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Veryna quickly wolfs down a small plate of bacon and eggs before joining William at the door waiting for the others. I hope we're not too late to save Verus and Branda... She signs to the others, Quickly. No time to waste. Dern's warning against the forest was most dire.
Veryna shrugs and signs back, You can aid me while I tend to myself. Her signs are awkward and slow; she is only now beginning to get the hang of the language they'd been developing, but she is pleased to see she's not the only one making progress.
After tending to herself, Veryna ushers Astrid out of the room and begins her morning ablutions. Strange noises can be heard from the room for the next fifteen minutes; eventually the kayal steps out and heads downstairs for breakfast. While eating, she goes over the unidentified potions and chalice with her magical senses.
Cacodaemonia. Lovely. I will die an idiot. Par for the course, I suppose. She feels oddly comforted knowing what the disease is. The fear of not knowing is what kept her awake. She is able to fall straight to sleep after that.
As she lies on her bed in her room, Veryna cannot sleep. She tosses and turns restlessly, before finally sitting up. She throws the covers off of her and begins looking over her body, checking for bruising, looking in her portable mirror and checking for discoloration in the back of her throat, and scouring over the site of the cacodaemon's bite; her magics have mostly healed the wound, but indentations still remain that could tell her something about what she may have contracted from it.
Veryna chews her lip. William: [b][i]Dammit! They did exactly what Dern warned us against doing. There is nothing for it. We must set out first thing in the morning. We're no good to them banged up like this.
Veryna closes her eyes and groans, nodding vigorously. William:
Chain and blade, yes! Please. And a bath. No magic in the world is going to fix this level of gross. I do worry about that cacodaemon's bite, however. I felt unclean afterward in a way that... well. I am unused to the sensation being so unpleasant. She spends a few moments to cast prestidigitation and mending on her dress, then returns the spiked chain to its place around her waist with a small, pleasant gasp before turning to the others and making an inquisitive gesture toward the inn. She is ready to leave this dreadful building behind. William: We should probably inform the constabulary tomorrow of what we discovered in Flinn's house. They probably want to know that someone is keeping wicked Outsiders in their home, prisoners or otherwise.
Veryna frowns at the items. William: Strange items for each to have a copy of. Why this particular unguent? She pauses. Wait. Didn't you say those creatures that attacked you were undead? Were they wearing servants' livery?
Veryna hands the vial and silver bar to Zazu. William: Unguent of timelessness. Very handy for preserving corpses, but also works on wood, paper--anything that was once alive and is now dead. It preserves it, so that an entire year affects it as if only a day had passed. Helpful for keeping corpses from bloating before they can be properly interred.
Veryna steps into the room and checks the doors.
Veryna checks over the door to the servant's quarters for any more unpleasant surprises.
If she finds it untrapped and unlocked, she swings the door open and steps in.
Veryna shrugs. William: Did we miss any rooms?
Veryna walks around the room, scanning the shelves carefully for anything interesting or out-of-place.
Veryna frowns as she enters the room. William:
This just doesn't make any sense, mishka. The lab seems to indicate someone other than Flinn was here relatively recently, but the guest room has not been used and there is blood in the master bedroom. I don't know what to make of this. Perhaps... perhaps whatever hurt Dern and threw him in that dreadful hospice was not Flinn? Perhaps... Flinn is dead, and something wears his likeness? She growls in frustration. None of it makes sense. She scowls and moves into the guest room. She gives the room a once-over before moving to the door and checking it. Assuming both are clear, she will wait for someone to open the west door of the guest room.
Veryna hands the potions over to Will and Zazu. William:
These are elixirs of last will. Drink them and if you fall in battle, the magic of it will aid your allies in ending the fight quickly so we can revive you. I think these may come in handy in the near future, but I'm not sure if you should drink them just yet. I'll leave it up to you. She moves to the other doors and checks them.
Assuming she finds nothing at either doors, she will give the all-clear and wait for either William or Astrid to lead the way.
Hands a little shaky, Veryna draws out her thieves' tools and sets to work.
Veryna frowns and inspects the blood stain.
She then thoroughly inspects the locked drawer.
Veryna's soot-gray face becomes a little more ashen. William:
I... do not think the creature's bite was entirely clean. But I'm fine for now. As to why those things were here, they're not a trap, I don't think. I know traps, and this doesn't feel like one. Felt more like a... prison. Like they'd been locked up. She shrugs and moves to the "secret" door. William: I'm willing to continue looking if the rest of you are. I have few spells left, but my chain spikes are sharp enough.
Veryna takes the wand to Zazu and Astrid.
Veryna steps back from the cacodaemon trying to eat her face and locks eyes with it. The aberrant magic in her blood sends out invisible tendrils from her body and caresses the daemon, causing its flesh to ripple and distort.
Feeling utterly useless, Veryna moves around Zazu and the trap door to approach Astrid, drawing the wand as she goes, and touches the monk to heal her wounds.
Veryna scowls and throws the same spell at the creature, hoping a second time will be the charm.
Veryna looks pointedly from Zazu to the several open windows, then back to Zazu, and rolls her eyes. She looks at the cacodaemons and her ashen skin becomes even paler as they vanish from sight. Nine Hells, you have got to be kidding me. Veryna calls a spell to mind, and readies it for the return of the creatures.
Veryna quells a surge of panic at the bite and tries to recall what she can about the creatures. William:
Cacodaemons! They're nasty creatures. No vulnerabilities, but they take less damage from any weapon that isn't holy or crafted from silver or mithral. And tell Astrid to call on the earth genies. They are resistant to all the elements except acid. And... I think their bite carries disease. I... do not feel well. She steps to the side and lashes out at the one that bit her with Shivertouch.
Veryna glances at the others with obvious trepidation, but finally shrugs. Shivertouch firmly in hand, she throws open the cabinet.
Veryna glances worriedly at William, spiked chain at the ready. She cautiously approaches the thumping cabinet and looks it over, checking for locks, traps, or any other unpleasantness it may be hiding.
Veryna glares at Astrid and follows behind her into the attic.
Veryna shakes her head ruefully as she pulls out the wand. William:
This is what I'm talking about. No idea where my brain is. She taps the swashbuckler with the wand.
She grimaces at it with a look that says What the Hells?, shakes it a few times, and tries again.
She grunts in an unladylike fashion and shakes it harder, accidentally smacking William a little too firmly on his shoulder to activate it.
She shakes her head and shrugs, seeing most of the rat's wounds closed, then taps herself.
She sighs and puts away the wand. William:
Bloody thing must be clogged or something.
Veryna staggers to her feet and helps William up, initiating mental contact as she does. William: Flay this whole cursed f+&+ing house. I have missed every trap Flinn has set for us. I'm losing my edge. Sorry, mishka.
Veryna shrugs, unable to find anything else useful in the room. She does step over to the attic door and inspect it.
Veryna steps cautiously into the room, peering around at all the equipment.
Zazu: Hmm. Flinn has had visitors. And clandestine ones, at that. Otherwise Verus and Branda would have known about it.
Veryna cautiously opens the door, letting William go first but staying close behind, watching for any more nasty surprises as they move.
Veryna nods at Zazu and places the chalice and journals in her handy haversack. When they reach the south door, she holds an arm out to stop William. Zazu:
No, wait. The one time I neglected to check for unpleasant surprises, one was waiting for me. Let's not have a repeat, yes? She then checks the door for traps.
Veryna turns over the chalice in her hands, washing divining magic over it to study its auras, but finally puts it down in frustration. Zazu:
Dammit. I can't make heads or tails of the energies on this thing. Care to give it a go? She looks over the artifacts and old journals carefully, then shrugs. Zazu: I don't think these items are particularly useful, but they are worth a fair copper. Two hundred gold, to be precise.
With shaky fingers, Veryna takes a few deep, steadying breaths before picking up her thieves' tools and trying again.
Veryna rises shakily to her feet. Zazu: What... ugh... What did I miss? She glances at the bodies on the floor. Those are new.
Veryna coughs violently, shudders, then falls back to the floor, snoring lightly. She may or may not be drooling in her sleep.
Veryna shakes her head with a small, frustrated sigh, unable to determine the slightest information about the chalice aside from its school of magic. Zazu: I cannot make heads or tails of this chalice, but it is definitely magical.
Veryna raises an eyebrow at the swashbuckler and points at the stairs leading up with a small smirk. She inspects the case curiously, running a hand just over its surface, focusing her divine power to hunt for magical auras.
Veryna steps up to the flowers and inspects them. Odd that there would be flowers here. If Flinn were living here, surely Verus and Branda would have known of it? She sets the thought aside for later and gives this room a thorough once-over.
Having no interest in games, Veryna moves to the far door and inspects it.
Veryna shrugs at the party as if to say, which one?
Veryna, chain and buckler at the ready, swings the door open and steps inside, alert for danger as she takes a good look around.
Veryna's eyebrows rise appreciatively at the sight of Flinn's house. Zazu:
He has certainly done well for himself. She pulls a few arcane strands from the aether, weaves them into a complex skein before her, and a rippling wave of force washes down her body before fading from sight.
She uncoils the shimmering length of faintly greenish spiked metal around her waist, shivering slightly as the barbs remove from her flesh, then touches William's shoulder gently. William:
Whenever you are ready, mishka. Once the party moves forward, she assesses the house's exterior for threats.
Veryna shakes her head sternly at the tengu. Zazu:
There was no need to throw guilt at the bartender. He is respecting his friends' wishes. She taps a finger against her lips. I suppose I do have a few spells left in me, if you wish to check out Flinn's house tonight. I doubt we will find any clues to the whereabouts of Branda or Verus there, but we may learn some things. But I do insist we wait until the morning to go visit the prisoner. I doubt they'd allow visitors in the middle of the night anyway. Veryna strides over to Astrid and makes an inquisitive gesture toward her chalkboard.
In a small, neat, flowing script, she writes, Willing to look at Flinn's first? Have spells left, and wand to heal. She hands the board back to the monk with an inquiring look.
Veryna rolls her eyes at Astrid's chalkboard and sighs. *** Back at the inn, she frowns at the bartender's words, turning to the others. Zazu: This bodes ill. I do hope they haven't left for the forest, but the timing is far too coincidental not to think so. Still, it would be foolish to leave after them without knowing for certain where they went. I suggest we rest. If they have not yet returned in the morning, we should go inspect Flinn's home and see if any clues lie within.
Veryna nods politely at Roani's offer. Zazu:
We could always use a bit more coin. Once we speak to Branda and Verus, we'll see about looking into the haunt. For now, I think it's best if we hurry to them and relay Dern's warning before something happens to them. She taps her lips thoughtfully, looking as if she wants to add something more, but finally shakes her head slightly and keeps her peace. |
