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The Kuthona Rat smiles appreciatively beneath his mask, but his eyes are still dull and dreary. He then responds to the Merchant by virtue of her spell. DC 20 Perception:
"Your concern for my well-being gladdens me, but unfortunately there is little that can be done concerning my affliction. Time is short for this lucid state of mind, so the long story must wait for another day. In short though, there are some substances trafficked on the streets of the poor and desperate. Drugs and medicines of questionable benefit and origin with effects beyond the desirable." He retrieves his hip flask from his side and holds it contemplatively. Continued:
"There are even some, such as this one, that become as needed as food and drink and air after consumption. My medicine changes what reality I perceive into a surreal dream. I spend most times in that mind-state. Occasionally, when I realize I must be rational, I will put off the dose for an hour or so as I try to accomplish what I can before the addiction asserts itself too much. Thank you, Lady Merchant." Tilting back the flask, the Kuthona Rat drinks a lengthy draught from it before sighing with relief. "I hope the Lady Rose above forgives me. For if anyone was overly competitive tonight, it was most assuredly I. Well played everyone, I had fun muchly," he says as his color noticeably improves.
The Kuthona Rat frowns at the Masked Cat's play. "I understand your choice Lady Cat, I do not begrudge you for your choice. It saddens me, but you did misinterpret my meaning. The battle this game symbolizes is not the one with the demons, but the preparations and politics that come before. The question at hand was whether we could successfully cooperate and coordinate ourselves sufficiently prior to the battle in the Worldwound. A lone person or faction coming out victorious in the aforementioned politicking would result in no coalition or consolidation of forces, thereby spelling defeat in the Worldwound." He stops to cough again, hacking painfully. He pauses to catch his breath before continuing, his voice is hoarse. "Seeing as this is the final play, I might as well help whom I can. I have no interest in claiming victory where diplomacy should have more than sufficed. I play the Witch on the Merchant. I hope that this sows a seed of altruism to counterbalance the weeds of greed and avarice." Finished with his speaking, he retires to his chair at his original table as another coughing fit begins. He covers his mouth with one of the table napkins. Perception DC 15:
There was blood spots on that napkin after his latest coughing fit. Alchemy, Heal, or Sense Motive check DC 10: What skin of his that is visible has taken on a definite pale pallor, a sheen of sweat glistening in the ballroom lighting. His eyes are distant and his pupils are mere pinpricks. His hands have ceased their trembling, his veins are readily visible through translucent skin. These symptoms collectively are sure signs of either a terminal illness or an extreme withdrawal from some sort of drug.
The Kuthona Rat shakes his head in dismay before coughing loudly. A few moments pass before he speaks again, his demeanor strangely lucid and coherent in comparison to his earlier mannerisms. "I have no intention to stop those of you who seek personal glory over that of the benefit of the collective group. Nor shall I attempt to shame you into compliance as that would be to no end and would likely be a futile gesture. Instead, I ask you to assess this situation beyond its literal context. This game is an exercise in trust, one's ability to do good for the benefit of others, as well as one's ability to resist the temptation to take advantage of others. Some of you have declared that personal glory is what you seek or that victory may still be had. Others are inclined to more financial incentives. I argue that my earlier proposal is one that holds a greater amount of glory, wealth, and victory than any other possible end-game. This is due to the unprecedented nature of the potential result. There has likely never been a game that resulted in every participant satisfying the victory condition simultaneously. As such, this game would effectively be an immortal example of what good can happen when a group of people who are otherwise in competition are willing to set aside their differences for their collective benefit. This would be a game whose story could be considered legendary, or at least worthy of a good tell now and then. Should this succeed, then every one of us would have the proverbial claim to fame that we succeeded where none had succeeded before. Choosing personal victory instead will result in a game that shall be forgotten and lost in the mists of time. There will be few cheers, little renown, no money, and no story worth telling. I ask each of you now, for a third and final time: let us please work together. I will not attempt to receive a thirteenth point until everyone else is ready to as well. I swear such on my honor as the left hand of Her Lady Rose, Shelyn. I swear such on my honor as the Lead Battalion Herald of the Ninth Army of Exploration. For whenever there is even the slightest chance that all of us may yet play parts in a story to make Shelyn proud, then I shall not leave anyone else behind." He pauses to catch his breath, coughing again. "I play the Grand Prince, to put me at twelve points where I intend to stay until everyone else is likewise at twelve. Lady Cat, you may do as you please. If you wish to go for victory, then I will not think ill of you on the next turn. Alternatively, you may opt to wait as well at twelve points. The choice is yours and I trust your judgement."
Heal, Sense Motive, or Alchemy check DC 12:
What skin of his that is visible has taken on a definite pale pallor, a sheen of sweat glistening in the ballroom lighting. His eyes seem duller in comparison to his earlier appearance and his hands have continued trembling. These symptoms collectively are sure signs of withdrawal from some sort of drug.
"The only thing to fear is our walls falling to the endless onslaught of demons that shall crash against them should we be too fractious to engage the enemy effectively. Will you forsake cooperation in these dire times, Carpenter? This game involves individuals from more regions than just this, it would be better for all to work together and create a coalition rather than devolve to infighting. This is just a game, but it has the potential to become a rallying point. There is no glory in winning alone if there no one to share in the revelry! Please Carpenter, for the sake of the establishment of a positive communal morale, I urge you to reconsider your play."
Heal, Alchemy, or Sense Motive DC 14: His pupils are contracting. His skin is quite pale now and his hands are shaking slightly.
The Kuthona Rat ceases standing around absentmindedly and suddenly cries out in a strangely lucid manner, "Hey everyone, I figured out the secret to this game! I have learned how to allow every single one of us to win at exactly the same time. It is an extra-size of trust, and right now every one of us except myself are tied for first. If everyone plays the princess for the next three turns without challenging each other, then we will all win. I will play the Grand Prince twice and then the Princess on the third turn. This will result in all of us acquiring 14 points on the same turn. This has probably never worked before, but if we execute it in this manner, we will symbolize a united Taldor unlike any that the world has seen thus far. A favorable omen if there ever was one for the coming of the Army of Exploration's crusade on the wound of the world! Who's with me?"
Heal, Sense Motive, or Alchemy check DC 15:
Strange, his eyes are not dilated and his skin has paled considerably.
The Kuthona Rat scowls at the Carpenter's loud antics,
Sense Motive 15 or Spellcraft 19:
The lyrical way he enunciates the word "shout" seems to imply a certain magical potential there, almost like he had intentionally failed at casting a spell. A few moments pass before he realizes that the Merchant has been speaking to him, "I'm sorry, but no. I have not seen where Miss Star's at, maybe she is visiting Prince Ess?" He moves to continue dancing with the priestess, but finds she has already moved on. So he dances with the merchant.
The Kuthona Rat makes no move to switch partners.
The Kuthona Rat dances with much prowess as before while giving pointers privately to assist his current partner, .
The Kuthona Rat slips away with a nod, his mischief accomplished. He walks up to several people not participating in the dance and attempts to get them to join, to no avail. After several such errors, he approaches the Midnight Samurai and offers his hand to his partner, the Frost Witch.
The Kuthona Rat gleefully bows, checks his card, and introduces himself again^,
^ DC 16 Spellcraft:
He cast Tap Inner Beauty as he does this. * DC 36 Perception or Sense Motive:
He cast a spell as he began guiding the Masked Cat!# # If * check succeeded as well as a Spellcraft DC 15:
He cast Message.% % If both * and # succeeded as well as an additional DC 30 Perception check: Please message me privately should you successfully complete these shenanigans. Yes, the Rat is sneaky ('=.=')___,
The Kuthona Rat leads the dance with the Priestess gracefully, . Each step of his complements the moves of his partner, more than enough to make up for any ungraceful steps of hers . As they dance he counts the feathers on her mask to himself and, when done, moves as though to ask a question, but then stops as the music shifts to indicate the changing of partners. He stands there awkwardly, struggling to decide whom to dance with next. He settles his choice by pointing in random directions while murmuring, "Eeni, meani, my knee, moe, catch a tiger by the--" he stops abruptly and makes his way over to the Masked Cat, not bothering to even finish the rest of the rhyme.
The Kuthona Rat approaches the Priestess wearing the mask of feathers, bows respectfully, and offers his left hand. "Would you like to dance? You can choose the style or fashion or routine or type if you'd like." Sense Motive DC 30: Based on your prior astute observations of his body language, you can tell that the Rat is much more deliberate in choosing his partner than would be expected of him. As to whether this is a result of the time since his last dose of "medicine", a sign of higher reasoning, or a combination of the two is a mystery all its own.
The Kuthona Rat tilts his head in a puzzled manner towards the female twin before backing away from her and going to whisper to the Masked Cat, Perception DC 18 to hear or DC 30 to read his lips inside the articulated jaw of his mask.: "I'm not all that sure about customs at these kinds of parties, but is it right that the mean lady is talking about the hostess' undergarments? I mean dresses are fine and all, and chairs aren't clothing, but discussing someone else's slip seems, I don't know, unappropriate. What am I supposed to say if it is, in fact, left?"
The Kuthona Rat turns to respond to the Merchant's query.
"An invincible pot of imps and bills for her? I'm not entirely sure where somebody would find that, but now that you mention it, Lady Rose did say that stories have the answers to all questions. So let's see here..." He pauses to think for a moment before beginning to tell his tale with great enthusiasm while incorporating the finer oratorical skills of a master speaker.
The Rat's Spontaneous Story:
"We don't have enough time for me to tell the long, whole story, so let me stick with a bridge version instead. Once upon a time, there was this wizard. He had a name, but it was stolen one day. All of his stuff was stolen too. He used some of his spell casting; casting is the way he uses magic, it is different from making coins and fixing bones and going fishing; to look for who stoled his stuff and his name. Then, he found and telled a porter to go with him there. Porters are really fast so he got there in seconds or firsts. So he talked to the lady, who was newly named Aaron, and asked for his belongings back and she refused. So he decided to steal them back. Since he was not a rogue, he needed someone who had hands of slate. So he borrowed some money and summoned a bunch of imps and convinced them to help him. Since he didn't want them to be caught or hurt, he put them in an invincible pot that couldn't break. He was worried she might see them inside or refuse to take the pot though, so he filled it with duck bills. The ducks were very sad that they losed their bills and greatly regretted flying to a place where their face was considered a delicacy. But I digress, the wizard never got his stuff or his name back because the lady who was newly named Aaron exploited the one flaw in the wizard's plan: She was really hungry. As a result, she eated all of the imps and bills and lived Aaronly ever after. The End." It is baffling that his presentation remains as compelling as it is, despite the complete and utter absurdity of it.
Long after the influence of the Winter Drake had ceased and the music changed, the Kuthona Rat snaps out of of his stupor and looks around blankly. He moves as though to ask a question, but then leaps out of his chair and cheers at the announcement of the dancing and begins talking excitedly. "Hurrah! Do tell, what style of a dance shall it be? A Taldan waltz? An Andoren allemande? A Chellish march or galliard? Maybe, since we're in costume a Verduran kolomyjka or Tian buyo would be better. Oh there's so many many many many styles! Let's see narrow it down, preferably common knowledge and easier to perform and representative of Taldor's prestige and glory and history and stuff, but that leaves plenty more questions like is tradish-on-all, contemp, or airy preferred? I don't know. I know mom said to behave and have fun, but I haven't been to a not-ball-shaped-ballroom before. Not even a regular ballroom. What if it's a style that I don't know? Or what if since it is an unregular ballroom, they make up a new style? Maybe that's how new styles of dances come about, but I don't know. It would be neat if it were a sword dance, but I doubt that'll happen because mom said to keep my fan closed and not wave it at people. I don't know how I'd avoid that though if it were to be a buyo. It'll be fun if Lady Cat's guess is right, the Mwangi did have good ideas for dances and the gavotte is well known I think, but I can't be sure since I don't think I know what other people know and think..." His monologue continues shifting between tones of excitement, confusion, wonder, and agitation in his typical, manic fashion.
The Kuthona Rat peers curiously into the alcove before beginning to crouch within and start feeling around the inside for anything of interest.
"I'm looking at this secret passage I found and I am trying to find the second secret door. That is because you see, the first one doesn't seem to go anywhere. It only goed into a spot that smells like the sucky water that mom said dad drank when they first met. I've got to be careful though. The first door tried to bite me, but it didn't do very well. Hopefully, this one doesn't bite too." He finally looks back at the servant,
"Oh, I'm sorry Miss Faeriefolk. Is this yours? If it is, then I'm sorry, I did not mean to trespass. Could you tell me where this way goes though? I won't tell anyone and I'll be sure to keep it a secret if you want me to. I'm good at keeping secrets, usually because I forget them and then don't talk about them and then forget them. Why does it smell like sucky water in there though? Is it because it goes to your secret garden glen place? If it does, then can I see it?" His rapid string of questions finally slows as he realizes he hasn't given you time for a response. Nonetheless, his opportunity of getting to meet a Fae has his rapt, eager attention.
The Kuthona Rat fiddles with the damage panel for a while, picking out shards of wood and stone embedded in the point of impact. He then reaches into the hole and feels something metallic. Grasping it, he gets his fist stuck as he tries to pull out of the slowly widening hole. "This is not what I thought a grapple was, I thought it was something like a green apple and people had just gotten tired of saying green. Weird. This also explains why the captain had mentioned something about wrist links when I asked him about what grapples were and what flavor they were. Grrr- ouch! My wrist is linked now. Ugh." He scowls at the small smear of red on the edge of the hole in the wall where he chafed his wrist raw. "This grapple doesn't taste good. It made my hand weep. How was I supposed to avoid eating grapples again? Secret password something or other. Hmm..." He ceases his struggles as he attempts to recall the words he's supposed to recite whenever he, or one of his troops, try to eat grapples. "Library Cookbook? Living Quarter? Libelous Comment? Oh, right. ♫∟ſß≡╔Δ♀ſ₪の €۞ɯɯΔ₪⊅♪!"
DC 16 Spellcraft: He cast Liberating Command.
The Kuthona Rat finishes meandering his way through the orchestra, much to the percussionists' relief, finally making it to the far side of the room.
"So, which one of these light stick holders is the lever? It's got to be one of them because this is a ballroom. Since there aren't any balls as far as I've seen... then that means they must be in one of those secret door things like in the stories. It can't be a ball room without balls. I mean it is round, sort of I guess, but it is not really all that ball shaped. But I'm not a wizard so, I can't fix that. But I am good at opening stuff, and closing stuff, and falling, and healing, and making friends, and undying people, and petting kittens..."
The Kuthona Rat notices the return of the Twins and pales a little beneath his mask. After breathing deeply for a moment to steady his resolve, he steps behind the entry doors.
Those who are within 20' of the outer perimeter of the room, the Winterdrake, and those who make a Perception vs. DC 27: He begins stealthily inching his way around the outer perimeter of the room, away from the Twins. He carefully moves through the outskirts of the crowd when necessary and eventually into the rear ranks of the orchestra itself. He occasionally glances back warily at the Twins to see if he is being pursued.
The masked servant peers into the restroom and sees that the Kuthona Rat has removed one of the mirrors in the room and positioned it directly across from the other one. He now is seated on the floor, staring into the center of the mirrored reflections of reflections. His breathing is steadier and he seems calmer. An open hip flask is on the washbasin shelf. Upon noticing that someone else is here, (which him noticing this is a miracle in and of itself), he speaks slowly and deliberately. "I'm okay Mr. New Person, thanks for checking in on me. I'll be out in a minute, I just needed a quiet place to think for a moment and clean away the plum. The noise was loud like the other times. Lots of other times and places and people and monsters and times and places too. Not apple clocks. Plum clocks. Anyway, do you like reflex ons? I like it when reflexes are on instead of off, because reflexes do not look as beautiful when they're off. I can never seem to find the center of them though, my head keeps getting in the way..." He suddenly stops as he has an idea. He speaks excitedly,
The servant sees the mirror lift upward from the ground and replace itself next to the other one on the wall. The flask subsequently levitates up from the shelf and tilts sideways for a moment before closing itself and coming towards the servant at waist height. The door he had been behind until now suddenly opens and closes. Moments later, the Kuthona Rat winks back into sight near the end of the hallway, returning to the ballroom in a dignified manner once more. Spellcraft DC 16: He cast Vanish.
The Kuthona Rat frowns at his cards, "I am no longer barren of barons, I now have the Baron of Barons. This is quite the dilemma, do I go for the win or do I thank Mr. Swordsman for reprimanding the Merchant by playing Prince Ess? Seeing as you're a dark knight man in black armor from the same place where my mom got me my fan from, I guess that surrendering would be a front to your honor. I play Munchausen, the greatest baron of all. Thank you for the good ga--" He cuts his sentence short and leaps from his seat as the Twin's chair explodes against the wall. His cards land face-up on the table, The Baron and The Princess. The victory is forgotten though as he cowers underneath the table. He babbles incoherently to himself, but some phrases can be heard intermittently. Panicked monologue spoken at an inhuman pace.: At this point, he finally calms down enough to excuse himself hastily to flee to the nearest restroom to compose himself without being a public spectacle. Unfortunately, he was too distracted to focus on the Merchant at this time, but will likely be pleased and amused by the costume change once he calms down. "Nononononono not bats not that. The lady in fire the fire the lava. A whip stops the spell. Run fast on the bridge; grab the wasp, don't let go! No no no! The fire bridge, gone, why? Falling dark, learn to fly, must fly! Why can't I fly?! The colors. They're wrong. Mustn't panic, I can't die yet. Death isn't permanent. I can fix it, I know how. But I need more colors Lady Rose, I need more colors than just seven. The bridge ran away from fire. I am falling So many stories to tell, ten stories. Can I tell them all? Can I speak their colors?" He continues rambling while his eyes dart frantically, he covers his ears to block out a sound nobody else can hear.
"...Sea witches are not like sandwiches, big difference. Save Prince Ess from her evil twin. She wasn't there for my symphony. Synergy, sinfully, some phony, somebody else, full of lies. Angry dead men. His fat head burst and was full of worm, that's not right. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why was there blood? I see blue red blue jumble blue green blue yellow blue purple blue in you go blue white black gray eight chronosadistic seventy. So why won't the fan work? Is it working? No statues don't care about fans. Statues have no fans. The dead have no fans. The bugs have no fans. Then they burst and stone rained rained rained down on the earth and I fell down falling falling down down down. Don't read the words or speak the poem. Tricks and traps are not apple words. The knife, 'Oh happy dagger, happy happy dagger.' Too happy, wants me dead. Killed the Ess. Half man Half Ling. Why the Ess? Just a child. So cold, did I take my medicine? I thought I took it, I must have took it. Am I with drawers? I hope not, normally not plum. No plums, plums evil. All clear sir, not all clear. Safe is not safe in the safe. The poor soldiers, goblins civilized success, but the man wanted them dead. Why why why? I trained them and they were good. Why hurt them? Don't hurt them! I'll take the fall and I'm falling falling again. Do I still have magic feather? Make me fall less this time. Less. Less. Slower, to not hurt me, not falling. I don't want don't want don't want to die yet, not my time. The clock is wrong, it lies. All the clocks are lemon and pineapple. Don't let me fall off the bridge Lady Rose, don't let the bridge run away away, let me grab the wasp instead. But no, I fall, am I dead? No? Good."
The Kuthona Rat may be wary of the the sudden anger in the Merchant's demeanor, good thing he is great at gauging a person's emotional state and behaving accordingly.
He pauses to breathe for a moment before continuing, "They are sisters, because there are two cards with Mrs. Ess on them, that means they're twins and since twins have to be related and they are both ladies, that means they are sisters. They are also probably sisters in the convent where they live together. I don't know what god or goddess the sister Esses worship, probably something grape, pomegranate, or rose..." His voice trails off as he hears the Masked Cat approach and speak.
"I could not help but overhear, when you made your entrance, something about a cat. A friend of cats is a friend of mine, if you will forgive my poor pun." He begins to respond before visibly wincing at the Merchant's sudden outburst at his liege. He turns back to the Merchant scowling,"Some ecognomeix policy, infersucture is needed to allow the prophets to work, otherwise they cannot do proper worshipping. Money spent on the people is what allows the ecognomey to keep working. And another thing, conquering is not something to be discussed in polite company, particularly in front of the sovereign of this land. I get that you are lemon right now, but at least pretend to be apple in front of a lime. Oh and I'm barren of barons."The Kuthona Rat breathes deeply and retrieves his hipflask, taking a hearty gulp from it before turning back to the Masked Cat, Long, Rambling Speech Spoilered for your convenience:
"I'm sorry about that Lady Cat, hmm..." he pauses as he struggles to recall what you said. Several seconds pass before you prompt him again, "Oh, right. A few weeks back I was on this adventure, I don't remember where, but there was this island and we were on it. This one summoner guy, Reddus? Wreatheus? Rethus? No matter. Anyway, he told me I should buy a pet to help fight in combat since I don't generally attack stuff. He had this snakey thing with him named Deedrick. Deedrick is strong, he also plays well with goblins, but that happened weeks before then. So as I was saying, just a couple of weeks ago, I was on my way to this place called Pathfinder Society. I'm not actually a member of them, but the commander seems to have convinced them that I can help them even if I don't fight like most people would think I should. My mom and my commander had sent me on another field trip to help them out with finding paths into weird places. This time it was into a magic picture No-Gin carpet on the wall of their basement. Well on my way there, I went behind my house and I saw a kitty. He is a very pretty kitty with black and white stripes. I called him over and petted him and fed him and then he followed me. So I brought him with me to the Society place. I must have been late because I arrived at the point of all of these opening talks where the leader person asks the question about if we have questions to give. So I held up my kitty and told them I had found a kitty and asked if I could keep it. And all of the scribes and the leader guy just stared at me all plum, like they were scared. Then they didn't want to pet my kitty that they said was not a real kitty and that made him sad and then they wouldn't let me take him with me into the magic picture No-Gin carpet. Eventually, one of the scribes to my kitty home for me to be cared for by a ranger friend of theirs while I was gone."
He finally pauses to breathe before finishing his speech. "That brings me to tonight, my mom said I wasn't allowed to bring my kitty to the house here because nobody else likes kitties and that the lady in the letter said she was 'all or jick' so I couldn't bring him. Otherwise, I'd show him to you and you could pet him. Anyway, yeah I'd love to be your friend Lady Cat! He smiles beneath his mask and the articulated jaw moves in a similar manner.
"Oh my gosh the ceiling is gone! It's snowing!" The Kuthona Rat gasps as he gawks in awe for almost a minute, giving no indication that he even sees the Winter Drake. He eventually shakes his head and looks at the card that was given to him. He immediately shifts his gaze to the card played by the Merchant. While staring intently at it, he begins to talk to himself. "I don't like doing the same thing over and over and over and over again, but this card isn't the right shape, it is lemon. I remember when this one guy at a wedding I went to the other week was lemon. He kept shouting about love and lies and I had to calm him down until he was no longer jealous of the lime wedges and was apple like everyone else. Sorry Mrs. Ess, but you've got to go now otherwise the ceiling won't come back. Say hello to your sister for me." As he finishes his rambling monologue, he plays The Priestess face up on the table and nudges it toward the Merchant.
Heal, Sense Motive, or Alchemy check DC 15:
You can see from the dilation of his pupils that this guy is on something. Heal or Alchemy check DC 25:
You can tell that whatever he's on, it is likely hallucinogenic and that he is medically dependent on whatever it is. Heal or Alchemy check DC 50, or DC 20 if you dealt/used/treated narcotics 80 years ago:
Linguistics or Sense Motive < 26:
You cannot find any rhyme or reason to his rambling. Linguistics or Sense Motive > 26: You cannot find any rhyme or reason to his rambling.
The Kuthona Rat takes his seat at the game table after handing off the pie he brought to one of the kitchen staff to be placed with the rest of the desserts. After which, collects his first card. He then absentmindedly reads it to himself in Celestial, "Напиши мені в приватному порядку, якщо ви можете зрозуміти, що мова. Я скажу вам відповідь там." After a moment or so, he receives his second card. He stares at the pair of them for an agonizingly long time, mouthing soundless and senseless syllables. "Well, I guess I'll have to play the one with the name I don't know how to renounce. I'll play Mr. Quiche," he says as he proudly plays the Marquise face up on the table.
The front door is opened by one of the doormen to allow a venerable human woman entry. She hobbles into the foyer wearing a threadbare Taldan tabard and leaning heavily on a pair of canes lashed together with scrap wood. She hacks loudly to clear her throat before pursing her lips and whistling a raspy, bugle-like fanfare. "Presenting, my darling son, a herald and flag-bearer for the Taldan Phalanx, as The Kuthona Rat!" She pauses a moment before lowering her voice to a more confidential tone, "Please excuse the boy and his behavior, I made some unwise choices in my youth, particularly while I was carrying him." She sighs as she hobbles over to the side and ushers in a young human male whose pale skin glows with an otherworldly light. Wearing a breastplate with the number 12 emblazoned upon it, an elaborate steel headpiece, and an ornately furred and articulated mask of a white rat. The eyes behind the mask are emerald green and heavily dilated. In his hands he is holding a pie and at his side is a large fighting fan. "Is that my cue? Okay thanks, mom," he says with an almost lyrical quality to his voice as he strides forward. The crone calls back as she shuffles away, "I'll be back to pick you up later tonight okay? Behave yourself, remember to take your medicine, and please do not ask anyone if you can go get your cat. He is not allowed in houses. I love you." Her voices fades as she departs. The Kuthona Rat waves farewell for a moment before stopping as if to grasp something, but clutches at empty air. After another minute or so, he turns back towards the festivities and sets the pie on a side table. The sashes suspended from his shoulder-spikes and the long, flowing, teal cape that he wears billow behind him as though by a timely gust of wind. After this he retrieves the pie and enters the ballroom. Spellcraft DC 15:
He cast Prestidigitation. Knowledge Local DC 15: He looks like a facsimile of a Decemvirate member. |
