"I would always be happy to swim with you," Nime says with a smile. "Why not now?"
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Calendula sighs and shakes her head. "Ain't no way around it, kid; I been like this fer twenny years, and it's just getting worse an worser. Yer right, I think, my sickness is transformin me, but the transformation ain't mean I ain't sick. If nothin else kills me, this will, I promise you. And I know this, cuz I remember the day this happened to me clearer than most things in my life. 'Twere no accident, Rudrik, that this poison fills my veins."
A slight breeze picks up and she buckles over in shakes and coughs. "Let's go inside," she chokes out, "if'n we're gonna talk about this. I'll light a fire."
She continues up the hill toward her farm whether Rudrik follows her or not.
---
Calendula's house is small and bare, with no rugs or decoration. By a stone hearth is her bed, piled high with blankets, and a wooden table with a bench and two plates. Opposite the bed, there's an impromptu kitchen consisting of just a wood-burning stove and small counter, stocked with a barrel of salted fish, a basket of vegetables from the yard, and a single keg of weak, sour mead.
Upon entry, she removes her shield and hangs it above the mantle, placing her sword just under it. Kneeling down, she sets about making a small fire.
"D'you mind startin one in the stove?" she asks, shaking. "My body don't produce its own heat anymore."
Once both fires are roaring and the room swelteringly hot, she seems to loosen, move less stiffly, though she doesn't undo her many scarves. She pours herself a glass of mead, grunting once to ask Rudrik if he would want one.
With effort and pain, she sits down on the bench, facing away from the table, and leans in close to the fire.
She sips her honey-wine in a strained, choked silence. "I already told ya how I left Lastwall," she reminds him, "but I think a little more context would make this clearer. Now I only ever told this to Nime, an I only tol her once, so don't go blabbin, okay?"
Her eyes pinch in concentration and she begins. "I weren't born so much as found, right? My mothers were Vigilants, Paladins of Iomedae on the frontlines in the war between Lastwall and the orcs. They told me they would pray every day to be blessed with a child, and then one day they found me. There I was, naked and screaming and crying in a battlefield in a patch of calendulas- marigolds they're called over here. And they rescued me. Took me and fed me and clothed me, raised me as their own. Now this might be a little far back, but I tell ya this cause I need you to understand, Rudrik. To my moms, I was a miracle, a literal miracle, a sign from God that their faith was rewarded. They prayed to the Inheritor and I came to them as a gift. And since I was given from Iomedae to knights of Iomedae in a country based around her worship, I was raised from day one to belong to her."
She pushes her hand toward him, showing him once again the sword and shield burnt into her palm. "I gave my Oaths when I was six years old. As a child, I knelt before the Watcher-Lord and swore I would die defending Lastwall, and had those promises burnt into my flesh. My moms were so proud, they," she sniffs and blinks away a tear, looking away. "They gave me my sword. Said to practice with it, learn to appreciate its weight and the responsibility it carried. I spent my whole life learning, kid, an when I was jus becomin your age, I received a Call from my goddess. I was sure of it; nothin had ever been so clear in my entire life. Iomedae needed me to join in the fight at the Worldwound, to cleanse Sarkoris of its abyssal intruders.
"I figg'r'd it'd be like everything else, right? Like my whole life. Iomedae demanded my service, asked me to die not where I'd promised her initially, not fightin the orcs like I'd grown up doin or protectin the world from the undead legions of Tar Baphon like them Knights of Ozem, but at the front lines in the battle 'tween Good n Evil. I thought they'd be proud of me."
Calendula's body shakes as she sobs, large heaving breaths punctuated occasionally by wet coughs laden with phlegm. She blows her nose into the fire and wipes her eyes on a scarf before continuing. "Sorry," she murmurs. "It's just- hard."
With a deep inhale, she continues. "My mothers and the Watcher-Lord all refused me. Said they had lost too many paladins to the Worldwound, that too many young idealists from Lastwall like myself joined the Crusaders from Mendev and not enough stayed back to protect our lands. I took my sword, the sword given to me by my mothers when I pledged my Oaths in service to Iomedae and Lastwall, and cut through the Marks, there, in front of them. I go where Iomedae calls me, I said, and I left. I've never seen my parents again, Rudrik. They probably think I'm dead." After a moment she gets up and sits on her bed, placing her cup on a bedside cabinet. "And it's better that way," she mutters.
"The Worldwound was horrific," she says, bluntly. "I'll spare you the details, but it's how I got most of my scars. An after five years there, I just had too much. My men and me, we were pinned down, under siege from demon cultists and their pets. One of them was just a kid. A little girl, like I had been, brainwashed by her parents into following their religion and charging blindly into battle. She stabbed my lieutenant in the gut and he died, and then she turned the knife on me, Rudrik. That was it for me. It was too much. Barely alive, I pulled myself away and fled. I left my men to die there, and I never turned back."
She stands back up, pacing. "I could feel it as Iomedae's favor left me. My body grew colder, weaker, duller. My will and courage faded, and most notably, I could no longer call upon her divine radiance to staunch my wounds. I bled freely, hot sticky blood, from all over my body and I marched myself into exhaustion, until I fell down and couldn't get up. I had to get away, kid, wouldn't let myself die there.
"And whether it was cuz of the foul, Abyssal poisons in the air and water or if it was Iomedae's last gift to me, it don't matter, but when I woke up, I was alive. I was alive an my wounds were closed, scabbed over black, an my body was cold. Ice cold. My bones ached and it hurt to breathe. I knew then, knew intimately that this was the price fer my cowardice. This would be how I died. Twas just as my mothers told me: nobody escapes the Worldwound. That was 19 years ago, kid. It hurts worser and worser every day, and I just-" she swallows and stares at the wall. "I just wanna make sure this place is safe afore I die. It's been kind to me, an I owe it that much."
----
Calendula arrives at the inn a little after Nime, having spent an hour in the morning doing some chores around the house and garden. It had been a whole week since she'd been out on the water, she must get around to it soon.
"Why would ya go runnin at a time like this?" she says, intruding on Nime and Shenuska's conversation. "Morning is for chores and contemplation, not fer exhaustin your body."
"That's why I prefer swimming," Nime says with a smile. "Swimming's relaxing. And you can even contemplate things while you do it." Her brow furrows. "Unless, of course, something tries to eat you. It's always annoying when that happens."
She steps close to Calendula and hugs her close with long arms. "Good morning, Sweetie. Did you sleep well? Did Rudrik stay with you?"
You gather at Creekside in the morning for breakfast and some conversation. A few hours later, Jana Gildersleeves finds you. "Okay, it's done," she says quietly. "Only Mozamer loyalists are left down there. I'll show you the way in."
Jana leads you to a storage shed behind the tavern and opens the door to a chute that contains a dumbwaiter on a pulley. There's also a ladder along the wall of the shaft, though, and you use it to descend to a door to a cellar. Frosty kegs sit among three wooden shelves covered in a thin sheen of ice. Bottles, jars, and packages of perishable food sit in organized rows on the shelves. The air is crisp and chilly.
Jana points out a hidden door along the southern wall. "There it is. Good luck, mates. I'll be waiting to hear of your success up above!"
The secret door opens onto another storage room with numerous well-preserved and stocked wooden shelves. Grains fill some of the jars, while fruit, bread, and cheese can be found in baskets and other storage containers here. Three doors lead out of the room.
Shenuska seems unaffected by the cold, although her flesh, between the long coat and the light tunic she wears, is pimpling slightly with the cold. Seeing the room and the many doors she frowns slightly as the air around her ripples and seems to cling to her for a moment.
She points to the left-hand door and makes a questioning motion.
I'm just more of a 'run every other day' kind of guy." he admitted before the psychic left. And, despite his insistence on some degree of restraint, he still found his eyes following Shen's rear as she left.
"Though if ever I needed motivation to expend my regimen..." he muttered to himself before ducking back into his room.
Theo nodded in agreement with Shen as a similar magical barrier formed around him, albeit he had to make a few gestures with his hands first.
The door opens onto a hallway. To the north is a storage room filled with grains and dry foodstuffs. The hall ends at a blank wall, but a careful search reveals a secret door here.
Having located the secret door Shenuska removes her goggles and gestures to Rudrik. "It's here." She highlights the outline with a gentle blue glow and a wave of her hand. "Safe to open?"
Rudrik does not discover any traps on the door. Beyond it is a posh, wood-paneled lounge adorned with a couple of finely crafted tables circled with plush leather chairs.
A hulking, muscular woman and an equally buff man relax here, gossiping and sharing a few drinks. As soon as they notice you, though, they leap to their feet and grab their ranseurs. "Hey! Who are you? What are you doing down here?" the woman demands.
Hearing voices ahead raised in anger, Nime frowns and pulls up the breezes to protect herself.
"We're here to dosband your group and depose your leader." Shenuska says calmly. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"As a matter of fact, we do."
"Too bad!" says Rudrik. His gladius easily slides from the worn sheath and he stabs at the cultist on his left.
"Argh!" The burly woman snarls in pain as Rudrik's blade stabs into her. She steps back and brings her ranseur to bear, flying into a rage! Rudrik dodges her thrust. The other bruiser grabs a potion from his belt and drinks it, disappearing!
Calendula rushes in behind Rudrik and swings her sword, her arm fluidly moving like an eel.
"Jus lie down and make this easy," she murmurs
Moving into the room behind Rudrik and Calendula, Theo channelled raw heat into the burly woman's weapon, forcing her to drop it.
Shenuska waits, magic thrumming at her finger-tips.
Sara slices the woman with her sword, badly wounding her. She yelps in surprise when Theo makes her ranseur glow red-hot, but she manages to drop it before she can get burned.
Nime hobbles through the doorway to see the single opponent.
"What peculiar weapons," she muses aloud before leaning in to Rudrik to pass along mystic wisdom.
"Thanks Nime!"
Rudrik bounds into conflict with the remaining henchman and lets loose a heavy slash of his gladius.
The woman takes the hit stoically. The other bruiser becomes visible as he attacks Calendula. Despite Shenuska blasting him with magic missiles, he impales the bloodrager. The first woman picks up her ranseur, flanks Calendula and stabs her again, dropping her!
Calendula pushes her sword through the woman, dropping her.
Without pause, she whips around and slices at the man with her rusted, bloody sword.
Surprised at the other fighter appearing next to him, Theo quickly channelled energy into his spear and stabbed.
Nime steps closer to Calendula and like a tall, awkward fairy, taps her with her wand.
Calendula and Theodric quickly bring the other man down!
"Hey, I think I've smelled this whiskey before. It's pretty good!"
"I suppose everyone from here on is going to react like that." Shen says flatly. "We'd best get straight on with the fighting in future I think, rather than give them a chance to grab weapons."
Calendula shakes her head when Nime asks if Rudrik stayed the night. "Nay, the boy and I jus talked. Says he thinks I ain't sick, but tha I'm becomin sumthin." She coughs and follows the crowd wherever they go.
Fatigued as she ever is after battle, Calendula kicks the stomachs of the two dead people in distaste. "Sneak up on me, I'll show you. Who's still here and who wouldn't lissen, eh?"
She taps her sword and shield together to gain everyone's attention and points at the door. "Shall we go on?"
Tall round tables line the walls of this spacious ballroom. Dark wood paneling and crimson curtains cover the walls, and crystal chandeliers shine their twinkling light throughout the space. Two doors exit from each of the east and west walls, and a pair of arched openings allow exit to the north. The southernmost door on the west wall is swung open, and the southern door on the east wall hangs ajar. The southeastern corner of the room is draped with a heavy red velvet curtain.
A pair of gangsters with clubs are engaged in a sparring match with two of the twisted, malformed creatures you've previously fought in town. Sweaty and energized, the men seem nonplussed by your appearance. "Ha! Intruders! Looks like it's time to put our training to good use!" one says. The fleshdregs snarl and begin to amble towards you!
Shenuska closes and bathes the men in a spray of colours!
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought he would stay with you. I know you get cold and I feel bad that you were by yourself." She gives the woman another hug. "I'm staying with you tonight."
Nime is much too distracted with the grandeur of the ballroom to pay any attention to the denizens.
"My, this is so elegant," she says, her head craning back to observe the chandeliers.
Both men's eyes widen before they slump to the floor, unconscious!
Calendula blushes, her black blood rising and making her face cold and dark, and she scratches the back of her head. "He helped me light a fire, I was fine. But thank you, I s'ppose."
Unbothered by her earlier wounds, she rushes in, sticking her sword in one of the creatures in much the same way as she has done to the ones she has met before.
Stepping a bit into the room, Theo figured the creatures could use a little warming up. Flames leapt from his fingers into the one next to Calendula before leaping again to the second creature.
Calendula slices into the nearest fleshdreg with her sword. It dodges the worst of the flames, but it's still enough to drop the malformed monster. The fire leaps to the next fleshdreg, but the magic falters against its resistance, leaving it unharmed.
Rudrik makes a wide arc around the remaining fleshdreg, setting up for the possibility of a flank with Callie.
Rudrik deals a glancing blow against the remaining fleshdreg. Frost fills its mouth as it bites at the half-orc, but he blocks its attack with his shield!
Calendula takes a step closer and lays low the offending beast, pushing her sword through its head.
Nime totters across the large room. Her eyes still wander around the rich decorations surrounding her, but she's now realized that there are enemies here.
She pauses her steps near Calendula long enough to whisper to her.
Calendula's strike slays the fleshdreg. It's a simple matter to knock out or kill the unconscious thugs.
As the others in the group gather the gear of the fallen thugs, Nime, again, seems occupied with the extravagant room.
"Can you imagine the dances held here?" she says wistfully. "The people. The music. Oh, the music."
She stretches her arms out and tips her head back as if listening to the music of the past.
"I don't think there's been a dance here for some time." Shen responds drily. "We should keep moving. We've been lucky so far that the hasn't been too much noise!:
"Yes, but the dances were probably wonderful."
She looks around again.
"I wonder who built this place originally. More people should know about it. When we're done, we need to let Garleena and her brother know about this place. They could hold dances here again. It would be enchanting."
"Well, we can discuss future renovations when we know this place is secure. For now, let's see what's through there."
Theo gestured to the other door that was on the same wall as the one they entered by before heading over to carefully peer through.
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Darkly stained wood paneling lines the walls of this comfortable lounge. A long bar stretches the length of the western end of this room. Three tables ringed with chairs fill the rest of the space.
Three gangsters sit at the bar while a hideous humanoid serves them drinks. The creature lurches on back-bent, dog-like legs, its hideous mouth flanked by tiny arms with three-fingered hands. None of them seem to notice Theo peeking through the open door.
"You need to stop being so weak," the creature is saying in a throaty, feminine growl. "Instead ceding power to others, you should take all you can from them!"
"Society's a bit more complicated than that, Gezrevan," one of the thugs replies.
"Society is a farce," she counters.
When Theo reports back on what he's seen, Shenuska nods.
"Sounds like a sinspawn." She says. "Nasty creatures. But weak willed. I'll try and engage its mind in a duel. When you see it freeze up or start yelling - attack!"
She moves forward slowly until she can see the unpleasant thing and then lashes out with her mind to engage it in psychic combat!