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Down in the Puddles district stands an old Tien man whose incredibly long hair wavers gently above the waterline. He wears a waterlogged set of clothes, seemingly pieced together from refuse bins. In behind him sits a large basket, containing priced baskets and as a sign with a number of foreign scripts, that all read the same phase he yells as he peddles his wares, "BASKETS FOR SALE." The languages on the sign include Aklo, Tien-Shu, and Taldane. The only metal object he appears to own is a bucket, upon whose edge hangs a crab.
The man, if spoken with, pauses briefly and intently observes the individual. He then joins the conversation, believing himself to be one of a number of individuals. On occasion, he thinks himself to be the person with whom he speaks and denies all accusations of identity theft. Pathfinders who keep abreast of others would know he is registered as Tsusuko, agent of the Silver Crusade.
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A small, mousey looking man in the robes of a cleric of Sarenrae trudges through the alley, almost leaning on the man sized velociraptor walking at his side.
"Clear this place, out, fix the walls, an entire island to live on and no one can do a damn thin..." even for this part of town, the old man doesn't seem to be doing well. He shuffles out of the robes, standing in just a pair of breeches. He takes out a book and speaks in halting tien xi
" H.. here. Take this. you wet. catch cold. get dead. no more spell today. "
"i.. if i may make a suggestion to increase your custom?"
"Baskets: Perfect for handing random items to perfect strangers without being noticed"
Trust me.
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A tall Shoanti in a long surcoat and tricorn walks by the motley assemblage. His beard, decorated with shells and bits of driftwood, and long hair move constantly as if underwater or moved by an unseen breeze. His eyes dart first in wonder to the clawed beast clad in leather; but rest on the crab clinging to the bucket as a look of puzzlement crosses his face. He looks down to the bucket in his own hand and then to the bearded man. He doffs his hat to the old man, causing his hair to ripple as if it were a pool into which a pebble had been dropped, and grunts what might be interpreted as a greeting.
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The Tien man's eyes open in shock as he sees a fellow bucket. He takes his crab and places it on his head. He then stands up to his full 5'9" height, lifting his bucket. His eyes then turn to his comrade's bucket, only to turn to the Shoanti's face. He then raises his head to an upward position, raises his hands to the sky, and loudly pronounces a large amount of gibbering dialogue.
His arms then drop and he returns to his seated position.
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The Shoanti man shakes his head and replies in Taldane. "Nope. Didn't get any of that."
He pulls a rune-covered crab dripping wet from his bucket and places it on his shoulder, his hair moving out of the way on its own accord.
"Not putting him on my head. But it looks like you've more than a man's share of years.. that your secret? Crab hat?" He laughs heartily at his own comment.
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Tsusuko pauses again, as if remembering something. Then, seemingly forgetting what he was pondering, he takes a small, lidless basket and places it over his bucket, pushing his crab into the container.
The man picks up the bucket, stands, and presents it to both the Shoanti and Hermean. In perfect Taldane (and obviously attempting to mimic the Cleric in both voice an posture): "Baskets. Perfect for hiding crabs from random strangers without being noticed." He then chortles loudly, losing his imitative stance. He resumes it immediately after laughing.
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Tsusuko's eyes glaze over a little before blinking back to reality. "Tsusuko? Who is that? I seem to recall going over this topic with you once before; I am Jander, Cleric of Sarenrae," he says to the Aasimar, in a calm tone.
However, the crab has far less to say. All it does is snip its pincer at Doyle, attempting to teach it the first lesson in Strength; "Don't expose weakness."
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:ohs.. "you know this gentleman?" hmmms.. "I think i got hit by this spell once. I was in velociraptor form and the party didn't even notice something was wrong for about a weAAAAAAAAHHHHHh" he says as the crab snips his overly large nose.
The raptor following him gives a rasping chortle, and follows the flailing crab while licking his lips.
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Wow and I thought my personal training profession was out there.
This guy's a whole party unto himself. You must make a fortune in day job results. The only drawback would be four times more likely to be sent on a suicide mission (*cough* I mean carefully selected by a venture captain for an important mission) for the Lodge.
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Jander smiles at Tsusoku... or whatever name he's currently going by. "Of course you are. Well met once again, Jander. May the light of Sarenrae keep you safe."
To Doyle: "Yes, I know this man. He seems to have a good heart, although he is... disturbed. As far as I can tell, he is not suffering from any magical afflictions. I am not yet powerful enough to repair his mind, but I hope to one day help him. Perhaps he will even serve Sarenrae of his own free will - at least, that is my hope."
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"Crabs!" A young, scythe-wielding, silver-haired boy charges into the group. "I love crabs! They're so cute! Some lady once asked me why I was so entertained by the Galtan Pox, but I had no idea what she was talking about. She insisted I follow her upstairs for a demonstration, but I had to decline. My friends were preparing to leave the city."
Pokes at the crab's hard shell. "Heheh."
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"Prattle on in heresies? Though he says he is me and his sense of self must be broken, I have seen this man do much good on Her behalf! You speak as if you're possessed by some foul outsider!" The Tien man raises his arms in a manner like his Angel-shaped holy symbol. "O, Sarenrae, rise from your throne in the sea and make the demon begone from this poor soul!"
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Jander takes a step back... to see if Tsusoku's "spell" clears the mind of the newcomer. "Thank you for the compliment... ah... Jander... The sea? I don't think that.... oh, never mind..."
Jander then addresses the newcomer. "Are you well, sir? You appear as if you serve the Lady, but you seem to need a reminder that our goddess promotes the virtue of honesty. What vile heresies do you speak of? If this man leads the youth to Sarenrae, who are we to question his tactics?"