Garif sees the tense exchange between the two venture-captains and scratches his head a moment, muttering, "What is up with those two? Dwarves can get sideways as readily as anyone, but they are really something." He turns to seek out his companions, to see if they've got any insights to share based on what they've learned at the party, but inadvertently steps on the tail of a large, pink-furred wolf that Nico has been quietly growling at for several minutes.
The creature lets out a pained "Grrraaaarrff!" as Garif jumps back, apologizing profusely to the wolf and the even more oddly-colored gnome standing at its side.
Vinius flinches as the pink-furred wolf lets out a pained yelp from being stepped on. She glances at Garif and then shakes her head.
"We are so bad at this," she mutters. "Don't even like animals, really. Should've taken security detail..."
Laying a gentle hand on Nico's shoulder, to discourage the massive cat from chasing strings of paper lanterns, Garif approaches the taciturn woman in red and blue and says, "Not to worry, I know how you feel. Not much of a talker either."
Vinius at first eyes Garif with both wariness and weariness as he approaches...but at the dwarf's remark that he, too, isn't usually one for conversation, the corners of her mouth twitch a little.
It's almost as though she's wanting to smile.
"Dwarves usually aren't."
Then, "Thanks. It'll be faster if you hand them to me."
Not that Garif actually volunteered to help but she does have a point - it'd save her the trouble of having to repeatedly step up and down from the stool she's using as she moves about the room.
Iovo grabs a drink of her own from the goblin. Seeing that her sister is already welcoming the creature, she decides to go see if she can help with some of the set up.
She goes up to the dark haired woman stringing up the lanterns. Smiling brightly, she asks “Would you like any help with that, miss? My name is Iovo, and that” with a gesture in Damiar’s direction “is my twin sister Damiar.”
The woman glances up from her task and studies Iovo - and Damiar, when Iovo gestures her way - for a moment. After a pause, she simply shakes her head.
"Thank you but no," she responds quietly. "I'm almost done here."
She then returns to her lantern-stringing, without even so much as an introduction.
"Look, sister! The door said 'powder room', and he looked like he really had to go. Besides, now you can have that taxidermic chimera made for the tavern's common room."
"Taxidermic-what do I care about that!? I'm not even supposed to BE here today! Only came in because they had to have the extra help," Vinius exclaims, continuing to grumble as she slowly gets to her feet.
"Come on, we gotta get this cleaned up..."
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When Lauranna hurries back outside to the place that the inn's stables used to be, she finds a dazed and smoking Vinius just sort of sitting on the ground amid the wreckage and bits-o-critter. As other people begin gathering around to see what's going on, the woman slowly looks up at Lauranna.
"Told you you should've let me get the drop on that ape..."
She looks around at the carnage and shakes her head.
"What sort of person lets their ape smoke cigars, anyway?"
"Oh! Hum...Altha didn't say, did he? I suppose that means that while I may not be out of a job that I may not have to go back to work right away," Akarah remarks cheerily, her light flickering impishly. "And I'm not the only one who works here at the Great Library anyway. So if Altha didn't say, I think that means I'm okay to tag along with you guys for a little longer!"
Akarah gently orbits Valais' head, her light flickering with a soft, golden glow.
"It isn't your fault at all, Ms. Valais! And don't look so sad. I know things here seem overly strict to you and some of your friends but I promise that Altha will listen to what they have to say and take it seriously. So all isn't lost yet!"
The lantern archon zooms forward, weaving around each of you.
"Now come on, it's time to return to the Great Library and see your task to completion!"
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"Answer any questions he puts to you as honestly as you can," Akarah answers promptly. "And don't leave anything out. Even the smallest details can be important!"
As the Hivetender flies away, Akarah takes a moment to fly low and gently breeze through some of the nearby flowers before soaring high into the sky and returning to you. Her light flickers a multitude of colors.
"You've done well. Once the Hivetender returns we'll be able to repair Valais' soul and that will account for all three of the fragments that escaped from the Great Library," she remarks. Though it should be a joyous thing, the lantern archon's tone is subdued somewhat.
"Then we'll need to return to the Great Library for...for your judgement. I can't say for sure, but I suspect it will be done as a trial and you'll have the chance to speak for yourselves and make your case to him. Do you think you're ready?"
"Hmm...in this case, I think so," Akarah responds, her light flickering a rather pale gray to match her thoughtful tone. "Miss...um, Miss Hivetender? Do you think you can help keep an eye on everyone else for a few minutes while I go with Zithembe?"
"They're not supposed to be wandering around without an escort but I can't split into six different directions!"
"Akarah," the lantern archon corrects Maria. "Ankarah is my cousin. And no...no updates while you were gone, I'm afraid," she sighs, her light dimming for a moment.
"But I'm sure *someone* will spot Valais' soul soon! We don't usually have misplaced souls wandering about in Heaven so she's sure to attract notice, wherever she went," Akarah adds brightly, her light glowing a warm yellow again to match her optimism. "And going back to Heaven's Shore is a good idea! Let's hurry!"
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@Effie - Yep, no problems with saying that you recover your grit.
"Oh yes, as much as I think we'd all love to stay, we should be off," Akarah agrees as she gracefully swoops through the crowd. "Oneol, thank you so much for your help! Maybe we can come back later and watch your show, once all of this is settled!"
The archon's light flashes a pale, pleasant green. "The Unbent Forest isn't too far from Heaven's Shore so it won't take us long to get there. And it's a pretty walk along the way, so that makes it even better!"
______________
Akarah listens intently as the conversation progresses, though she flashes her light with some distress when it seems that an argument is imminent.
"Please, it's okay," Akarah insists. "I should have asked more about the ritual you were wanting to perform. That was my responsibility as one of the keepers of the Great Library and I failed. Altha is right to be displeased with me."
There's a bit of a pause, as though the lantern archon wants to say something but is having trouble conjuring the right words. Finally, she sighs.
"Um...I know it isn't easy for a lot of mortals or even beings from the other planes to understand, but your friend Zithembe is right. Actions have consequences and words have consequences, even if there's no malice behind them."
She slowly orbits around each of you as you continue your trek back towards Heaven's Shore. "Hasn't there ever been a time where you did or said something to hurt someone else but didn't mean to? But ultimately you hurt them, whether you meant to or not. Most people can forgive if the intent was good but...sometimes, some don't. The offense was too big, hurt too much. And as the wronged party, they have the right to decide if they're willing to forgive or not."
Another pause.
"The Outer Sphere is vast. There's a place for everyone, somewhere. Heaven may not be the right place for everyone but that doesn't mean their only other options are, um, Hell or Abaddon or the Abyss," Akarah adds, gently. "Kitarlo hails from Elysium, you know. It's a...wild place, full of untouched wilderness that stretches as far as the eye can see. And beautiful, in its own way. Hepsubia, I think you would like it there. Maybe you too, Effie...? Hmm."
"And there's Nirvana, respite for souls seeking enlightenment or redemption. Not quite so orderly as Heaven but not quite so wild as Elysium. A middle ground, you could say. Parison's gentle spirit would fit right in," she chirps, her light now shining warmly. "So...I wouldn't worry too much about your own souls. They'll go where they're meant when the time comes."
"In the meantime, we've got some demon souls to find and I know you can do it!"
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In the interests of being realistic I'm going to count one more round of bleed damage once the ritual concluded before you guys started patching yourselves up, since everyone was too busy talking to worry about bleeding everywhere :3
Zithembe had managed to stop his own bleeding right as the ritual concluded, and thus only suffers 1 round.
Hepsubia: 2 points of ability damage to one score, your choice
Effie: 5 damage, 2 Int damage
Zithembe: 3 damage, 6 NL damage
Parison: 2 damage
Rumble: Good
Maria: 3 damage
"Akarah," the lantern archon is quick to correct Parison as she comes zooming along after you as you file out of the Great Library. "Akarak is my twin brother."
You're not sure if she's joking or being 100% serious.
She floats along, her light dimmer than usual, though it brightens a little when Rumble expresses concern about her own situation. "I...don't really know. This hasn't happened before. I suppose it will be up to Altha and maybe even Winlas himself," she remarks at last. "Maybe if you do a good job of putting everything back where it needs to go and if I do a good job in helping, they might go easy on us all."
As Parison poses a rather difficult question to his friend Rumble Akarah slows her speed just a little bit, as though interested to hear the dwarf's answer.
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I'm going to wait until probably tomorrow to push us along proper; partly because it's still the weekend for a few more hours, partly because the site was down most of today anyway, and partly because I don't want to rush moments like these too much :)
"They...they speak the truth, Altha," Akarah offers up timidly, her light flickering a rather pale, sickly green as she speaks. You're not exactly sure when she joined you all in the small chamber. Her tone and choice of words are noticeably more formal as she addresses the particularly high-ranking archon.
"Kitarlo led them here but they had already procured entry tokens as required. So I let them in. They told me what they wished to do and I helped them find what they needed, as any proper librarian would do."
Akarah comes zooming over as you all begin to scatter about to look for Kitarlo's remaining tome.
"Oh! You're all back already," she chimes, her light flashing a cheery yellow color. "Looking for Destruction and Creation? It should be somewhere in this area but I think it may have gotten moved around since my last shift or I would try and narrow things down for you."
She swirls around, clearly happy to chat a bit as you search.
"But yes, we have all manner of tomes from all across the multiverse stored here! Winlas, the Elder of Divinity, oversees the Great Library and so we keep a record of every sacred ceremony in the multiverse in an effort to fight the evil caused by their profanation," the archon explains. "In case you were wondering about Heaven storing books relating to chaos!"
"You bet I can!" Akarah chimes in, her color shifting to a bright sunshine yellow. "That's why I'm here, after all!"
"But um...for you fine folks, ah...you'll want to split up, I think," she continues, sounding a little anxious. "You see, the Great Library wasn't really built with mortals in mind and so the configuration tends to...shift. Often. So maps wouldn't stay accurate. And I wish I could go with you and help but I'm afraid I can't, I need to stay here near the entrance and study area in case we get more visitors. I'm very sorry..."
"Oh! Of course, that one should be easy," Akarah replies, her light flashing merrily. "You’d be looking for-"
The lantern archon stops as Kitarlo shoots her a rather meaningful expression.
"Ah, yes, I understand. Well, please let me know if you need any help as well! Otherwise I need to wait here at the entrance, in case we get more visitors," Akarah remarks after a pause.
As each of you take care to present your token to Akarah for verification she offers a sympathetic chirp as Hepsubia gives voice to some of her discomfort.
"Please don't worry, dear heart," the lantern archon replies gently, her light shifting to a pale, sky blue. "You aren't the first visitor to Heaven to feel a bit out-of-sorts here and you certainly won't be the last. If you got this far then I promise you have nothing to worry about, okay? I mean yes, there are rules to follow but I'm sure they aren't any more unusual than the rules in your own homeland, right?"
"O-oh! Sketch...me? You want to make a sketch of me?" Akarah repeats, continuing to accentuate each word with a flash of light. "Um, um, um...yes, of course! I would be flattered," she responds, the color of her light slowly shifting from pale pink to candy apple red as she does. It seems that even a lantern archon can blush if it tries hard enough!
"And I've always had this form and flying just comes naturally. You've always had your legs - isn't that right, Sir Dwarf? And you had to learn to walk but the desire came naturally, yes? We archons are the same way!" the lantern archon adds, slowly orbiting Rumble's head. "That was a good question to ask! I see why your people are known for their craftsmanship," she adds, sounding pleased with Rumble's curiosity, rather than offended.
As the rest of you make your introductions and explain the reason for your visit to the library, Akarah begins swooping about excitedly.
"Oh! I can certainly help you with that, yes I can," she chirps. "My knowledge of this particular wing of the library is encyclopedic! For the ritual you wish to perform, I recommend these tomes:
The Luminous Libram found down aisle 4A-Y.
The Slates of Klador in aisle 6L-K.
Asaru’s Grimoire of the Planes on the ninth annex.
The Tome of Stars and Moons within the condensed astrological directory.
Elgar’s Forgotten Compendium in the tall stacks.
Incunabulum of the Ages in the lower reaches sub-basement 2J.
"They should have everything that you seek. Remember, your six hours will start now but please feel free to return here to the entrance; there are plenty of tables for you to sit and study at!"
