Haru emerges from the wagon, finally having kicked the nasty headache that's been bothering her.
"Tavern! Right, that sounds great! Do you think we'll need to sing for our supper?"
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OK, I'm very sorry about that. I had a week or so of hell and I thought I had posted that I was going to take a week off, but apparently my post never did happen. My sincere apologies. I will get back into the swing of things here shortly.
Haru shakes her head slowly, "I've heard of a geas, but I have no idea how we would remove one. I guess he has to leave."
Haru lets another arrow fly at the wounded foe in front of her.
Haru continues her song and steps to one side, targeting the warrior attacking Friday.
Haru doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She is sitting by the fire, maintaining her bow and arrows and talking to Shalelu. "It's getting colder. I'm glad I can wear my fur around these days -- makes it that much easier to deal. How are you holding up?" She leans closer to the elf. "If you're getting cold at night, that offer I made during the last trip still stands," she whispers.
Haru doesn't know a lot about horses, always having preferred her own feet to riding, but she watches Kasha carefully to see what the clever shamaness knows about the beasts.
Haru looks wary. "Something about that seems odd to me. Not sure why." She cautiously gets her bow out and strings it.
So did everyone take their share of gold from the Party Loot sheet? I'm thinking we'll need to start a new one soon.
Sorry for the delay on my part as well. Finally got my computer working the way I want it to, with time to update things and post. I'll make a post in the gameplay thread tomorrow once I update Haru's profile properly to 4th level.
Haru shrugs at Shalelu as the elf notices the paintings. "We're a little less, well, shy than most Sandpointers -- we have a Minakaian-style family bath when we can get everyone home at the same time, sometimes, and, well, it's just normal for us." She doesn't say much as your father returns, but she finally smiles when the conversation ends on a happy note. "I'm glad to hear it, sir. And, rest assured, if anything does happen to Haru while we're away, I'll..." She clears her throat and wrinkles her nose. "...well, I won't let that happen." Haru smiles at Shalelu, and nods at her father. "Don't worry, Shae has been a wonderful teacher. My arrows are deadly and my songs are uplifting and empowering, just as you and mother taught me." She invites Shalelu to spend the night at the cottage if she wants to, and the next morning returns to town to meet the others.
Sorry about being less than talkative. Computer problems have been continuing. New HDD is on order, hopefully it will let me get things up and running soon. Welcome to the team, Kasha!
"Oh, um, I can do that. There's lots to see!" Haru gives Shalelu a tour, showing her the numerous small workrooms containing different art projects. Among them are the paintings she mentioned, some of them showing the entire family in their natural, furry states. One is somewhat more natural than expected -- two portraits of Haru on one canvass, one in human form, the other in fox form, both nude. Haru feels a little self-conscious about it, but her parents have always insisted that the naked body, when portrayed in art, is a thing of pure beauty that one should not be ashamed of. So she includes in her tour without making special mention of it. Other things that Shalelu sees include looms for weaving, colored fabrics and paper and all manner of colored glass fragments from the town glassworks. Finally, Haru's father returns. Haru runs out to greet him, and beckons for Shalelu to follow her. "Ah, Miss Andosana," he says. "Come to take our daughter away for good this time, to go out rambling in the woods for all time?" Haru shifts nervously, and comes to the subjects that she came here to tell him. After she explains about the plans for the journey, he chuckles, "Guess my joke wasn't a joke then? Well, I can't help feeling a little jealous of you, shojo. Your mother was just about your age when we traveled the Path of Anghai ourselves, with you still in her belly the whole way -- yes! We were worried you'd decide to come out in the bitter cold of the Crown, but you waited until we were here in Varisia. So, I'm glad you're going on an adventure yourself. I expect you to keep her safe, Miss Andosana, hear me? If you return without her, I want it to be because she's found a pretty girl and married her!" Haru gapes at her father, her second revelation apparently already known to him. "Father... you knew I..." "What, that your compass was fixed to the south, shojo? I've known that for years. You never once acted around a boy like you did around girls. I haven't told your mother, because she's fixated on the idea of grandchildren --" "She knows. I told her." "Good. Best to have things out in the open, at least among family. Right?" he says, looking at Shalelu with a smile as he relaxes and lets himself shift into his fox form. "Once you've left, and Karu moves on from Sandpoint -- he's been talking about following Ezren to Absalom and joining the Pathfinders -- I think it might be about time to let the folks here know about us. Without children in the picture, the ignorant and superstitious have fewer targets for their foolishness. We can take care of ourselves."
Kairi looks at Shalelu when she clears her throat, and stops ranting about grandchildren. "Ah, pardon me. We get few visitors out here, and sometimes I forget myself." Haru grumbles to herself, but changes the subject. "Where's Father?" "He's visiting the market, should be home in a few hours." Haru turns to her elfin mentor. "Would you mind waiting, Shae? If this subject hasn't made you too uncomfortable?"
Haru tries not to think about the shivery feeling it gives her to hold the elf's hand as they walk to her parents' house. The secluded cottage, well outside of Sandpoint proper, was cheerful and cozy, with brightly-colored silk cloths hanging from drying poles, and flowers everywhere. "両親! 私は家にいます！" she calls out to her parents as she approaches the door. "こんにちは春！ あなたは一人ですか？私は服を着ていませんよ！" comes the reply. "Only Shalelu is with me!" Haru replies in Taldane. She then whispers to the elf, "She said, 'I'm not dressed', which is our family code for 'I'm furry right now, do I need to shift?' They know you know, so it's fine." Haru's mother meets them at the door, letting them in, and Shalelu sees her in her natural form for the first time, despite knowing that the Yoshiokas were kitsune for several years. "So good to see you home, and you too, Miss Andosana. Your trip to the north went well I take it?" "Yes, very well. I know you can keep a secret, Mother, so I'll tell you this -- we found out that Ameiko's family is actually Minkaian royalty! Think of that!" "Really? They're heirs of the imperial family? But that means -- with the throne empty --" "Yes, if she can go there, she could claim it, and be the empress herself! Can you imagine!" "I can't hardly. So... is she going?" Haru heard the unspoken question. Are you going with her? "Yes, we are planning to go, everyone who came with us on the caravan north. Up through the Crown and down to Minkai. And I know that takes us back to where you grew up, and that's something else I need to talk to you about. "I know you and Father have been discussing ways to find a kitsune gentleman for me to wed, and I can see hope in your eyes right now that I'll be travelling through the Kami no Mori, home of the largest population of Kitsune on Golarion. But see, you don't have to be looking. I have..." she pauses, swallowing the words she was about to say, I have found the person I want to be with, because this was not at all the time for that kind of revelation. "I have come to the understanding about myself that I am not attracted to men at all, of any race. I'm what the varisians call a 'Firefly'. I'm a woman's woman, so while it is possible I might find a person I want to be with on this journey, they wouldn't be male." "Oh. But that kiss you had with the Cooper boy?" "A test to confirm what I already suspected at the time," Haru says with a sigh. "I wish you hadn't found us, it gave you false hope that I felt I couldn't dash without hurting you." "Oh Haru -- I wasn't -- I can't -- I truly just want you to be happy, my child!" Tears wet the fine fur on Kairi Yoshioka's face as she leans forward to hug her daughter. "If you're certain of this about yourself, I will put aside the attempts to find a suitor -- but listen, young lady! I still expect grandchildren! Whatever lady you end up with, she'd better be willing for you to make an arrangement with a kitsune boy and have kitsune children." Haru groans in embarassment. "I'm nowhere near ready to have children, Mother!" "Even so! We still expect them eventually. I know there are spells that can do things without you and the boy having to be together if you don't want that. Or there are ordinary ways, you know..." "Ah! Mother! Stop!" Tien: "Parents! I am home!"
"Hello Haru! Are you alone? I'm not decent!"
I'm up and running but my old PC has all my herolab stuff on it, so I can't get at Haru's new stat block for level 4! Annoying.
My computer has developed major issues and I will need to try to get my backup laptop working. Please bot me if needed. -Posted with Wayfinder
If you guys don't mind Haru having a little more than an equal share of the goods, the cloak of resistance would be very helpful to her.
Haru watches the elf walk away and leaves the question rattling around in her head unasked. So how do you see me, Shae?
"Well... good! Right, sorry, I guess I just felt a little self-conscious there when you said 'student', you know, a bit of self-doubt whispered in my ear, 'maybe that's all she thinks of you as'." She runs her nails through the fur on her head, and gives her tail a shake. "To be honest, sometimes when I got lost during our lessons, it was a little bit on purpose -- well, once or twice entirely on purpose -- just so I could get your..." she pauses as she looks at Shalelu's amused expression. "... and you totally knew exactly what I was doing, didn't you?"
"Are we just teacher and student anymore? I'd like to think we're more than that..." Haru says, and though her fur hides it, she'd be blushing if she were in human form.
"Dangerous? I don't think they'd be, you know, violently angry, just disappointed..." She places her hand on Shalelu's shoulder and gives it an affectionate squeeze. "Thanks, Shae. I can't imagine what I'd do without you." -Posted with Wayfinder
"Hmm... they know I like girls, since my first crush was Arna, the smith's daughter, but you know, it's pretty common to like both. They were actually glad I wasn't going with boys because humans can get kitsune girls pregnant, and they want to keep the family line "pure". They don't know that I could never see myself with a male, whether kitsune or no." "I guess that means I have two things to tell them." -Posted with Wayfinder
"Hmm." Shalelu looks back down at her bow and sighs. "What's wrong with finding a mate in Sandpoint?" She pauses for a moment. "Aside from the whole kitsune part of it, I mean." GM Rolls: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9 DC 9 Bluff: As much as she tries to hide it, she sounds... disappointed.
"Well, I didn't say I was going along with their plans, now. Finding the kind of mate my parents want for me doesn't interest me at all, whether it's here in Sandpoint or in Minkai, Absalom, or anywhere. I guess I'm what the varisians call a 'firefly', you know? Men, whether they're human, kitsune, or something else, just don't interest me."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Haru chuckles. "They'll be thrilled with the idea of me going to Tian Xia. They've been trying to figure out how to get me to somewhere with more kitsune men than my dad and my little brother, so I can 'find my mate'. They were talking about going to Absalom, ever since Ezren mentioned there's lots of kitsune in the Pathfinder Society." -Posted with Wayfinder
Composite bow maybe? Flail?
Well, if Haru takes the cloak then she has a disproportionate share of the treasure compared to everyone else. Speaking of which, you should claim the +1 longspear and anything else you think would be useful.
I'd like the cloak but I can't really fit it into Haru's budget unless I drop the circlet, which provides a big boost to a lot of her skills, which will only increase as she reaches new levels of Versatile Performance.
I thought Valeria already had a cloak of resistance from when we found one earlier?
OK I updated the loot sheet with the info stated above. Haru is taking 20 +1 arrows and the circlet of presuasion, as well as the +2 silver outsider (evil) bane arrows. Go ahead and claim whatever you guys want from all this and we'll sell the rest.
On the trip back, can Valeria or Haru take 20 on identifying the ring?
Can we get a full account of everything we got since the last loot roundup?
"I should send a letter to my parents, let them know where I am going, unless there's time to return in person."
Haru smiles and turns to Shalelu, whispering, "Told you."
"Well, nothing so exciting as that, really." Shalelu slides an arm around Haru's shoulders. "Just hunting for enough supplies for the trip home." Haru blushes a bit but snuggles into the hug happily. "Truth is, I'm not sure we're going to be going home just yet. If I know Ameiko, she's going to want to learn more about this whole business with her inheritance." She rests her head against Shalelu's shoulder and sighs softly, letting herself relax into her natural, furry form.
Haru shakes her head at Friday. "Not much. It's the country on the other side of the Hold of Belkzen, and there's stories about all sorts of things, vampires, werewolves -- I don't know how much is legend and how much is truth." She turns to Shalelu when she comes up and asks her questions. "Well, we ran into a few ugly things, but we took care of them. We found the ghost of Ameiko's grandfather, and I hope that meeting his granddaughter and passing on his legacy to her will let him pass on himself. And, well, we found this seal thing that apparently means that Ameiko's the last heir of the empire of Minkai. So, how was your morning?" She smiles lopsidedly at the elf.
"Kavell, she's still our friend, not our queen or anything. We should just treat her the same," Haru says to the paladin. "This is... well... I guess you recognize him." Haru steps away, allowing the two to speak.
I'll make a post today (sunday). Sorry for the delay!
You might get more synergy out of oracle. GM, I can't remember, did we ever discuss the possibility of you reporting this campaign in PFS as campaign mode?
Haru reads the Tien characters just before the Seal overwhelms them. The sudden shock causes her to lose control of her shapeshifting and revert to her natural, fox hybrid form. As she awakens, she decides the fox is out of the bag, and remains furry. "Wait, so Ameiko is a princess?"
That's fine! Happy birthday! -Posted with Wayfinder
"We retrieved them. Who's got them?" Haru says, looking at her companions.
"So I've convinced you? Now, where is the seal? We need to take it to Ameiko so that the Kami that is inhabiting her body can release her."
"Are you sure? She wouldn't care about you being a ghost, I'm certain. A chance to say one last thing to your descendant, to have her think well of you even after you pass on to the boneyard -- would you truly pass that up?"
"Kikonu? Or others? Who took it? And what legacy, exactly? Ameiko will want to know all the details... perhaps if we can get the kami to release her, she can come here and meet you. Wouldn't that be something to soothe your soul, seeing your brilliant and successful granddaughter?"
"私たちはあなたの孫娘、 Ameiko の友人です。彼女はこの城に隠された大きな秘密があるを教えてくれる神が持つ睡眠の状態、です。私たちはあなたの宝物と Ameiko に Brinewall についてのメッセージを配信しても死の後忠実なあなたの忠実なしもべ、Tsutamu、でここに来るのコース上に設定しました。私は怖い、ひどくこのことを言っ ていますが、いずれにしても、我々は Ameiko の遺産を発見し、彼女が合法的に彼女の物であるものの回復を助けるためにここにあります。うまくいけば、我々はあなたにも平和を見つけるのを助けることができま す"
Tien: "We are friends of your granddaughter, Ameiko. She lies in a state of sleep, possessed by a kami that tells us there is a great secret hidden in this castle. We were set upon the course of coming here by your loyal servant, Tsutamu, faithful even after death, who delivered your treasure and the message about Brinewall to Ameiko. I am telling this badly, I am afraid, but in any case, we are here to discover Ameiko's legacy and help her recover what is rightfully hers. Hopefully we can help you find peace as well."
"That's a song I've yet to master."
Hary steps out from behind Friday and addresses the spirit. "名誉戦士、あなたが万が一六郎甲斐の実印がありますか？" Tien: "Honorable warrior, are you Rokuro Kaijitsu by any chance?"
"I have had some training in the sword, but I fear I lack the strength to make it as effective as it could be. You should have it, I think, if you must forgo your glaive and attack at closer range."
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