Inyoni doesn't like the situation but she can't think of any alternatives, especially with a conversation now started. She follows but hangs back to the rear so she can maintain a little distance.
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Inyoni sighs and lays out the chain of events along with her reasoning to the halfling. "I came here because the men in town said there was a rakshasa on exhibit. That sounded unlikely, but dangerous if true. Here, a wolf says the rakshasa isn't an exhibit, but a man who is the animal keeper. I don't know if either of those things are true, but it seems unlikely to me they both are." "What do I know of rakshahsas? I know there is more than one type. I know that most, maybe all of them can assume other forms to disguise themselves. I know they are intrinsically evil and deceitful, like demons. So, from that I have to ask myself some questions. "First, why would the men in town say they have a rakshasa as an exhibit when they do not? I don't know." "Second, would a rakshasa, who is not an exhibit but instead cares for the animals treat them kindly? Maybe, but only if it benefitted the rakshasa in some way. Rakshasas have no kindness in their nature, so what is behind the kindness?" "Third, or does the wolf lie? Why would it? Perhaps it is the Rakshasa. It would be very much in it's nature to compliment itself, even if it were claiming the Rakshasa was someone else. Can some rakshasas take the form of a wolf? I don't know, maybe?" "Fourth, can I identify a rakshasa? I don't know, maybe? Have I ever seen one before today, if I have today? I doubt it." "So what do you think Yumbulika? Do I waste my time looking? Should I do nothing instead? I do know that if there is a rakshasa here, it is beyond our means to do anything about it except warn others, and find help."
Once they've moved away from the wolf, out of range of hearing, Inyoni voices her concerns. "Rakshasas are inherently evil in nature, but subtle in their dealings. Any kindness that might be apparent only masks its scheming on a deeper level. If it is true there is a rakshasa, and it is free to roam in the form of a man, this is very dangerous. It is something beyond our capabilities and we must not confront it. But, I must also ask, how do we know the wolf is not the rakshasa?" "It has never been my intention to destroy the rakshasa, only to find out if there is one, and if so, whether it is securely confined in some way. If it were confined, I would leave things alone even though it makes me uneasy. If it is here and it is not, I would warn someone who might be able to deal with it. I cannot hope to myself."
Inyoni continues to hold her tongue about what the wolf is telling them, but what she's heard so far makes her blood run cold.
Inyoni waits with Yumbulika to see if she can get any more information from the worlf.
Although she's unsure, not really knowing much specifically about them, a search for a rakshasa has to begin somewhere. "I think one of the men mentioned a tiger with twisted hands. That's a strange way to describe a tiger don't you think? Saying 'hands' instead of 'paws'? I think it would be a good possible rakshasa."
Inyoni speaks up in reply to all the raksasha chatter. "We're going to hope the talk of a raksasha is just lies and exaggerations. But yes, if it turns out to be true, we won't be freeing it. I really doubt they could even keep such a thing confined against its will at all. Unless there's some other, equally surprising thing about this traveling show that hasn't been mentioned yet." Her tone of voice suggests she's not terribly impressed by the circus, and that's part of what worries her.
Inyoni nods affirmatively at the faerie dragon's comment. "Rakshasas are spirits of great evil born into physical form. They are shape changers and some have tiger aspects to their bodies, yes. But other animals can be rakshasa forms as well." "They are powerful and clever, able to bend the minds of others to their will with crafty words and magic. They are absolutely not the kind of thing one finds on display in a traveling carnival." Unless the rakshasa actually runs the carnival that is. "I will go too. I must see what is really there. Hopefully they are lying. If not, those men are fools or slaves to it."
Inyoni watches without seeing anything overtly strange. But, from what she's heard, she suspects the men are lying about something. She walks over and inserts herself into the conversation. "You have a rakshasa as an exhibit? Did I hear you correctly?"
By the time Inyoni passes by the place in the market where food and drink is sold, Inyoni has everything she had come for. Her mesh bag holds a couple of breadfruit, a bag of millet, some plantains, a bag of lentils, some yams, and a bottle of palm oil. While she's mostly interested in getting her load back to the house to drop it off, something catches her attention. Some men seem to be going from table to table. It wasn't what they were doing that seemed off though. It was the tension, perhaps worry, that she sensed among the people around tables or in chairs. She seemed to detect among the people the men approached that they did not want them there. Perhaps the men were unfriendly, or asking about things that put people of edge. It just seemed odd to Inyoni. She slows down, then stops, watching what's happening and try to understand what's going on.
Inyoni leaves her dad's house mid-morning with the strap of a large mesh bag over her shoulder. Her plans for the next several hours are to go to the market and shop for the next couple of days worth of food and then while away some time by exploring the stalls and people watching.
Yeah, I never quite got around to a formal background. Here's what I wrote about her in a previous post: Inyoni grew up among the Ekujae elves and has come south to Nantambu to visit her dad for a while. She's from the area up nearer Lake Ocota along the Vanji River. Since she's just on an extended visit, she doesn't have a job, any particular things she needs to be doing, or any particular places where she needs to be. She fairly outgoing, so she can be considered to be out and about in the city wherever there's something of interest happening. So Inyoni is sort of a wild card who can be inserted anywhere. She's more trained as a demon hunter than a classic inquisitor in the European historical mould.
Question/comment about #6. Is Inyoni's brother human, half-elf, or elf? Also, given how common polytheism is, how do you run an inquisition, especially for Yuelral or The Green Faith? If we were talking about Abadar or Iomedae or a few others, almost always lawful-something, then I could see heresy being a thing. But the Green Faith or Yuelral? Seems like a hard thing to make work when there's no centralized hierarchy with an authoritarian streak.
Same here.
Inyoni grew up among the Ekujae elves and has come south to Nantambu to visit her dad for a while. She's from the area up nearer Lake Ocota along the Vanji River. Since she's just on an extended visit, she doesn't have a job, any particular things she needs to be doing, or any particular places where she needs to be. She fairly outgoing, so she can be considered to be out and about in the city wherever there's something of interest happening. So Inyoni is sort of a wild card who can be inserted anywhere.
But he'll think twice about casting a spell.Okay, but don't complain about Zinnath the Scary. Won't that be true of all of us who can cast? It doesn't rebalance anything so much as apply a penalty to everyone who casts. I won't complain about Zinnath because I'll be too busy worrying about myself.
Hello! I didn't quite get around to adding a backstory, but it's a simple one. Inyoni grew up among the Ekujae elves and has come south to Nantambu to visit dad for a while. She has trained as a demon hunter as one does when one is Ekujae and the city of Usaro is a near neighbor. I'm not loving the idea of a new magic rules system either. I don't really have the bandwidth for new rules right now. Besides Inquisitors are mostly buffers and utility casters anyway.
Here's the crunch for my Half-Elf Sanctified Slayer/Ravener Hunter Inquisitor. I'm still working on the background and need to finalize gear purchases. |