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Clutching her walking staff tightly, Aliseya takes a moment to close her eyes and speak an incantation in the dark speech: "KGLK H'NFHR RL'ETOSH." Aliseya's friends, new and old, feel a little inspired and more motivated now.
Speak Aklo: A prayer to Desna, "Guide our hearts with the stars."
"The Mute Hag? Ew." Aliseya eloquently remarks at the sight of a card depicting a hideous crone creature, whom Zelda, Aliseya, and Naught are all too familiar with. The hag holds an upright palm facing the viewer. An eyeball, clutched in the hag's mouth, stares back at you, probingly. The artwork on this fine deck is so well done, you feel a shiver run up and down your spine. "Not her again..." she seems to recall to mind an unfortunate encounter from her own not-too-distant past. "Well!" she brightens up with a smile, perhaps a bit forcefully to not let Rhia feel terrified about her fate, "So this card represents insight, seeing into the hearts of others. It, uh, kinda can involve blood pacts, poisonous secrets, family infighting, and bad performances," she says these negatives more quickly as if to gloss over them. "Buuuut! Since you drew it upside down, it signifies unshakable loyalty, and clarity in communication!" Aliseya's eyes drift towards Sookie. Then they smile back at Rhia.
Turning to Fulk and his card choice now, Aliseya's eyes widen adorably once more. "Oooh... The Twin!" You see a card depicting two well dressed figures facing each other. Both are smiling, but one hides a dagger behind his back and has a more sinister smile than the other. A heraldic symbol of a crown is depicted in the center of the card. "This represents duality or indecision at its core..." Aliseya grows pensive again as she ponders what this might mean. "You will find yourself tested. You'll need to make a decision, but it won't be an easy one. All paths might be difficult or challenging in some way or another. You might find yourself indecisive, as either your group or you yourself might waver between different options. Or, the card could signify a duality of purpose, or a duality of identity: either your own, or of another. Whatever the difficult choice ahead manifests as, you will need to use both your head and your heart to weigh your options, and then decide."
Aliseya's eyes widen adorably as she gasps at the sight of two cards drawn for Zelda. "O, zeilor mei! Two cards... you must really be in need of a message!" Aliseya contemplates each card, then begins with the top card. It depicts an ominous scene: an hand reaches up from what appears to be either a murky pond or quicksand in a dark forest. Three balls of colored light seem to observe nearby: one green, one blue, and one red. A heraldic symbol of a key is depicted on the bottom-right of the card. "Ew", she scowls. "It's The Demon's Lantern..." Putting a smile back on her face, she continues. "Actually, it kinda makes sense for you. Like, in a good way... since you're good with traps. So this card is about a man looking for insight who went to see will'o wisps for their advice. But on the way, he was deceived and fell into misfortune. But the card is just warning you that you will face a situation where deceit, trickery, or traps are involved. Normally, it would represent an intractable situation buuuuttt..." She now turns her attention to the second card: an wounded, bandaged man sits contemplatively. Several apparitions surround the man. They appear to sympathize with the man or his situation. A treasure chest rests at the man's foot, ostensibly retrieved from a dug pit in the ground nearby. A heraldic symbol of a shield is depicted on the top-center of the card. "...The Demon Lantern here could represent an opportunity to recognize the way, or a guide who will show you the way... because you also picked: The Survivor!" Here, Ali beams with excitement. "The figure here represents someone who has been through a great ordeal of some kind. He is surrounded by his fallen comrades. The man represents something or someone thought lost, but found once more. It can also indicate a rebirth or a renewal of your spirit in the days to come." She then looks away, off into the distance. A pensive look wipes her smile away. "I... have a feeling..." Looking back into Zelda's eyes, her smile comes back. "I'm sure you'll be fine. We'll be fine... just... be careful. And be strong." Sense Motive vs DC 23:
Though she's putting up a more positive and confident face, you sense that something is disturbing Aliseya about either the reading or her feeling about it. She's afraid of something... Speak Varisian:
"O, zeilor mei!" = "Oh my gods!"
When suddenly, Aliseya swiftly intakes some air. Her eyes widen and light up with enthusiasm. "Oh!" she suddenly jumps up and announces, "Would anyone like to pick a card?!" She draws forth a finely crafted deck of cards, sits back down Vudrani-style, and shuffles them expertly in her hands upon a flat rock of a short table. Glancing aside at the satchel she'd left by her sleeping bag ten feet away, she makes a "come here" gesture with a free hand: three small candles levitate out of her satchel, land in a perfect triangle on the rock table and, with a snap of her fingers, they light up. In sharp contrast with her sudden outburst of childlike enthusiasm, she now takes on a more somber, meditative expression. The deck of cards she holds is of a very fine quality. Made of wood, each card is skillfully and colorfully painted, and highlighted with gold inlays.
Knowledge (religion) or Profession (fortuneteller or medium) vs DC 15:
Aliseya's fancy deck of cards is no ordinary deck of cards... it is a Harrower's Deck. This traditional fortune-telling deck of cards is used by soothsayers and seers. Such a deck consists of 54 cards divided into six suits of nine cards. The six suits correspond to the six ability scores (hammer for Strength, key for Dexterity, shield for Constitution, book for Intelligence, star for Wisdom, and crown for Charisma). Each card in a suit further ties in with one of the nine alignments, corresponding to the location of a symbol on the face of the card. In addition, each card has its own unique name, independent of its suit and alignment, and represents some mythological event of significance which informs the meaning of the card.
Aliseya's eyes light up like those of an adorable toddler when she sees Brias's fox. Without asking, she reaches out to pet the fox. "Omigods you are sooooo cute!! What's this sweet cutie pie's name?!"
A stunningly beautiful young woman waves at the three strangers from atop her peaches and cream halflinger horse. She addresses them in her light Varisian accent. "Hello! I'm Aliseya. And this," indicating her horse, "is Lexy." Expressive, soulful, heterochromatic eyes easily captivate those who behold them, and her sweet smile is contagious. Her hair is a lush dark brown, her complexion smooth olive. At just under five and a half feet tall, her voluptuous figure is graceful. Her winter outfit is best described as vibrant, with both flowing and fitted elements that tend to emphasize her figure: a colorful, loose body suit of silk and satin, with form-fitted pants, a warm fitted coat, and matching boots. Those familiar with the Varisian wanderers of the west recognize their colorful style in her. As she pats her horse's neck, the light jingling of her bracelets rings pleasantly in the crisp winter air. Perception vs DC 15: You notice Aliseya has one eye of hazel and another of red. Varisians are known to occasionally have unusual eye coloration amongst humans. Some, like Speaker Metzger, have violet eyes. Heterochromatic eyes are not unknown amongst Varisians either. However, red stands out as a particularly unusual shade even for a Varisian...
Aliseya shrugs in response to Rhia's question, but adds, "With that adorable fox? They must want to work together?" Other than the adorableness of the fox, she does not sound particularly confident. To Zelda, "Omigods Zel, like I can't wait for you to see this little cutie."
Aliseya's pupils now return to normal. She pensively ponders what she has seen in her mind's eye for a long moment before revealing her vision. "Three people are walking through these woods, not far from us. We'll meet them, soon. I saw... a woman in leather... a well-built armored man with red hair... and another strong man. They are all armed, and are all half-orcs. I..." She pauses a moment, as if making sense of the images she received in her mind. "I think their destinies are intertwined with ours." ... "Oh!" she suddenly closes her eyes and holds her forehead for a moment... Opening them again, "I also see an adorable fox with them? Omigods it is like so adorbs!"
Aliseya hums softly to herself as the companions ride the winding old trail. The light jingling of her jewelry can be heard over the sound of snow-muffled hooves upon the dirt trail, adding her personal charm to the general atmosphere. Suddenly, she stops her humming, her jingling, and her halflinger horse. Eyes wide open, she turns her head to the left. Looking deeply into the woods, her eyes then suddenly roll up, showing only the whites of her eyes. Her expression is one of searching. "We are not alone," she says aloud after a strange, long moment.
Aliseya looks skeptically at Naught for a moment. She embraces her love tenderly for a moment, but only long enough to avoid crying. Much.
"I don't," Aliseya shakes her head no to Rhia's question. "We'd have to go back to Lepidstadt to have it removed..." As Sunny elaborates her thoughts, Aliseya tries to follow her eccentric way of explaining things. And she thinks she succeeds. "We're... um, not entirely sure what it is capable of. Only that it can track us, and maybe sense more..." She grows flush, "I probably should have thought of that before saying all of this..." As Naught insists on pressing onward, Aliseya adds, "I... I think it would take too long to return. I agree, we should press on. We'd lose track of..." she thinks better of explicitly stating the necromancer or the Way, "who we're after if we turned back now. Turning back now might give them the time to complete their mission, and none of us wants to see them succeed..."
"Well," Aliseya responds to Sunny, "I had mine removed by a holy sister of Pharasma, a specialist, back in Lepidstadt. Not a fun experience... but either way, I don't think anyone here can remove it..." "We either have to return there, or press on, I guess." She shrugs.
Aliseya smiles back at Sunny. "Where is home for you?" she asks. To Zelda, she shakes her head. "Yep, it really does, right?" She dramatically rolls her eyes. She frowns at the prospect of finding more bodies. "I can only hope this is the last... but, the way things have been going..." her voice trails off.
Aliseya crinkles her face at the thought of birds eating corpses. "You've been around, haven't you Sunny?" She smiles, adding, "I think they just bury the dead here." "And... yeah, really bad." She answers Sunny's question about bad people doing this. "Even if this poor and very handsome man was a dangerous werewolf, this trap could have hurt or killed anyone." She then thinks of additional qualifiers for someone who would set such a trap, "Either that, or they're oblivious, or mad." She then traces the spiral of Pharasma in the air at the deceased. "So... should we bury him here?" Glancing at the packed body on Chauncy, "...or do we, like, think someone might have known him at the lodge, too?"
Aliseya halts her mount as the others do likewise. She can only stare wordlessly at the horrible scene with her mouth slightly ajar. "No..." is all she can muster in response to Sunny. "Be careful," she eventually adds. With apprehension, she looks all around and above at the surrounding pine woods.
Aliseya ponders Sunny's words for a time, about her reason for coming: "...sayin' tha' words fer tha' Kin. In appreciation fer him knowin' us". As they reach the trail, she turns to the serpent-riding blonde. "Well Sunny, we're heading east now to go after the cultists who killed the professor. I know you'll want to pay your respects to his daughter, Kendra, who lives in the town of Ravengro. Which is, like, in the opposite direction, and several days away, I think..." Looking to Christoph and Sookie as if for approval, she turns back to Sunny, "I know it would be asking a lot, as it'll be dangerous. But you seem," she hesitates a moment, while eyeballing Sunny's weapons, "very capable. I think I speak for my friends here when I ask: would you like to join us?" She adds, slightly smiling, "Maybe the best way to honor the professor's memory would be to, like, help stop the evil he tried to stop in life?"
Aliseya's eyes well up with tears as Zelda speaks of the late professor. Naught wraps her arm around her comfortingly. "Sorry, it's... like, all still fresh. It was... like, just over a month ago now, right? The funeral?" She looks to her friends for confirmation. "Gods, it feels like years ago..." "...we've been through a LOT since then." She smiles knowingly at Naught and Zelda in particular here. "Yeah," she turns to Sunny now, "I'm so sorry. Did you know he'd passed?" After Sunny answers, she continues. "Professor Lorrimor... he was like a father to me. After my own father died..." she gets choked up again here before proceeding, "I came to meet him while he was visiting my home country of Varisia. He... saw something in me, he said. I didn't understand this at the time, but I think I'm now coming to realize more deeply what he saw in me..." her expression grows worried, though Naught reassuringly rubs her upper back. "Anyway, like, I only knew him for a short time. But he really encouraged me to use my gifts to bring closure between the dead and their grieving relatives. Because I... like, kinda, speak with dead people sometimes?" She looks to see if Sunny either thinks she's crazy or is sympathetic. "I also see things... visions, like, things that sometimes come to pass? Anyway, he was like, so wise, and taught me some things about my abilities. And we kept in touch... until he, like... was... killed..." She breaks out into a moderate sob now. Naught does her best beside her to comfort her, though she as well appears quite sad (or mad?) with the revisiting of this great man's tragic death.
Aliseya chuckles a bit when Christoph spills the beans with the word "professor". But when he says he speaks several languages including Varisian, her expressive nature cannot help but announce her own thoughts are now a whirlwind of worry... she appears to be wondering if she's said anything embarrassing or revealing in her native tongue without realizing he could understand her... When Sunny quotes the late Professor, her attention returns to her. She looks amazed, "That... really does sound like him. Like, wow." "Oh don't worry girl," she comforts Sunny after her elvish speech. "Me and Naught do that sometimes too. Except... oh, um," her expression grows wary now, "...not in elvish." She then grows pensive, and then her eyes open wide. "I mean... like, what are the odds that all of us knew Professor Lorrimor?! Like, seriously?!" Her arms flail about expressively to emphasize her words. She then asks Sunny, "If he wasn't a professor when you met him, you must have met him... a very long time ago?"
He comes to the same conclusion as Aliseya after a moment's reflect. He glances at her, "You're a font of knowledge, miss Belododia. I had to think on that for a moment before I recognized it." "Oh... like, thank you." Aliseya blushes, smiles, and looks down at the floor a moment before diverting her attention back to the elder host.
The sounds of light jingling jewelry resonate in the cool crisp morning air as Aliseya moves in to give a long, warm, and uninhibited hug to Angelov. "Thank you soooo much for your hospitality, Mr. Marduszi," she gently tells him. "You take good care. I..." She looks up and around, "...you know, she's still looking after her little brother. Always." As her friends reach the mounts, she pats her peaches-and-cream-colored halflinger horse very affectionately. "Aww hey Lexy! How are you doing, girl? Aww. Who's my cutie petutie? Who?!" She then keenly observes with almost-entirely innocent eyes what Christoph is doing with Sunny. Her brow creases ever so slightly as she listens in, even while continuing to effuse very sweet words, syllables, and gentle pats to her horse.
"I'm... sooo sorry for your loss, Mr. Marduszi..." Where Sunny succeeds, Aliseya utterly fails to hold back her own tears. She soaks the handkerchief Naught lent her, and then some, as the sadness overwhelms her highly sensitive heart. After collecting herself with Naught's comforting embrace, "Oh! Thank you so much, but really we've all already eaten, haven't we." She then places some dried figs next to the berries, "And I have some of these too if anyone gets peckish." She smiles as Zelda and Sunny offer their own food. When he's not looking, a chunk of cheese and a block of dark chocolate also find their way into his pantry, the latter obviously being particularly difficult for Ali to part with. Noticing Sunny's curiosity, Ali walks over to her. "That's Blackfeather," she says of the wooden figurine. "He's a servant of Erastil, the god of hunting, farming, and family. Legend has it that Blackfeather is a shapeshifting eagle-man who watches over Erastil's servants and protects them..." As she trails off, she wonders about the veracity of Erastil's protection when it comes to Angelica and her disabled brother. And then her eyes narrow in thought for a moment. Considering the old man's talent, her wide-eyed gaze is drawn all around the small cottage, her pupils unfocused at times. As Zelda is speaking with Angelov, she points at the several berries the old man offered, and whispers to nearby Sunny, "Magic berries... just one will feed someone for a day. I sense... I think he's a lot more capable on his own than we'd expect." She smiles.
"Mmm-hmmm..." Aliseya's smiling eyes narrow at Sookie for a moment.
Aliseya blinks twice back at Sunny's questions. "I umm... guess so? I'm not from here, and I don't think any one else here is, either?" She looks around at her friends for confirmation. "But, like... so far? Yeah, not exactly a safe and friendly place for sure. We'd best be prepared for anything in these woods..." Aliseya looks around wide-eyed at the darkening trees. To Sookie's question, Ali looks dumbfounded and shrugs. "Like... what's a margrave?"
Aliseya shudders as the corpse's disturbing voice threatens to cough up things she'd rather not know about. "Ew!" When Sunny asks about east, Aliseya pensively looks at her, then looks up at the sky in the dark reddish area where the sun just set, then turns around and squints in the opposite direction. Seeing that Sunny is pointing in that direction... "Um... yep, I think?"
Aliseya's eyes widen when she first sees Rhia's eyes glow white. As she begins speaking with the dead, she listens intently while huddling in close to Naught. "Do I look that awesome when I... um, change?" she whispers her question into Naught's ear. ... Memories of the witchy woman are plentiful and fresh in her mind. Naught hesitates a moment, careful to choose the right words. She then smoothly responds, "You always look awesome." ... Smiling, Aliseya nuzzles in closer. The couple look on with fascination as Rhia does her thing with the dead.
Aliseya looks dejected by Christoph's dismal assessment of the brother's odds of survival. "Oh..." she answers his query, "it, uh... kinda just came to me? Sometimes, when I hold an object that someone found meaningful in life, I just, kinda, like know things about them. You know?" She looks back at the Speaker with hope that her explanation means something, and shrugs.
Knowledge (religion) vs DC 20: The uncommon ability Aliseya describes sounds like psychometry, the occult art of reading psychic impressions left on objects or in places by previous owners and events.
After a minute, Aliseya opens her sad eyes. "Her brother." She points to the boy in the locket. "He's alone now. She took care of him. I think he's, like, ...unable to walk?" She looks all around at the ground, "I don't think they lived far from here..."
Taking the deceased woman's locket in her palm, Aliseya closes her eyes. For a long minute, her pupils dart to and fro behind their closed lids...
A few tears stream down Aliseya's face as she looks down sadly at the old woman's body. She blinks a few times, as if startled out of her private thoughts by Sunny's last question. "No... I didn't know her. It's just, like, so sad..." "May I?" Eyeballing the Erastilan locket, she extends an open hand to Sunny.
The young and voluptuous Varisian lady remains just outside the ruined tower, holding her nose and crinkling her face in disgust of the odor. But when she meets Sunny, she takes her hand into both of her own and warmly returns a bright smile of her own. "Hi! I'm Aliseya Belododia. And these are my friends!" Her sultry voice and slight trilling accent are lovely to listen to. Her winter attire is colorful and posh, fitted to her lovely form while also practical for the cold. Her jewelry lightly jingles with each limber body movement. Her hair is a lush dark brown, her skin a smooth olive complexion. And her eyes are hazel. Well... one eye is hazel. The other is a curious shade of red... She raises her arm and, in a slow swooping arc around, she points at each of her friends as she introduces them. "This is Naught." She points at the 4 ft. 10 in. tall woman dressed in robes, leather, a large brimmed conical hat bent with age, and a pair of rose colored glasses. With a big axe in one hand, freshly coated in the weaver's grayish blood. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Naught says as she formally bows to take the back of Sunny's hand to her lips. When she rises, she smiles back, revealing a row of shark-like teeth unbefitting her otherwise cute pale visage. Oddly, her hat, while remaining on her head, seems to slightly move a bit around of its own accord... "And this is Rhia," Aliseya continues, pointing to another lovely young lady with an ethereal otherworldly air about her. "The good Lady Sookie!" she announces regally, implying a nobility that seems warranted in the spear-wielding lady in a tweed suit. "And the Speaker for the Voices of the Spire," she formally states with an air of awe as she next points to the serious archer. "And of course Miss Zelda Lamplighter. Esquire." She emphasizes the word "esquire" as if to indicate a serious title, though she also winks at the rapier-wielding blonde who just poked the wormy creature with uncanny agility. "Aaannnd... somewhere out there is Istivan, gathering our horses..." she looks back over her shoulder, hoping he and the horses are all okay.
"Whaaat?" Caught up in how gross it is in the tower, it takes Aliseya a few seconds to fully register the spidery, wormlike beast that just arrived. And when she does... "Ew!" Her beautiful face immediately crinkles like a prune as the disgust factor quadruples on seeing the creature.
Aliseya takes immediate notice of Naught's shift from herself to possession. "Hey!" she yells at her love, dismounting Lexy to rush over and grab a hold of her. Shaking vigorously, Naught continues to carry on in her own trace-like state of mind, mumbling something about "nice fishies" to catch in the river. There no no river in sight... Unable to stop her, her face reveals grave worry. She looks to Christoph, only to see his own prayer fail Zelda. She resolves to loosely but quickly tie the horses and then run to catch up behind Naught, taking hold of her hand. "Oh! Like... wow." are the first words Aliseya can muster when the blonde snake-rider emerges from the tree tops and stops before the tower's entrance. Though unsure of the unexpected woman's intentions at first, a smile grows on her face in short time. Especially when she calls into the tower in a singsong voice. "Like, that's quite the snake! Yeah, let's save the introductions for later." Her smile gives partial way to concern for the charmed among them. Casting a glance at Christoph, "I think she's alright, Speaker." She motions with a free hand for him not to shoot her or her snake.
The beautiful Varisian fortuneteller Aliseya Belododia, dressed in her posh winter outfit, rode her peachy halflinger horse, Lexy, in near silence as well. The trials of Schloss Caromarc seemed to loom darkly over the companions, even over the usually energetic Aliseya. The jingling of her assorted jewelry penetrated the dark path nonetheless as they rode. Halting when Rhia announces the cry, she follows after her and Sookie. Her expressive face grows very concerned for the wellbeing of whomever is crying out. Looking up as Rhia speaks again, she comments aloud in her sultry Varisian accent, "Oh... that's actually a lady riding the snake. Huh..." She takes a moment to note her own lack of surprise at finding someone riding a large serpent in the trees. "Guess I've seen too much..." she mutters to herself. She then gasps and smiles wide-eyed on looking up again, "Is she, like... wearing clothes?!" Her jaw drops, and her hand immediately covers her mouth, giggling at such a naughty lady. Then, looking over her shoulder at Naught, she gives SUCH a disapproving look at her love whose jaw as well has dropped at the sight above of the lovely snake-riding lady. But then she smirks, winks, and blows her love a kiss before continuing off the path after Sookie and Rhia.
Aliseya's expression grows pensive as she ponders the events of the last few hours. "Something's not sitting right," she begins. "I don't think the Count did... that." It is understood she means the engineers' murders. "I mean, like, we've found more evidence than we'd care to that he constructed pseudo-living-whatever beings from once-dead body parts and machines. And yeah, the distinction may be pretty blurry. But, like, none of his own creations were, technically speaking, undead?" She shakes her head no. "He wasn't a necromancer." After a short pause, she continues. "And the cruel harms he certainly caused? They seemed more like the unintended byproducts of his single-minded ambition. I don't get a 'I'm gonna needlessly trap these three people in a rando wall with a wight for kicks and giggles' kind of guy. I mean, he wasn't motivated by pure malicious intent." "But, the necromancer?" She speaks of Auren Vrood here, of the Whispering Way. "Who can say the depths of darkness in such a black heart as his. I'd put my money on him doing this while he passed through here days earlier." "Oh, and, like, let's get our poor horses and get the nine hells out of here. I mean the bedrooms looked ok, but, like, this place has super creepo vibes off the charts," she shudders. She then gives Rhia a sympathetic look, "Sorry... I know he was, like, your uncle, I guess..." And after so sincerely thinking aloud about her keen observations and powers of deduction, her thoughts return to a more familiar matter to her friends. After yet another round of supernaturally cleaning everyone's outfits and drying their soggy pants, "Like, total respect to Desna and the Lady and all, but, cleaning prayers notwithstanding, I'm just gonna have to throw all my clothes in a bonfire and go shopping tomorrow." This prospect brings a moment of pure delight back to her heart.
"I'm not sure. I think the Count mentioned they were going to repair the bridge?" Ali nasally replies, still perplexed about why four wights were buried behind a wall. "Guess that's not happening..." she morbidly remarks, looking down at the dead wights again. Suddenly and literally shaking off all further thoughts about them, she looks over Zelda and Christoph. Though she smiles at them, it's hard to tell with the perfumed hankie over her nose. "Not a scratch on either of you. Nice job!" She looks around at the floor, wondering where to step where there isn't either debris from the collapse or wight goo...
Up in the hall, Aliseya's eyes glaze over momentarily. Her attention is drawn to the desiccated body parts strewn about the floor before her. "Ew!" she shudders, her face wrinkling with obvious disgust. Retrieving a lacey handkerchief from her satchel, she spritzes perfume on it before placing it over her nostrils and breathing again. She takes notice of the floating pack before Rhia down below. Blinking twice, her brows furrow as she focuses at it from above. Lost in thought for a moment, she then turns and tries to count the bodies... "Four?" she speaks, sounding nasal with her hand holding the handkerchief over her nose. "Didn't we count three cots in the engineers' bedroom...?" Looking at the wall, her brows furrow even more. "How did they get inside the wall?"
"Nog yogor..." Hearing Naught's request, Aliseya looks over her shoulder back down to her love as she responds with a wicked smirk and a wink. Turning her attention back to the creatures, she begins muttering a disturbing mantra and outstretches an arm towards one of the wights. Her eyes flash red as her fingers writhe, as if puppeteering an invisible puppet... Speak Alko:
"Coming right up..."
Aliseya coughs as the dust settles. She answers both questions from below with a shrill scream on spotting the clawed rancid hand reach for Zelda. As her eyes begin to glaze over, she fights off her inner witch with a shudder. 'NO!' she inwardly chastises her alter ego. 'Not now! ESPECIALLY not if that's what I think it is! Just what the Speaker needs to see me do...' Aliseya defiantly traces the spiral sigil of Pharasma in the air before her heart. She mutters in an ancient language that sends chills up the spines of all... except Naught, with whom she experiences it quite differently as the language of dreams. "C' ph'nglui bugnah shugnahh ng mgshugnahh ot r'luhhor. Mgsyha'h c' ah mgah'n'ghft uh'enyth ngnah ah'n'ghaorr ot shuggothh. Uh'enyth mgah'n'ghft mg agl llll h' l' ngahnah ah'bthnk. Mgehyenah mgah'n'ghft mg agl l' ah driven ph'nglui. Ahh ah fahf? Iiahe c' mgep mg agl ot n'gha ph'nglui c'." As a violet effervescent trail is left in the wake of her spiraling fingertips, she reaches out to touch Christoph on the shoulder. An invisible force manifests as she does so, encircling Zelda, Christoph, and herself. Speak Aklo:
"We walk in the hills and valleys of the Lady. Never do we encounter beasts nor the weapons of men. The beast finds no place for its claws to touch. The blade finds no place to be driven into. Why is this? Because we have no place of death in us."
"T-t-thanks, Sookie." After gently handing Naught over to the stronger lady, Aliseya slowly stretches and wriggles her cold arms out. She then flickers her fingers at Naught, drying her saturated body, as well as drying Sookie's upper body (her lower half remains wet, being still submerged in the flooded chamber). She then gives Naught a knowing look, and lingers to hear what she says to Christoph's question. After he ascends, she adds, "We can talk more later." She then takes a careful climb up the rope. Once up there, first she flickers her fingers at her own legs, drying off her soaked pants. With a final body shake and an audible release, she seems more satisfied. "You said you spotted a smooth area on the wall over there? She asks the Speaker, pointing to the doorway leading to the northeastern chamber, where the black ooze was. "Maybe there's a reason for that," she muses. "Oh Zel!" She flickers her fingers at the artful blonde, whose lower body now dries up as well.
"W-w-where did you go...?" Aliseya wonders aloud while looking deeply into Naught's eyes. Her face exudes empathy and sorrow. "Yes, absolutely," she agrees with Zelda. "Let's g-g-get out of this s-s-stink hole." Shivering and trembling, she carries Naught out of the current horrid chamber and into the next horrid chamber after Zelda. She stares at the rope, bewildered by the impossible prospect of climbing with Naught in her arms.
"What's wrong?" Ali asks as Naught enters into her trance-like walk towards the cage, deep concern rising quickly as she sees her open the cage. "OMIGODS!" she rushes to the cage to grab her before she drowns in the frozen water. Aliseya, stronger apparently than she might appear, manages to lift her love above the water line and carry her back out of the cage. She looks around for help, wondering where to lay her down as her own trembling body begins to falter from the cold and the strain of carrying Naught and all her gear.
Squeezing Naught's hand comfortingly, "I'm here." Ali helps Naught approach the next chamber. Her face scowls more and more as they approach after Rhia into the next chamber. "Oh my stars..." Without another free hand, she covers her nose with an elbow, resisting the urge to blow chunks. "Oh Rhia, you ok?" she asks in an concerned, elbow-muffled voice. Looking around the chamber, recognition dawns on Ali as Zelda recollects being here before. "How could I forget that stink," she remarks, again in an elbow-muffled voice. "I think it's worse now!"
Deep concern washes over Aliseya's face as she listens to Naught. But then, she smiles back at her. "C-c-come on. Maybe if you face what's stirring this inside, it'll help you to face the source of it." Still holding her hand, Aliseya gently nudges Naught to enter the chamber with her. "That doesn't mean we can't freshen the air a bit, though." With her free hand, Aliseya gestures a few quick sweeping motions. Suddenly, the air begins to smell like fresh cut flowers. After several seconds though, the scent of decaying rotting flesh begins to mingle with it once more. She then adds, "You're very strong. Inside, I mean. I believe in you."
The insightful, albeit shivering, Aliseya takes notice of Naught's sudden discomfort. "W-w-what's wrong?" She places a trembling yet comforting hand on her love's shoulder.
"EeeYAAAA! That's COOOLD!" Though she hesitates a long moment, Aliseya manages to plop right into the frigid waters. She shivers and folds her arms across her chest to get warm. "Ew!" Looking up at the double doors with a frown, she pinches her nose at the stench. "Why did we c-c-come down here again?" she asks with chattering teeth.
With a sudden intake of air, Aliseya's eyes open wide with excitement at Rhia's mention of a long hot bath. "Ohmygods like, I have these really soothing bath salts. And scented candles. You can totally use them! If you like." She begins to rummage through her rather packed satchel, realizing a moment later that now is probably not the best time. "I'll show you la..." She then also realizes it might be a while before they find a bath again, other than in a creepy flooded castle or a river perhaps. "...ter. Huh..." She smiles at Istivan. "Yeah, it took me by surprise the first time too." "Ugh," she releases her emotions with a grunt from the gut to Istivan's last statement, "Like that would be sooo... nice." A dreamy look comes over her.
Aliseya grows suddenly quiet. Then, "Was that, like, TMI? Sorry. I can just rattle on and on when I'm tired..." Looking down into the chamber to see how the Speaker is doing, Aliseya's eyes droop from exhaustion. It's been a very long day. "I really can't, like, wait to fall into a nice cozy bed..." She then giggles to herself again, the memory of the spinning Speaker coming back to her.
"Ooof!" Ali exhales as Naught squishes her. Giggling and returned hugging follow suit. Looking back at Istivan's obvious (to her own keen sense, at least) hilarity at the Speaker's expense, she turns to see what he's reacting to. "Hah-ommf!" She involuntarily bursts out in a moment of laughter before quickly smacking her mouth shut. She looks away, innocent and wide-eyed, slight embarrassment showing in her red cheeks. She hopes beyond hope that Christoph did not hear her. As Rhia helps the Speaker descend and Istivan questions her, Aliseya waves Naught's concerns aside with a naturally charming smile. "Oh, it's ok. I don't mind." It takes the lovely young woman a moment to ponder how, exactly, to explain what has taken her an extraordinary series of unlikely and extreme experiences since her first visit to Ravengro to comprehend. And even now, she still has so much more to learn about herself... "Well... yeah, that kinda happens when I'm, like, stressed out. My, uh, mom, I guess... she was, is, apparently, a hag? Hideous creature. Green and sickly skin. She totally needs like a serious makeover. Serious. And lots of therapy. Anyway, I didn't know that til, like, a couple of days ago? I was told that my real mom was a loving person who died when I was an infant. But... I guess, apparently not. My dad was a really wonderful and loving human being, though! He... he raised me well..." A distant look comes over her face for a moment here. "So... I, uh, kinda have this other, personality? From my mother, I guess. Her creepy witchy voice is in my head, like, ALL the time." She rolls her eyes here in disgust before continuing. "And she kinda comes out, manifests. Sometimes. Not all the time. So, like, you know?" She shrugs, hoping Istivan understands her better than she can articulate after midnight, low on caffeine and sleep, and getting slap happy after witnessing Rhia's new Speaker float.
Knowledge (local) vs DC 20 or Knowledge (nature) vs DC 15:
From Aliseya's account, and based on what you've glimpsed of her, as well as of her alter ego a moment ago, you begin to suspect that she might be a changeling. Changelings are the offspring of hags and their lovers taken through magic or madness. Dropped off on doorsteps of prospective foster parents, changelings are usually raised by strangers. Typically tall, slender, dark haired, and attractive, changelings otherwise resemble their fathers’ race. They are always female, and their mismatched colored eyes and abnormally pale skin hint at their true heritage. At puberty, changelings receive “the call,” a hypnotic spiritual voice that beckons them to travel and discover their true origins. Changelings who ignore this call choose their own destiny; those who heed it discover their “mother” and may come into great power by transforming into hags themselves.
As Aliseya described the woman she met as a "hideous creature" with "green and sickly skin," you suspect her mother may have been a green hag more specifically. Terrifying crones known to haunt foul swamps and tangled forests, green hags harbor an intense hatred for all beauty and purity. Making use of their varied deceptive abilities, these crones delight in murdering innocents, unhinging noble minds, and debasing the pure of heart. They are particularly fond of using disguise self to assume the forms of alluring young maidens and then seducing young men away from their lovers or families. In this form, they can infect such noble and upstanding citizens with all manner of debauchery and scandal. Some green hags prefer to reveal their true natures to their lovers at a moment precisely engineered to drive the man mad with horror and shame. Others drag out their dalliances and do what they can to utterly ruin the lives of the men they seduce before showing the broken shell that remains the truth. In the end, the luckiest of these unfortunate lovers end up being eaten by their green hag companions—for the unlucky, their final doom can be much worse, for the cruel imagination of the green hag is vast.
Sense Motive (DC 15): You sense that Aliseya is completely genuine and honest in her explanation. Her disgust for her hag mother, and especially for the voice she says she hears all the time in her head (!) is also genuine.
From her change in tone and body language while mentioning her father, you also get the impression that tragedy struck him. He probably passed away, and not too long ago either, you surmise.
Aliseya relaxes as she transforms back into the young and beautiful dancer. Alerted to attention by Naught's disgust, she puts her hands on her hips and gives her a half smile. Stepping forward, she recites a new Varisian verse. Green effervescence envelopes Naught's hands: it feels like bubbles are gently scrubbing them. When the mist dissipates, her hands are perfectly clean, her nails shiny. "Curățați și frecați, ștergeți și străluciți. Nu am timp, Desna te rog curata-l asa." Speak Varisian:
"Cleanse and rub, wipe and shine. Haven't the time, Desna please clean it so."
Witchy Aliseya blinks twice at Zelda. "Ymg' nilgh'ri ah, ah'legeth lw'nafhnah shuggoth." She twirls her talons in anticipation of the arrival of a target. Tiny violet sparks spring forth from the clashing of her long, claw-like nails. Speak Aklo: "You all are, silly girl."
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