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Maccha turns to the group, making sure to whisper. "There are noises of... a family gathering on the other side. Or of the spirits of a family gathering, considering everything we've seen so far. Be ready." She nods to the group, letting them prepare themselves before she opens the door.
Maccha immediately stopped when Aoede and Tessa warned her, but didn't even have time to look back to them to ask the reason for such a warning as a skeleton descended from up above. She sees the vision and screams, almost losing her footing and falling down. In a hurry, she runs back to her team, looking up trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. "You all saw that, right?" she grips her daggers tighter trying in vain to disguise her trembling "Was there a member of the Tiarvayne family called Trevor?" she asks, still assuming everyone also heard the voice.
Maccha enters the room and studies it for a moment, trying to figure out which of the doors of this big foyer would lead to rooms they already went to. She ignores the bowls of water, at least for now, and makes way to the double doors that were southernmost on the opposite wall of the room they came in from. She studies those doors and, if it's unlocked and nothing suspicious has been detected by her companions, opens it.
They all knew something would happen and yet Maccha couldn't help but shiver at the sight of the rose decaying into whatever it was. As a Milani worshipper, such a vision was a bad omen indeed. When she hears the voice, Maccha unsheathes both her daggers and start circling in place, ready to defend herself. The mocking chuckle from the voice made it clear no attack was coming, at least for now. Maccha sighed and walked in the direction of the large stone carved door, ready to focus on what she does best, trying to ignore the ominous family crest. "I'm almost regretting circling around the kitchen."
Maccha works the lock and stays silent as she sees the rose. Only a few minutes ago she said she wanted to quiet the spirits of this place, and yet they had just avoided a probably manifestation of those spirits and she was willing to avoid what is probably another. All in all, she agreed with Tessa, but bit her tongue and just walked in alongside the others.
"No harm going the long way around, through the other door. I don't think we'll be able to escape from these haunts completely, but it's worth a try for now."
Maccha stops in her tracks after opening the door, looking at the oven with suspicion. "Why is there fresh wood? Did someone use it recently or" she looks at her divine magic-inclined friends "there's a haunt here."
Maccha leafs through the pages of the journal, but has to close it, fighting her urge to slam it shut and possibly damaging it. "This is sickening. The servants were poisoning someone... The Lady's own daughter?" she shakes her head "We can study this later, let's go." Maccha leads the charge through the corridor going north, stopping at the door to do her usual.
Maccha is healed and looks embarrassed to her friend, muttering thanks in response. Can't believe I almost got knocked out by a door... Her self-pity moment is interrupted by the flying acid flask hitting Believer. Not knowing how to proceed, Maccha moves to the door where Tessa is, while trying to remember anything that could help against the spirit.
Maccha, still distracted, even with Believer's cries is hit by the slamming door. She holds her aching left arm, who took the brunt of the hit while anxiously awaiting what is to come. She moves to the door, unwilling to become separated from her friends.
Maccha feels someone pulling her from behind, but she was too distracted by the sudden apparitions.
"I agree with Tessa. It's so... bold." Maccha whispers as she enters the room, her curiosity leading her to the book, to see what is the purpose of it all. "but then... Who would they hide this from?"
Maccha looks around the servant's room, still cautious. Maybe the spirits haunting this place are of mistreated servants...
She barely spots the secret door and points at it - "Look at that. Might this be the one we are looking for?"
"It would hamper my movements too much, but I think Llewela could wear one. If we found our way into the cemetery, maybe she could just walk as a Hellknight and grab the cache?" She moves back and gets to working on the rightmost door to the room south. "I agree about the dangers and I prefer to have vision on the rooms around us before comitting. Stand back, standard procedure."
"Yet another family damned by Hell." Maccha says her thoughts out loud bitterly. "Anyway, back to work. I don't trust a door with an engraving of Mephistopheles, at least there is no magical signature." she crouches and gets her tools, putting them aside while she checks it for traps or any kind of vigilance. "Everyone, step back"
"Okay, I'll unlock one at a time, I don't want to be 'haunted' by both rooms simultaneously..."
"I'd say let's go south. No reason, to be honest. I'll check both doors in case something happens and we have to run." Maccha repeats the process on both doors, south and north respectively.
Maccha could only stare as the two attacked, or tried to, each other, her reaction time compromised by the sheer impossibility of this sequence of events. "I'm glad you know what this was, but it's not comforting there is not a lot we can do..." Maccha once again cursed herself for mentioning there would be ghosts, but kept it private "Since we have a time limit, we should go. It's improbable but... If we can, I'd like to try to help the spirits rest as well."
"Come on in, there's something inside." she tries to whisper
As soon as Maccha opens her door, she hears a strange multitude of voices and has to focus on them to realize what is being said and gets goosebumps when she understands it. "Bread?" she says out loud as a reflex and fights the urge to slap herself. She stands at the threshold of the outside and the mansion itself and dares not enter, looking to the direction her companions are, making handsignals they could come. She also tries to communicate there is someone or something inside as well. I even said there would be undead, of course there are, this is probably a ghost, I should get my silver dagger. Does silver hurt ghosts? her thoughts raced.
Maccha nods, mumbling a quick prayer to Milani and moves silently to the southwest single door on the mansion. I do not want to waste Believer's blessing, but... We know the dottari have increased guard activity. If they are being particularly paranoid, they could have trapped all doors. She stops by the door and quickly scans it for any obvious trap and, if there is one, goes to disarm it. If there is no trap, she starts working on the lock itself.
"If someone is living inside or the sniper we know is there is resting for some reason, it's less likely they are using the servant's quarters. I'd say I can go try to unlock some of the single doors on the west side. It's the further from the tower as well that could have someone keeping watch."
"This could also just be a spooky story to not let them become heroes for the populace against Thrune." Maccha says when she is alone with her companions "But since nothing is ever simple, I'll assume there are undead among the dead in the tombs." She finishes her preparations, hiding her daggers and putting on her beaten old scarf "I suppose we can try to ambush the snipers themselves, now that we know they are there, though."
Maccha knew how to disguise her intentions, lying and bluffing through a conversation, but honest information gathering was never her forte. Therefore, in the Tooth and Nail, she just played support in the shadows while her companions, who thrived in the light, did the heavy lifting.
Maccha turns to her companions "...Easier than I expected. With all that happened, it's refreshing when reasonable dialogue solves a problem." she stops herself before continuing that line of enquiry out loud. Also, they had just discussed amicably, yes, but with a house drake, not exactly a normal every day occurrence. She stretched her arms to let go some of the tension - "So, we still have time, are we going after our other mission?" she says without directly stating that it meant going to the cemetery "I'm down."
Still here! I hope everyone's been well.
"Hello Vendalfek, nice to meet you. I'm.... Shrub, for now." Maccha moves her cup close to the creature "Do you want some cherrywood rum tea? It's really sweet." Maccha tries to find the words to approach the subject without scaring off or just telling off the drake "What a show you made, but we are here because we are scared it might attract the dottari."
Turns out the patrons were mostly harmless people that would walk around with weapons and Maccha had to readjust her perception. Just because she had a rough time in the streets and now with the rebellion does not mean most people are. "Right, it was so sudden!!" Maccha speaks with a bit more animation than is normal for her, hoping the others would notice it's a ruse. She makes exaggerated hand motions with her left hand while she speaks about how surprised she is while she points up with her right hand, alerting Setrona to the house drake.
House drake? Maccha plays along with the sing and dance, but moves through the crowd, checking if anyone has weapons. The brawl is a problem by itself, but it's better if it does not escalate. If anyone is carrying any kind of light weaponry, Maccha will channel her... old pastimes and pickpockets them.
She tries to keep an eye out for the house drake, following it discretely, at least while it is visible.
Maccha's mouth waters at the mention of the tea "One of those, please!" She listens intently and cannot help but raise an eyebrown at the problem's description. "That is... really strange." Her mind couldn't help but jump to fey creatures. Probably due to their recent clash but this kind of pointless chaos seemed up their alley. "At what time does it help? Is the chaos concentrated inside the building? I'm willing to try today." She turns to the group and half whispers afraid of being heard "Maybe it's someone invisible causing the chaos? Some of us can stay outside and if anyone's willing to join the brawl and have their memory wiped could stay inside. Whoever's the culprit must be nearby otherwise these stories wuld pop-up all over town, right?" With all that said, what is even the motive to doing this kind of thing?
Maccha once again just pushed down her cold rage down her throat, enjoying vicariously Tessa's angry retorts. She puts her hands in her pockets, finding her daggers. It would be very easy, just slash at Blossom right now. The others would not blame me. She decided, of course, to not follow that course of action. Going outside to get soaked on the rain and just talk to normal people would do well for her mood. When they arrive at the Tooth and Nail, Maccha does not need to force a smile. "Hey Setrona, we are here again. I'd like... whatever you have that is the sweetest. And also, what can we get you?
Maccha does not deign to answer Blossom's flippant questions and just ignored her, but put her hand on Tessa's shoulder as she answered the devil. "Yeah, we can go today. I got a little beat up, but nothing serious. And if we get more members, the better. More people to stop... whatever Barzillai and his thugs are doing."
Maccha pushed her fingers into her eyes, gently. The Long Roads Coffeehouse was a welcome dose of normalcy after such horrible experiences. But it was not normal. The deaths, the cruelty, they were the new normal. "Let's go for sure. I will not be of much help, but" Maccha puts her right hand in front of her face and lets a tiny droplet of acid out, showing this is the full extent of her magical capabilities "I'm sure the others can figure it out. I just hope..." she stops herself, debating if she should finish the her thought or not, but pressed on "...It is not as horrible as our last mission." The shipment recovery seemed like a more straightforward mission... if Jay had not been killed inside the Wasp's Nest itself. They need to do it for the sisters. "I'm pretty sure the church of Asmodeus patrols the cemetery." she tried to sound neutral.
Maccha decides to not say anything. What was there to say? She was sure Tessa and Believer would know the right way to act or the right words for such an occasion. What Maccha was good for was the swift vengeance she was hoping to fulfill on whoever did this. She nodded along Believer's beautiful words, touched by the display of a religion she was part of, in her heart, but never participated in the rituals, so different from her childhood's prayers.
Maccha remains silent on the way back and once again covered her mouth with her handkerchief, this time to try to hide her own gnashing teeth. When they arrive, she helps the others explain what happened. "Please do. It's the least she deserves."
"I agree, but... where? Back in our base, maybe? Or we could ask Zea if there is a proper burial site we could use." Maccha had many disparate thoughts swimming in her head. If she found whoever did this, she would do whatever she could to kill them with her own bare hands, if necessary. It was the justice, the struggle for freedom Milani smiled upon, so this crime could not be repeated. But also the Asmodean upbringing kicked in: What is the point of this? A death of a child could be, following the infernal doctrines, justified, but where was the profit? The power play? Who gained something with this? Using fey? Those capricious, unpredictable tricksters? Unless of course, they are just caged animals. It doesn't matter what exactly they do if you just want to release them in the middle of somewhere where any killing will be viewed favorably. Is this all just hatred of tieflings?
Maccha puts her hand on Believer's shoulder as her friend breaks down and tries to get her when she falls, hugging her friend. She hears Believer's plea and nods, going to the body and undoing the shackles, checking if there are traps.
Maccha suddenly stops on her tracks as she sees the body. The cruel happenstance' much more crueler now. Her horrified mood does not let her concentrate and, as much as she tries, she cannot recognize whatever is written on the sinews.
"We need to find whoever did this and kill them."
Maccha relaxes her shoulders and sighs heavily. "I think I hate fairies." she says grimly, unaware of how silly it sounds."I'm unscathed, Llewela, thanks." Maccha walks around the cave, looking for something... anything. She keeps her right hand covering her mouth and not very subtly has her back against the group, trying to not see her friends' smiles without one tooth and, most importantly, desperately avoiding seeing the "operation" to put them back.
She walks around the cave while speaking to the others "Is... that it, though? Were tieflings killed by cruel happenstance?"
"These Milani forsaken little buggers." Maccha grumbles as she slashes the air for her second attack. Even though she connected on the first one, it felt like slashing at a wall and only managing to pluck a bit of loose cement. She positions herself opposite of Tessa to attack the one bothering Believer, hoping it would be cornered. Maccha decides to strike with her trusty old dagger, the silvered one not having such a sharper edge. Maybe I could even make it bleed this time...
Maccha coughs and covers her mouth and that seems to spare her the worst effects of the fairy dust. The stench sticks to her, however. She moves to flank the one attacking Aoede who got hit harder by the dust and attacks it with her daggers. Maccha is attacking to kill and braces herself for another round of fairy dust.
Maccha runs alongside Aoede, positioning herself behind the fairy, trying to stab it with her silver dagger, hoping it would work on it like it worked on devils.
"I think it's better if we advance." Maccha follows behind Believer, knowing her own senses would not be much help in this situation.
"Yeah... I don't know where they went, so just following you. Be prepared to sneak around if we get closer to where they went, though."
Maccha shrugs her shoulders "I was not doub-" she cuts herself off, no point in arguing, they all accepted the danger they would be in when they started their little rebellious group and starts helping on the search and the questioning.
Maccha just silently agrees to their plan. When they seem to have come to an agreement, she adds "I'm not opposed to your plan, but really? Putting yourself in danger is your first idea?" she could not stop herself from showing her worry to Believer, a visit to the Nursery reminding her how her deal friend was in danger for simply existing in Kintargo. === After they leave to investigate a previous crime scene, Maccha brings up to the group. "Do you think Zea would be willing to join us? She had heard of us and came to us and is a healer. Maybe having someone for first aid might help in case other tragedies happen at out base."
Maccha checks the map "It's really spread out throughout the whole Nursery. The order they happened could be important to tell if it's some sort of path the murderers are going through. Regardless, it's best we go, I fear we might run into more Hellknights near those places as well."
Maccha walks up to the hole Believer pointed out and spies as the Hellknights arrives, looking back at her companions and swapping places with anyone else that is curious, minding her steps to be completely silent. She finds it hard to believe they want to solve the murders but is completely ignorant of whatever they want. When they finally leave, she sighs relieved, the enormity of their mission and the kind of people they'll need to directly opposite in the future coming into view.
Maccha barely had time to finish her questions to Zea when she heard the commotion, the sound of hellknight armor stomping on the ground all too familiar. She followed Zea running to the storeroom and heard her mention Tiarise.
Maccha does not say anything and tries to silently go up the stairs.
Maccha's eyes widen at the sight and she does not have the opportunity to take it all in before Believer and Llewela share their observations. This is horrible, this is... she cannot even finish thinking, covering her mouth with her hands as if the teeth were going to be removed as well. She weakly agrees with Tessa. "I will... Wish me luck." no point in letting the poor girl be a bearer of bad news. She leaves the storeroom and meets back with Zea. "Hey Zea... I'm sorry that we've put you through so much already, but I need to ask some questions. Were... the wounds... similar on the other bodies?" Maccha avoids speaking about the teeth at first so directly, but steels herself to bring it up if need be.
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