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"I...," she glances at Orik, "I think I will. For a while, at least. No one's told me I can never come back yet." Her voice takes on an edge of defiance before she smiles. "You ran off to Magnimar," she points out, " and so did Brock, and Wren's traveled, and Eponine's been just about everywhere, I suppose. Even Ameiko went off adventuring for a while."
Sophy sobers as she turns toward Victor. "I found the sentencing ... upsetting," she replies. "But Orik has just been telling me he intended to leave, even if he hadn't been exiled. Too many bad memories here, on both sides. He wants a fresh start."
Taking his leave of them he heads south towards the gates of town and finds Sophy standing looking into the mirror. Interrupting her thoughts he says, "I am glad you came, I wanted to be sure I got a chance to say goodbye and to thank you for believing in me with your whole heart. No one has given up so much for me before." He paces around and moves as if he is about to head out of town before she can respond then he quickly turns back, "Rumor is you have been offered a position building a library. I know you love your books.....but....er, umm...ah, if you wanted, I mean if you cared to. Ah, what I am trying to say is I have to leave, and that is good because I know that what has happened here will not be forgotten and the good folks will always see my face and think of the goblin attack. I would have left even if they did not banish me, but...er I want you to go with me. Come south to Magnimar or someplace else. We can go where ever you want. Come away with me?" As Orik turns away, Sophy frowns. 'Given up so much?' It was he who had given up his freedom to see them all home safely. She is opening her mouth to protest when he turns back, and as he speaks, it remains open, in bewildered astonishment. "I-- I don't understand," she stammers at last. "I-- Lyrie is-- I'm sorry about Lyrie. But Wren is beautiful, and Eponine is brave. I've just ... followed the rest of them and tried not to get in the way. I've run away like a coward and said ... oh, horrible things; you don't know. And I don't know you, as a-- as a man," she blushes. "I just know ... I wish you weren't going away, but I never imagined you...." She trails off miserably. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of Orik's face in the mirror. Please stop to see yourself as we see you! How do the other residents of Sandpoint see him? Does his presence really remind them of the goblins' attack? Or is that only how he imagines they see him? Either way, she understands why he might want to go somewhere to make a fresh start. But what about Sophy? How does Sandpoint see her? As an orphan, a reminder of the Late Unpleasantness? As the eccentric girl the matrons whisper about? As a hero, no matter how many times she tries to explain she is not? As a librarian? She glances down at Titus Scarnetti's bag of jewels in her hand. Or as a pawn to be manipulated and used for their benefit? "Orik," she begins again, more calmly, "I don't know you, any more than you know me. When I see your face, I see the man in the doors of Thistletop who turned his blade against the goblins and saved my life and the lives of my friends, just like you somehow see me as ... as a kind of symbol of the choice you made, the last chance you seized hold of. We're both of us less than that, and more. But ... I understand the allure of being among people whose first associations when they see me aren't murder and terror and death. I'll travel with you ... as far as Magnimar ... and then we'll see ... how we see each other." She offers him a smile.
At some point during the day each of you are approached by the heavy set, Titus Scarnetti. He finds you alone and without the others, and is everything you expect from a head of one of Sandpoints founding families and town council member. After introducing himself he offers a short rehearsed speech, "Congratulations on your recent appointment. My father Alamon gave his sweat, and yes even his blood, to help bring the vision of Sandpoint into fruition. Now you will be an integral part of helping drive what my family has served for the past forty years towards a new and exciting future. I trust you will honor and be committed to the strong and traditional values our community was founded upon. I hope that you will accept this humble reward, from me, for your great service you have done on behalf of our town. Take it as a token of our friendship, as you formally enter into the service of our town I hope you will count me among your friends." He offers you a bag of assorted polished jewels, that at first glance probably value close to a hundred gold coins. Titus refuses any attempt to decline the gift, even from those who are yet to accept any positions with the town.
While two weeks ago Sophy would have been overawed to have been directly addressed by Mr. Scarnetti, her recent experiences with prominent citizens of Sandpoint have left her disenchanted. The man's motivations are a mystery to her, but she is disinclined to look on the gift with anything but cynicism -- no less an attempt to buy her loyalty than the commissions the others had accepted placing them under the authority of the sheriff. When he refuses her attempts to decline the gift, she is forced to accept it grimly but puts it aside, having no intention of keeping it, once he has gone. When Tsuto's sentence is read, Sophy looks saddened but not surprised. The half-elf had offered no defense and shown no repentance. When Lyrie's sentence is read, she looks shaken. She glances at the elven judge and wonders if he remembers he is dealing with human subjects; fifty years is a virtual life sentence for the woman. When Orik's verdict is read, Sophy is buoyed with hope ... up until the final three words of the sentence. Shattered, she stares up at the platform. What could the Justice be thinking, to separate Orik from anyone who believed in him, anyone who owed him a debt for what he had done, anyone who might hold him accountable for the new commitment he had made and prevent him from returning to bad company and despair. She accepts the note from Bethanna numbly and stares at the words for several moments before comprehending them. While the other "Heroes" approach Orik while his bonds are being released, Sophy wanders back toward the House of Blue Stones, paying no attention to the excitement in the streets which accompanies the trial and verdict. Taking Titus Scarnetti's jewels, she walks as directed to the bridge at the south of town and waits, gazing into the mirror. Is this how others see me? she wonders idly. She sees a young woman with sad eyes, more cynical and jaded, she imagines, than a week or two ago. She remembers the excitement she felt the last time she spent much time looking in a mirror, the night she had worn the blue velvet dress and earrings to go to dinner and the theater with Lord Foxglove, before the evening had ended in horror and blood. How simple and innocent everything had seemed then. Would she ever feel that hopeful again?
Sophy stands a little stiffly as her companions all agree to swear allegiance to and serve a justice structure of which she has grown extremely distrustful. What better way to limit criticism than to assimilate the Heroes of Sandpoint, who might otherwise speak against those in power, and bind them to follow orders from those very leaders? She is so distracted by her thoughts, she is a bit startled by the offer made to her at the end of the mayor's remarks and stammers a little as she quickly parses its ramifications. "I ... I suppose," she responds. Master Librarian doesn't, at first glance, appear to be a military position which will require her to carry out orders given by a superior. "Like Wren, I'll have to see the outcome of the trial first before I feel comfortable making decisions about my future."
Sophy tells the story of everything that happened since they left Sandpoint to find Ameiko at Thistletop. She specifically makes a point of mentioning Chaddik's fate, determined that his name be cleared of the suspicion that had fallen on him of abandoning his post, or worse, during the goblin attack. Seeing as how Nualia is beyond anyone's justice but Pharasma's, she does what she can to make her actions seem not quite so horrible, although the mutated corpse they returned to town bears its own witness as to her ultimate goals. She also emphasizes that Tsuto and Lyrie at last surrendered to the inevitable rather than fighting to the bitter end, as they could have, and that Lyrie, at last, turned coat on Tsuto and gave them information about Nualia's plans. When it comes time to speak of Orik, she emphasizes the disarray the heroes were in at the door of Thistletop, how Tsuto had ordered Orik to cut her down and how instead he had turned his sword against the monsters that threatened them; then how, when they had been trapped between Nualia in the basement and Tsuto on the stairs, how he had fought the half-elf to clear the passage to get Ameiko to safety.
Giving Victor a desparate glance, Sophy backs up toward Belril, keeping the wand at the ready to tap Victor as he comes by.
Sophy steps back to take shelter behind Kern and reaches out to touch Eponine with her wand. "Victor, Eponine, get out! Quick!"
Sophy moves forward and uses the wand on Victor.
"Victor, get out of here! Sophy, use Ameiko's wand!" "I can't," Sophy cries, struggling to extract the wand from her pack, "get it out!" She finally succeeds in wrenching the delicate wand out from where it had somehow gotten wedged between the opposite corners of her bag but has nothing to do with it.
"Why don't you just tell us to use unicorns and siege engines?" Sophy yells back, tears pricking at her eyes. "I don't have any of those, either. You've got to get out of there!"
Sophy runs around the corner to the doorway and gasps in horror. "I knew it was wrong to come down here! Get out of there!"
"It releases a demon maybe?" Sophy cries in alarm, trying to slap the coins out of the slots before any mechanism can activate. "We came down here to make sure it wasn't about to escape, not to do anything that could ensure it does!"
While Eponine is examining the doors, Sophy gives the carving a sideways glance, as if afraid that merely looking at it might be the catalyst needed to release Nualia's demon.
Before the party separates from the prisoners and their guard, Sophy dashes over to Orik and whispers something to him. Orik: "If you take her and go, I won't blame you. Sandpoint has Tsuto to be their scapegoat; I don't think they'd hunt you down."
"That's true," Sophy smiles wanly. "I've also run away with the only light source, leaving everyone to fight in the dark, fired a lot of bolts into walls and ceilings, and thrown my crossbow at Wren a few times. You're sure you want me to come?"
Orik looks at Sophy, "Miss Sophy, nothing about things you have done in these past weeks says that you are an amateur. You and the deputies have ended a goblin tribe, stopped a cultist of Lamashtu, and captured those who were terrorizing your homeland. You are very brave, but if you would like I can escort you and the prisoners back to town while the others deal with what ever monster is sealed behind these doors. Once Tsuto is in their hands perhaps my name can be cleared." "They did all that," Sophy tells Orik flatly. "All I've done is run away and come back when the danger's over to help patch people up. I'm a librarian, not an adventurer." She turns to the others. "If you're determined to go, then go. I'll come with you if you want or stay up here with the prisoners. It doesn't matter to me."
Sophy sighs. "How could we even tell if the ... 'barriers' are 'crumbling?' We don't have the slightest clue what we're dealing with. It's foolishness to disturb things we don't understand. What if us interfering with its prison is the very thing that unleashes it? Tsuto has all but implied that might be the case. This isn't a task for well-meaning but presumptuous amateurs."
"I'm not so much worried about them," Sophy insists stubbornly. "Well, maybe a little. It's foolishness to go hunting for a demon that's safely locked up right now. What happens if we free it and it defeats us? We'll have succeeded where Nualia failed and done her work for her. If we go back to Sandpoint, we can get some men from the Watch, maybe even some soldiers from Magnimar to deal with the danger. This isn't an immediate danger like the goblins or a situation where we have to rush to save Ameiko. There's no reason for a handful of amateurs who have had to retreat from every battle we've fought to do this alone. If we have to run away, the demon's not going to be obliging enough to sit around here in an abandoned fortress and wait for us to come back with reinforcements; we'll have unleashed an unspeakable evil into an unsuspecting countryside."
"We should go back and tell Father Zantus about the demon," Sophy says firmly. "He'd know what to do about it. It's nothing we should interfere with."
Sophy sighs heavily. "He's right," she tells Lyrie. "Sandpoint is looking for someone to blame, and whoever it is may well hang. You can't possibly have a grudge against the town like Tsuto and Nualia had; you can't have been the one to plan the goblin attack. Tell us what you know; there's no reason for you to die with him."
Wren reveals that the green potion is oen that cures Serious Wounds. "That's a strong one, right there," she nods as she hands it back to Sophy. Sophy makes a face as she gingerly accepts the unappetizingly viscous concoction. "You'd have to be pretty near death to choke that down," she mutters, recorking the vial for safekeeping. "This wand is like yours, Wren," she goes on. "This is a healing potion as well, only not as potent -- or thick," she comments, with a shudder. "The cloak strengthens one's defenses against magic and poison and such things, and the ring makes it more difficult for physical attacks to injure you."
She studiously avoids looking at Orik as she waits to see if the captives will reply to the questions posed them.
Tsuto? Sophy wonders. Regardless, being the one trapped on the trap is making her nervous. They have to get out of this hall one way or another.
Sophy crosses gingerly, spending as little time and stepping as lightly on that section of floor as she can.
"If this is Karzoug...," Sophy speculates. "He was a Runelord, the enemy of Alaznist, the woman with the ranseur in the statue under Sandpoint. I think ... Erylium ... knew him." She trails off, horrified and ashamed once again by the memory she had stolen from the quasit's mind. "Why was Nualia defacing these statues? The damage she's done...," she shakes her head. "Or maybe the damage was done when the place was burned and," she glances down at the slanted floor, "shaken. Perhaps she was only picking up shards that were already broken."
Relieved that she hadn't inadvertently done something horrible to Eponine with the mysterious wand, she carefully tucks it away next to the one Father Zantus gave her. I hope I don't get them mixed up, she worries. Following the others downstairs cautiously, she peers at the nearest statue, examining the man's face, his robes, and his gear, to see if she can identify who it represents.
"Soot?" she asks Belril nervously. "Some sort of fire-breathing creature?" She looks around the small room, as if expecting a red dragon to suddenly crash through the walls and breathe on them.
Sophy takes the wand from the monkey with a puzzled frown. Turning it over in her hands, she can see the baton's aura but can't identify what spell might be encased within the wood and silver. Still, it feels familiar. Wholesome. "Ameiko wouldn't give you anything harmful," she reasons, taking the thicker end of the wand in her hand a little timidly. Setting the business end to Eponine's shoulder, as if preparing to knight her, she shuts her eyes and concentrates, trying to nudge the slender stick to discharge. When it does, it is with a zap that startles her; her eyes fly open, and she fumbles the delicate wand, just managing to close her hand around it before it tumbles to the ground. "Eponine?" she gasps anxiously. "Are you all right?"
"Don't b-be absurd. I'll g-go with you. I'll b-be careful. I h-haven't lived th-this long b-by accident." "No, but you might have done so by luck. Put that away," Sophy says firmly, looking at her curved blade, "and ready your crossbow." She folds her arms like a schoolmarm and waits for the elf to comply.
"We shouldn't leave her alone," Sophy disagrees with Wren. "I could stay with her ... or maybe Orik would be a better guardian," she reconsiders, wondering what exactly she could do to defend the elf if a wandering monster happened along.
"It's not the wounds you can see," Sophy says sorrowfully as she approaches the elf. "It's what we can't. They're like spiders; their poison ... it melts you from the inside." She touches Eponine, and the welts from the tentacles fade away; but the weak, sick feeling remains. "I ... I can't make it better. Father Zantus probably could." She looks on helplessly.
Sophy gasps in horror as Eponine is wrapped in the creature's tentacle. "You have to kill it, fast!" she urges the others. "It won't let her go until it's dead -- or she is!"
Sophy skirts around the edge of the rock wall, hoping to stay out of everyone's way.
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