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Believer frowned, considering. "I don't trust this place enough to be able to rest here. The main trouble is that our magical resources are about tapped out. We can't endure another haunt like that." She holds the bottle of pills up to the light. "I'm willing to try these, how about you two?" She asks her fellow casters.
She tops herself off as they make ready to explore further.
Believer gives Maccha a tight smile, shuddering slightly at the strain, savoring the suffering as the life link sustained her companions. She laid hands on herself to offset the damage as they recovered.
"That might need to be the end of our exploration for the day. I did not expect this abandoned manor to be the greatest challenge that we have faced thus far, but no cache of weapons is worth spending our lives in search of."
Believer's bond as the chosen of Milani protects her from the more sinister effects of this malevolent spirit's echo. With her friends in retreat, she decides her service would be better applied in checking up on them. She backs out of the room looking to where her friends have gone. Tessa seems fine at the moment, so she ends her life link with the summoner and bonds it to Llewela who seems to be struggling. She draws breath through her teeth as the link pulls at her life force to sustain her two friends. "Don't fret, I can keep them alive until they shake this off." She assures the worry-prone Tessa.
Believer draws her quarterstaff and takes a swing at the apparition, unfortunately she only manages to chip the tile.
Believer moves into the room with her Detect Evil active to try and smite the source of the commotion. Hand extended, she tries to Lay on Hands vs the woman and/or the bloody tub.
Believer shakes her head, indicating that she is struggling to make sense of it all too. "These capitalizations of the Guest imply it is Mephistopheles, or something posing as the Arch-devil. And descriptions here match what we saw in the engraving... But how would it come to be engraved if everyone was killed? Has it happened more than once? He writes, 'This was supposed to save our family.' Did the arch-devil twist the bargain into a sacrifice? Drive the family mad until the turned on each other? I've no respect for devils, but doesn't this seem off somehow? What could be gained by manipulating your servants to murder each other? Devils thrive off entrapment, not sowing chaos..."
Believer mirrors Llewela, grabbing onto Tessa and holding her back from sitting at the table as well.
"Agreed, but let's take what precautions we can." Believer lays a hand on each of their shoulders, establishing a Life Link on the both of them. "There, that should allow me to mitigate any damage you take, from each other or anything else."
Believer helps to calm Maccha after her scare and upon hearing her description, shakes her head in apparent... disbelief. "Milani's Thorns! What is it with these noble families? Are they all so... murderous?" She found her self oddly grateful she had been abandoned as a babe. She scrutinized the skeleton, looking for signs of magic, evil or that it might be undead.
Believer keeps up her ability to detect evil as she scans the way ahead and then moves into the room heading toward the southwest doors.
Believer grimaces in distaste at the blasphemous taunt. "This is more than a haunting, something else is at play." She continues to scan for auras of evil or magic as they continue on, moving to Maccha's side as she checks the next door.
Believer pats Tessa on the shoulder. "We'll act with caution, but we can't let fear suppress us into inaction. That's like locking yourself into a prison of your own making. You might feel safe, but you are still not free." She establishes a Life Link between Llewela, Maccha and herself, just to be safe as she follows along, detecting for magic and evil.
"Just be sure not to eat any stew..." Believer mutters as she detects for first magic and then evil, her glowing burgundy eyes roving over the kitchen, making sure to focus on the burning oven.
Believer winces as she watches her friend take the blow from the slamming door, then listens as Llewela's voice rises in panic. She wasn't sure what was going on in the other room, but she didn't want to see Maccha face it as hurt as she currently was. She chants the prayer of holy healing and gently lays her hand on Maccha.
Then she steps to the lever she noticed earlier and warns her friend before she pulls it.
Believers eyes widen as she notices the imminent danger and her voice rings out in Celestial as she hurls herself forward. "Move!" she cries, hoping to shake Maccha out of her shock before she can be hurt.
Believer thinks back to what she heard about the family who lived here as she moves up beside Maccha. "Word was that they were rebellious against Thrune themselves. Though not because they were opposed to the evils of diabolism... More likely they were dabbling with things even the Thrice-Damned House would frown on." She said, grimacing at the mere idea. She casts detect magic and looks for signs of Evil lying in wait here as well.
Taking a moment to refresh guidance on Maccha, Believer draws her longspear and quietly steps into the hall, scanning the way ahead with detect magic as well as detect evil.
Believer was shocked by the events as well and asked the pair to describe what they experienced. "Sounds like something terrible transpired here." Her burgundy eyes glow with reddish light as she activates her goddess-granted ability to detect evil. She takes the time to invoke Milani's guidance as they pause for healing and discussion. "Llewella, can you offer up prayers for increased resistance to the influence of such spirits?"
She moves to the southern door and listens motioning to Aoede to do the same at the northern.
"Sounds good. Milani's guidance be with you." She says, the casting all she can really do to help Maccha with the locks... and on herself for keeping an eye out.
"We could certainly try. Though leaving them guarding an empty cache has it's appeal too. Either way, I think it's worthwhile to try and find our way through the Tiarvayne manor." Believer said considering the options.
Oh man, I hope that everything is okay. :( It will be, but was definitely serious. His gallbladder was dead and gangrenous. When I got mine removed it was an outpatient procedure, but he was in bad shape and has been in the hospital for 5 days. Word is he's being discharged today so fingers crossed!
B put in the time, buying drinks and toasting to the health of everyone who would speak with her. She was pleasantly surprised by how forthcoming the people were with her.
"It's a good thing we came here first. Word is that they've got the crypt staked out with snipers waiting to ambush anyone who comes to retrieve the cache. Though if they knew where it was, I don't understand why they wouldn't just reclaim it as well. Fortunately, there may be a way to access it through a neighboring manor."
Believer gives Tessa a pat of reassurance. "May as well, this turned out to be much ado about nothing. But at least we didn't need to break up any fights."
Sorry to report but my laptop has crashed. Trying to troubleshoot but my coverage has expired so if I can't fix the problem, it may take some time before I'm up and running again. I will keep you posted.
Seeing that her friends have everything well in hand, B just absorbs the scene.
Believer plays along with Tessa's distraction and carefully redirects anyone with a pugnacious look in their eye back to the golden haired performer.
"Hey now, do you know how hard it is to get her to perform? You wouldn't want to hurt the girl's feelings now would you? Look at that face! C'mon, clap along now. There you go!"
Believer spends some time strolling about the common room, detecting for magic, poison and evil, though trying to be discreet about it.
"Sounds like magic to me." Believer suggests. "Confusion, maybe?" She asks, looking to Tessa who was the only arcane caster she knew. "If it's some evil being worked on your patrons, I might be able to get a sense of it... or protect them from it. Has anyone been seriously hurt?"
Believer was still too disillusioned by what living souls were capable of to be shocked by what a soul condemned to Hell might have to say. But she supported Tessa as best she could. She found it heartening that the girl was finding her own voice. Rage... against the dying of the light. She thought idly, remembering the snippet of verse. "Something to salve a broken heart..." She ordered from Setrona. "And tell us about what's been troubling you."
Believer found the drizzle appropriate to the situation. It was as if Kintargo herself wept for her fallen. She turned her face up to the sky, letting the drops mingle with her own tears. Her answering smile to Laria was weak, but she allowed herself to be soothed some by the friendly faces and warm, delicious smells. "Let's have some rose petal tea with lunch. We need to carry hope inside us this day." She ordered for the group giving Maccha's shoulder a squeeze.
To Tessa, she says "We should probably check on, uh... Blossom. Without Rexus to keep an eye out, we might do better to bring her along when we head out again."
Believer aided Tessa's song as best she could, but honestly the chorus of sobs served just as well.
Then, she made an effort to compose herself but her voice still quavered with grief as she began to speak. "Today we bring a child of Kintargo to her final rest. She may be unnamed, but she is not unmourned. Death came too soon for this little Mouse. But in death, may she find the peace and freedom that eluded her here. Milani, we pray, take her up and give her the comfort we were too late to offer. Her blood stained these streets which were her prison, may she frolic in your Garden and bloom in joy evermore."
Believer gave a heavy sigh but was not remotely surprised. She'd named herself, after all. Tiefling orphans tended to go by street names usually given by each other. "Time to rest, little Mouse. May you nibble sweet rosehips in Milani's Garden." She murmured, gently stroking the small corpses brow. She nodded to Zea to lead on, gathering the body carefully again for her final journey.
"Can we find out if this child's parents are still alive," Aoede asks as she and Tessa continue to hold Believer and comfort her. "Th-they should know." Believer composes herself, gently wrapping the child's body for transport. She grit her teeth at Tessa's innocent question. The child's birth parents had probably abandoned this little one to the nursery like the rejectamenta they thought all tieflings were. That's what Hell's Nursery was for, so the nobles didn't bear the stigma from the consequences of their diabolic dealings. But that didn't mean no one cared. "We'll ask Zea..." She said simply, her voice thick as she gathered the bundle up in her arms like precious treasure. She hoped they could at least find a name to sanctify for Milani's rites.
Believer recovers her own tooth and restores it to its proper place, then lays hands.
Turning to see what the others have found, her breath catches in her throat once she realizes what they are looking at. She moves closer, activating her ability to detect evil and magic, the tears well up in her eyes and spill down her face freely. Her memory flashes to when she was this small, huddled in a dark place, beaten, bloodied and broken. But no one came to help this foundling. No one soothed their tears with warm hands, no one healed their wounds. Then her eyes fell on the chains and her vision swam, she collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath that did not seem to satisfy her need for oxygen. She reached with a shaking hand that recoiled in pain when she touched the cold iron. "Sh-shackles... Maccha, please... take off the shackles." She sobs desperately.
Believer curses again, thoroughly annoyed by the challenge of striking the tiny creature.
She takes a step away from it this time, drops her spear and draws her quarterstaff.
Believer curses in Celestial, sounding like a bell being kicked across the stone floor. Unable to bring her longspear to bear in such close quarters, she punches the tooth thief with her spiked gauntlet instead.
Believer casts Divine Favor on herself and continues to lead the way in pursuit of their quarry. She peers ahead with her darkvision and draws her longspear to be ready to attack.
Believer gives a weak smile, understanding this was the girl's way of offering comfort. "I think perhaps the reasons for our actions matter less than the actions themselves. My feelings are complex about this... It is not guilt or blame, exactly. My kind have been shut-away here, as if a face like my own does harm to the eye that must look upon it. And to live and work outside this pen, I painted my face to hide my nature. Even at the protest, I disguised my features. I had many reasons for doing so, safety, to go unnoticed, sometimes even to be able to treat and heal those who would be too wary of me otherwise. For my own good and for theirs, I thought. But it occurs to me now that hiding my face implied something else... an unspoken agreement that a face like mine should go unseen. And I fear I have allowed myself to do what was easy as opposed to what was right." She said with a somber tone. "But the past is done. I can only be more mindful from now on. It is all any of us can do." She finished, giving Tessa's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Bee," she begins quietly. "You're a healer, right?" Believer kept her voice down as she replied, "Yes..." wondering where the line of questioning was going given that she had healed Tessa before.
"So what if you and the people here look different from Tessa, Maccha, and Llewela? You're still people, aren't you? We're trying to make Kintargo better for everyone." Believer's stern determination softens, "That you say it like that. As if it's a truth so plain that there can be no doubt... it means a lot. I do indeed want a better Kintargo for all. But look at how tieflings are treated. Cast off, penned in, now hunted on the streets... dare I say it? Culled! It's clear not everyone feels the same." "My adoption by Father Blom afforded me greater opportunities than my kin. Safety, education, love... True luxuries that those who struggle for basic survival never know. I could have extended those advantages to others. Instead, I turned away from this place. I let myself be drawn into the work and lost touch. I will do better."
"It's not something I do well, either. But the Hellknights and that witch certainly seem interested in the murders. Maybe they checked wherever the fey are making their lair." She said, doing her best to follow the tracks.
Believer rolls her eyes theatrically over the outpouring of concern. "That's very sweet, but you're all missing a key point here. Several, in fact. One," She holds up a lavender digit topped by a cruel looking black nail, "I am far from defenseless." She jingles her chainmail to punctuate the fact as she continues to tick the points off on her fingers. "Two, I can heal myself faster than you can draw a weapon. Three, the point of bait is to draw out the danger and spring a trap. That's where you four would come into play, hidden nearby and watching for the moment to spring. I would only appear to be alone. Five, Aoede would only be useful in this role if Tessa were willing to expose her to harm, which we know is a load of hot fertilizer. She'll do herself harm before she'll bear to see Aoede endure so much as a paper-cut. We've seen that for ourselves." She said, arching a challenging, pierced eyebrow at Tessa. "Which actually places Aoede at greater risk of destruction than simply falling to her wounds since her life is tied to yours, but I digress." She drops her hand, ceasing her counting. "But finally, and most importantly, none of you are tieflings and we are what these things are hunting." She shakes her head sadly and with more than a little shame. "Hunting my kind while I have been sleeping in a comfortable bed, having coffee and pastry and painting my face to hide it from the world. You are all good people, but I have a greater stake in this fight. If it comes to it, it will be me." She says this last with fervor, her burgundy eyes glowing with her passion and conviction. "So lets get to looking, because standing around and bickering will only waste time."
"I, uh, somewhat." she says nervously, waving a hand around the inside of her 'clinic'. "I don't have any magical healing powers or anything, just my own two hands and what supplies I can scrounge up..." she finishes, hoping not to disappoint. Believer smiles at the young tiefling with warmth. "You are describing ninety percent of what all healers do, day in and day out. I will see about keeping you better supplied, once we've dealt with the business at hand. But it looks to me like you've been doing a fine job." "I'm inclined to check the most recent site first, just because there is a higher chance of there being something left to actually find. But yes, tightening our search to this central area seems our best bet." She was quite willing to try her hand at the lone tiefling as bait option, but the others did not seem keen on the idea, so she shelved it for now and waited to see what their search would turn up.
Believer was being too cautious to intuit much about the scene. What's with the bugs? She wonders idly.
Turning to Zea, "You mentioned that this was your clinic, and she called you chirurgeon. Are you a healer, Zea?" Eager as she was to talk shop with someone she had so much in common, she turns back to the subject of the murders. "I think Tessa has the right of it. If we can see a map of the Nursery and mark down where the bodies have been found, we may be able to identify their hunting grounds and bait them out. Fortunately, if they are so keen on tiefling prey, I can serve as the bait. And give the little blighters ample opportunity to bite off more than they can chew." She suggests as a plan of action.
"Don't worry about us. Protect yourself!" Believer cautioned Zea as she followed Maccha as quickly and quietly as she could manage. Her duty tugged at her, but she had to trust that it was not yet time to fight such foes. Protecting the innocent was the priority and connecting them to their rebellious conspiracy was no way to do that.
Believer looks up at Llewela, "Bites? Show me."
She tries to guess if some creature might be responsible for the deaths.
Believer takes care in her examination, praying for guidance and detecting for evil, magic and even poison. She winces at the state of the body's mouth. "By Milani's Thorns, I think the poor girl was tortured. Why would anyone do such a thing?"
"Five murders!" Believer cries in dismay. "So many... Yes, please lead on Zea, just as soon as we are all ready." As Tessa heads toward the door, she lowers her voice as she mentions "Maybe tell your little friend to stay away from the others and no more pranks." It was worrisome to leave the Imp behind, but hopefully some orders from her Sarini would keep her contained and the others safe while they were out.
"The Night of Ashes claimed many valued citizens." she says aloud. "It falls to the rest of us to step up and fill the gap they leave." Believer nods sadly, "It is true. We must strive to preserve what we still have. I had heard that someone was working to improve things in the Nursery. Had something like this Cloven Hoof Society been in place when I was a scroungeling... well, wish into one hand. Yes, I think we should look over the body for ourselves. We might be able to determine something from the examination." She halts her clinical language when she notes Zea's distress. "Was she a friend of yours? What was her name?" She gathers her things and dons the dwarf's chainmail, ready to follow Zea.
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