she uses it to herald the deeds of the heroic. She calls forth illusions that tell the story of a great victory over the trials and monsters that they found in Kassen's tomb. Her song, of course, leaves out all the sorrow, all the doubt, all the second-guessing. It paints the picture, with her illusions leading the way, of conquest, of victory, of strength and honor. This is the song the people seek, the dance they desire, the tune that tempts the heart to smile. And this, the song and dance, are what Aldelenna can give them. This is her heroism.
"Aye, I'm with Cole. Let's press on without a doubt. Aldelenna whispers. Another night in this cold and wet and I worry for Roldare and Dimira's health, my own as well." Achoo! Adelenna sneezes as daintily as possible, and then pulls out her kerchief to wipe the offending substances from her face. "We're hearty folk, all of us. We can trudge another few hours home. I'm sure Trelvar'll whip up a hot meal for us all!" She says, waving everyone forward with a smile.
"Here, Davian, let me help. I'm no stranger to the kitchen." Aldelenna says, rising from the ground and giving her body a good all around stretching. She huddles near Davian and helps him prepare a warm breakfast for everyone to eat.
Aldelenna waves a hand around at all the well trained and well armed gentlemen, reassuring Roldare that nothing will harm them now. "Rest easy my friends. Nothing can get us here." She says, before playing a soft lullaby to help put the campers to sleep.
"Easy Cole." Aldelenna lifts her hands to ward of the rain, and to cover the glare of the light on the faces of the newcomers. The voice sounded familiar...
Aldelenna, though her own heart weighs heavily, dwelling on the terrible toll this quest has laid upon the town, keeps her face bright and smiling. It is the hallmark of great performers, the audience never knows what's really going on inside them. She keeps her discussion with Roldare and Dimira light, joyous, excited, filled with anticipation for the triumphant return home. Though in her own heart that triumph is questionable at best, at worst, she fears there is no triumph, but only heartache and questions.
Aldelenna looks at Rankev and whispers, "Unfortunately sometimes it is the very thought of home and hearth that makes the fears one carries all the more real. It's easier to fight off the fear when home is a dream in the distance. When home is within eyesight, it makes all the fears and scars brighter, redder, more painful, because it reminds us that those fears are part of the world we hoped was safe and comfortable." She then goes and sits next to Roldare, eating her share of the roasted hare. After the meal she play a gentle medly of sweet harvest songs on her new magical flute, conjuring the illusion of dancing sprites flittering off into the woods.
While the group travels back toward town, Aldelenna spends the bulk of her time interacting with Dimira and Roldare. Knowing that Roldare still has mental and emotional scars that need mending, she does her level best to coax even the tiniest bit of joy from him. She fills the journey with casual flirtations, bawdy jokes, and pointing out the beauty of Golarion's natural world, with Venssa's help of course. She smiles, winks, tosses her hips, and talks with Dimira about memories of their childhood. In so doing she hopes to remind Roldare that there is much good in this world, not all is darkness, and the light is worth fighting for.
After she's sung enough songs for the group, Aldelenna sits pensively, strumming occasionally on her lute, and for those paying close enough attention, mouthing words as she trails her fingers along the strings of the instrument. Eventually, though, brandy, and exhaustion seize her, and she lays down on her bedroll and drifts slowly off to sleep. Her dreams are vivid and intense, and some not pleasant. She wakes in the night in a hot panic, her hair dripping with sweat. Looking around, and seeing herself safe and among friends, she returns to sleep, awaiting the dawn, and the beginning of the return to Kassen.
I have no problem with that, Cole. :)
Venssa, you already studied the scroll during one of our short rests, so you know what it is. The spoiler for it is in that post I linked. It's a Snare Spell Scroll. :)
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