Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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raixel
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by raixel »

God, Ian. Thiy's having fun waving her arms around ineffectually lately ;) One thing I want to mention is I love how you guys give me a general idea of what happened based on how bad or good your rolls are (ie Thiy catching her sai in the robes, the loud smacking noise as Artaxes thwacks the lizar in her face). It totally gives me ideas of what to do, cuz I try not to control the PCs reactions as much as possible so the fact that you guys make your own reactions to obvious bad or good rolls (or even middling ones) gives me a lot more to have the NPCs react to.

The lizar's nicitiating membranes slide fully across her greenish-gold eyes as Artaxes' solid blow with his blade-flat knocks her senseless for a few seconds. The lizar shakes her head to clear it and peers around once she can see again. Thiy hopes the hole her sai's sharp point tore in her monk's robes when she attempted to spin it around and punch with the hilt isn't visible to the prone lizar. Instead, the monk hopes it appears that she was just punching the air above the downed fugitive's face in a threat attempt.

Whether it works or not, the lizar looks wildly around, peering from face to unfriendly face looming above her. At Artaxes' snarled command she drops the dagger and slowly raises her hands in the air so her wide-sleeved shirt arms fall, showing the empty dagger-hilt strapped to her forearm and that she has no more hidden weapons up her sleeves. The humans notice thick bands of inch-widescar-tissue circling both her wrists and marring the green and orange scales there.

"I am unarmed" she says quietly, sounding as if her nose is blocked. And indeed from the trickle of blood streaming from her right nostril-slit, the blow from Artaxes probably bruised or broke a bone in her blunt snout.

"You must let me go..." she pleads, sounding quite desperate. Oddly, unlike Sssaar, who's mind snapped when his duplicity was revealed due to whatever strange forces were exerted on him from the SAR symbol and strange mirror-thing inside it, this female although sounding quite frantic and desperate seemss completely in control of her senses.

She blinks and looks hopefully at Artaxes and Thiy. "They could be watching, even now! They can see all! Please, let me go! I don't want to die, or be subject to the Rite! They'll kill them if, if, I fail!" she babbles, sounding increasingly frantic.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by oh_brother »

Thanks! It can be difficult with middling rolls, cause you aren't sure if whatever you are doing worked, but otherwise it it's more satisfying to describe these things!

Artaxes did nothing to remove the obvious threat from the sword-point aimed at her chest, though he did raise an eyebrow at her outburst.

"Why don't you start by telling us everything? Then we will decide. Maybe we even help those in danger. But we need to know who is watching, and how. What is this rite? Who are they going to kill?"

"If you tell us these things, maybe we help. Otherwise..." Artaxes left the last sentence hanging, though he slowly rotated the blade to emphasise his point.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Artaxes was in control, and the others had closed in around them. Fortunately the hissar female, or that was what she presumed, had already implicated herself which would probably mean impaling herself later on as well. She had no idea how these creatures effectuated their justice but her crimes appeared to be grave indeed...

Thiy took a step back and decided to look at her robal damage. Her swing had been wild yet strong and had created a long knee-length tear. Whereas before her white stained robes had just kissed the floor half of it now seemed to sit there in a mess ready to trip her up. She picked a shuriken and gritted her teeth to continue the end of the tear, cutting all around until it effectively circled back to the start. She really loathed showing any part of her body while there were human men around and would try not to show her considerable irritation to Artaxes. With the job done she exhaled deeply as if having finished performing some kind of self-operation on herself. Fuck she mouthed as a symbol of her lack of self control.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by ian_scho »

"Kassah. What will her crimes be if she does not cooperate? If she can avert disaster to the caravan I'm sure this will be taken into consideration, ¿no?"[+]

[+] Normally when Thiy asked a question she used only one interrogation mark but in times of theatre and great arm waving she would use two.

OOC - Persuasion (1d20=11)
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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The female seems reluctant to answer Artaxes, peering around her as if she expects an arrow to come flying out of a nearby tent or unfriendly eyes to be watching behind every bush. When Thiy asks her question, the female looks at her, eyes wide. Kassah gently scratches the delecate edge of a nostril-slit as she thinks over the question.

"Well, lets see..." the pathfinder says, speaking to Thiy but purposefully pitching her voice at the female. "My sire's brother worked as a clerk in the Nobles Quarter writing out transcripts for the Justice Council. I know a bit about Makan law. Hmm....Well, Interfering with a merchant House-sponsored caravan, at the bare minimum. That means she would have to go before the Justice Council of the Ten Noble Houses and be tried for banditry, the average penalty of which is 5 years heavy labor on the bridge and road crew out in the deep swamps. But that is assuming that she are a only bandit. There is more at stake here, what with how Sssaar has been affected, not to mention the cursed item on poor Olisshan, and what sounds like Chaos worship. So, lets see. Use of dark magic to unlawfully take away the free will of a thinking being, unlawful possession of a corrupted item and the transfer thereof under false pretenses, worship and/or propagation of the worship of a dark Lord. Oh, and don't forget the rats. That would be...hmm... Probably it would be usage of a magic item for the disturbance of lawful trade."

She paces back and forth a few steps as she thinks. "Lets see, the first one is 25 years bare minimum heavy labor, the second is 10. And Chaos worship... Thats a geas-able offense, one of the few offenses in Makan where the guilty get a spell cast on them to change their behavior. Usage of a magic item to disturb trade falls under the banditry laws, so that would be another 5 years in addition to the 5 years for interfering with a caravan. Of course this is all assuming they dont just charge her with treason, of course. The penalty for treason is death." she says.

She turns and looks at the female on the ground, whose eyes have been growing steadily wider with each listing of crime and punishment. "Those are the ones I can think of off of the tip of my snout. I'm sure theres many more. But, the point is probably moot, because I bet they are just going to charge her with treason." the pathfinder tells Thiy.

The female looks frantically from person to person. "But...but.." She looks up at the sword Artaxes has pointed directly at her chest. The mercenary finshes his statement, leaving the last word hanging in the air like the point of the sword aimed right at her chest.

She looks around again, andthen begins to speak in a whisper with her eyes closed and unconciously rubbing the scars on her wrists.

"Please, if I tell you this. You must swear to protect me from them. Their eyes are everywhere, and they will know that I speak." She starts shaking uncontrollably for a few seconds, but then takes a deep breath, and pulls herself together.

"Well, for starters, up until...I think..2 cycles ago I was a nalihssk'athha in the traveller's quarter of Makan." Whatever that is, it was a great effort to admit that, and after she states that she opens her eyes and glares fiercly at everyone. "Judge me if you will, but I was barely 20 cycles and I had two kakkiss'a barely out of their shells and my mate was a worthless ahssshallk drinker, always at the local curtain-house getting drunk. Well, when Ssolia was just entering her second cycle and Ihssoss was just under his first, that worthless da'lasssk never came home. Probably knifed and left for dead in some alley over those two-copper bone-toss games he played in that filth-pit. But now I had two young kakkiss'a, no mate, and no work. Even though my mate was a drunk, he was trained as a brick-maker and layer and did pass his hssir test, so although we didnt have much, it was enough to survive and pay for his habits."

"With him gone, I couldnt feed my kakkiss'a. They cried constantly, and I could see every one of their little ribs. So what was a female like me with no skills, no family or House, to do. I could take another mate, but that would not feed my kakkiss'a today. So I became a nalihssk'athha. I worked out of the streets of the caravan quarters, serving guards and travellers from other races, or Makan lizar guards just coming home from the road. Ssolia and Ihssoss were fed, the payment to the owner of my rooming-house was made every moon-turn and my kakiss'a had new clothes every cycle. But it was not a good life, selling myself like that. I knew no mate would have me now, and it was only a matter of time until some drunken da'lasssk on the street decided that no one would miss one lone nalihssk'athha, or that he could have my services without paying. I wished to join a nalihssk'athha House, then at least I could have the protection and safety of the guards. But nalihssk'athha Houses didn't allowed kakkiss'a to stay there, and I wasn't about to give them up where they could end up somewhere terrible. They were all I had."

She sighs. "I am sorry for my rambling. But I must explain how I ended up here. It was not by choice. So, that was my life. I had met a young hssir about my age, a customer. He seemed to like me, came often to see me and payed well. He spoke as if he would take me as his ssslik'athha, take me away from this street-life. Looking back on it, it seemed odd. He had the bright colors of a noble, but didnt speak or act like one, nor did he talk of his House. I assumed he was just some young noble seeking cheap thrills, slumming if you will. After seeing him for many moon-turns I grew to trust him, to actually like him. He kept on speaking to me, that he would buy me a nice house, a sae place and I could be his ssslik'athha, and in time I believed him. So I packed up my house, told my kakiss'a we were moving to a new life and got in the caravan he sent for me."

She starts trembling again, and rubs the scars on her arms harder and harder, nearly scratching the puffly flesh until it bleeds. Her nicitiating membrnaes slide across her eyes as ahe sits there shaking. Artaxes remembers that hwe has seen things like this before. Soldiers who have seen atrocities and horrors in war. He remembers going with his unit as an escort to ransom some members of another company who were captured during the campaign against the Uxmali Priest-Kings down south, where one Priest-King was fighting another over something.

What the Guild didnt know at the time was that all Uxmali practiced torture and human sacrifice to raise mana. There were 58 mercenaries to be ransomed. They got back 34. And out of those 34, most were so broken by what they saw experienced that they retired as soon as they got back to the safe-lands. Artaxes, being an officer in that campaign, was chosen to sit with the Justicars in support of the mercenaries who were coming forth to testify about what they experienced in the hopes that the Guild would refuse to ever do business with the Uxmal Theocrax again. Artaxes remembered a grizzled old warrior, covered in scars and built like a bear rocking back and forth with tears leaking out of his eyes like a small child as he spoke of what he saw in a whisper. There were parts where he couldnt finish and had to get up and leave before being able to continue. The Guild called it battleshock, although anyone who experienced horror could feel it, not just warriors. Both Artaxes and Thiy ahve seen many refugees and peasants also suffering from the same thing after watching war and all its horrors sweep across their land.

This lizar was acting just like that as she tried to compose herself to continue.

K, theres much more to her story but Im gonna stop there for now to give you guys a chance to react to what shes said so far and to keep this post from being like a million characters long. You guys did a good job getting her to talk and said all the right things!
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Artaxes was about to let out a sneering comment when he figured out what nalihssk'athha meant, but he held back as the story progressed and her distressed state became more obvious. I must be going soft he thought to himself as he listened to her continue.

He stood by somewhat awkwardly as she broke down. "Why do they all break down after we have them helpless?' he asked aloud, shaking his head, and moving his sword slightly away from her body. "It would be a lot easier if we had these moments before they unleashed plagues of rats or tried to gut us."

He sighed as he struggled to sound consoling. "Come on, it will be okay. We will protect you, and your kids. Just tell us everything. At the moment we are unprepared, the more we know about the enemy, the better we can fight them. If they have seen you talking to us your only hope is that we can beat them, and get you to safety."
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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"Yes." in reply to Artaxes last comment "Tell us your objectives. And what is planned for the caravan?" she looks to Kassah as that would be the most important point in the path finder's mind. There were too many people implicated or affected by all of this, it was not good.

She was surprised that the fighter had changed his tact so radically. Was it a tactic? She had little to do with the lizar but his compassion surprised her somewhat. Thiy, however, was torn between two feelings. She would have wanted to help this traitor as well, and found some similarities in life between both herself and their new charge. But she could still be lying. She still had probably used the others like pawns in a game...

"And tell us how to get this accursed charm off Olisshan." she states, waving a sai in her direction.

Thiy surprised herself once more and could see herself releasing this lizar if she both had the opportunity and belief that she was not going to just consume those around her. She would keep those thoughts very deep down within herself, however.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Oh, trust me. The bad guys are *really* bad. Youre just seeing the outer ring of pawns now. There will be plagues and tumors and mind controlled freaks ahoy!

Artaxes' kind tone seems to calm the shaking female, and she rubs a hand across her snout.

"Well.." she continues. "The caravan was small, only two tiny wagons so they were going to pick me up at my rooming-house right before leaving instead of setting up at a caravan yard. I thought it odd that I was hustled in one of the wagons quickly when they arrived at my door, as if someone didnt want me seen. But, I was too excited to give my kakkiss'a the life they deserved to really think about it much. The wagon was the covered box type that nobles use when traveling."

Realizing the humans might not know what she is speaking of she guestures towards the wagons. "Like those, if they were more like a completely enclosed wooden box with a door on the back, and inside it is richly appointed with arachne silk pillows, plush carpets, and scrolls and gameboards to pass the time. Only the one I was in was smaller, and had no windows. I heard them loading my few meager trunks on top and we were off shortly after."

"The noble, who I knew as Arassshahssoth, Arass for short, told me he was taking me to be his ssslik'athha on an estate he owned in the swamps outside of Makan. I would have my own set of apartments with my kakiss'a, and when I was not attending him could enjoy the full amenities of the estate. I had no reason to expect anything different, as in the moonturns I had known him he was nothing but a gentleman to me."

"We journeyed for a few days. Arass was polite and generous at our nightly camps. He made sure Ssolia and Ihssoss were comfortable and entertained them with tales. But, when we got there, things changed. I was rudely drug out of my wagon and blindfolded, with my kakiss'a screaming as they too were drug away. I got a quick look around me before the blindfold came on and saw a crude camp. The ground was mud and there were hide tents and a few crudely made wooden buildings. It was surrrounded by a palisade. I was thrown in a room and manacled to the wall. I do not know where they took my kakiss'a, but I could hear them screaming for me as they were drug away. I lay in darkness weeping, cursing and tearing at the chains, for I know not how long. Eventually I heard footsteps. The blindfold was removed and as my eyes adjusted to the light I saw Arasss, still looking the part of a gentleman. I was in a wood floored room, manacled to the wall. There were tables and chairs and a bed, all crudely made and the bed just a box filled with broadleaf watertree leaves and a pillow made of a bag stuffed with moss."

She twists her shirt in her hands as she speaks, her voice emotionless. "I will not go into great detail, but in short Arasss explained to me that I was chosen to be a servant of him and his Lord, that in Makan I was nothing, the bottom of society and was given a chance to become something. For my service, when he ruled I would be allowed to have a place in the New Way. My kakiss'a were to be raised to also be servants of the new way, and their living was dependent on my good behavior. I would be allowed to see them if I obeyed. If I didn't, I would have to watch them be punished. I spent months in that room. Sometimes I was taken to rituals an ceremonies, after which the men used my body . Sometimes a bunch of us "servants" were herded into a room, and there we sat for hours, learning about how our world is corrupt and broken and only through the Lord of Freedom could people like us be free. At first, I fought, I struggled when they tried to use me, to fill my head with their teachings. But after watching them beat Sssolia and Ihssoss, listening to them cry for me, I stopped.

"The first time I got to see my kakkiss'a alone in my room, I was so happy as I haden't been alone with them for at least 3 moonturns. It was hard to tell being locked in that room most of the time, but I think it was 3. But all they spoke of was how happy they were that they would be able to "cleanse the corruption and give everyone true freedom". Sssolia was seven cycles and Ihssoss six by then. I asked them what they learned, trying to make sure they have been treated alright, and Ihssoss started speaking of blades and poisons and how proud he'd make the Lord when he slit a fat nobles neck in his own bedchamber! My own kakkiss!"

She looks at everyone, the pain in her eyes obvious. "I don't want to remember... After trying to escape once last cycle and being beaten and raped an nearly killed, I gave up. I became their perfect little servant. In time, they even took the manacles off of me and let me go around the camp to do chores. In time, I started to believe what they told me. Then I was trusted with a mission. I was blindfolded and taken to Kelt where I found myself in a safe house. I was to escort that self-merchant Sssar to Makan, to a safe house there, as Sssaar wasn't well. I dont know what was wrong with him, only that he was carrying something vital. We were also supposed to try and identify any runescholars on the caravan, their race, names and anything eles about them. Also we were to delay the caravan as much as possible using these objects that were given to us. I was told my progress would be watched and if I tried to escape or warn anyone Sssolia and Ihssoss would be tortured to death, and I would be tracked down and killed, or subject to the Rite."

She looks Artaxes in the eyes when he promises her saftey and the safety of her children. "Please? I'm afraid they already know. I will tell you everything I know, but it is not much."

"As for the talisman" she says to THiy "I only know what I overheard in the safe house. It was to be given to the pathfinder or drover if possible. Supposedly it works on the mind, makes whoever is wearing it very open to magical control and suggestion. THen they could be controlled, and have the drover injure the grahhssk, or you suggest taking a "short-cut", m'sa" here she nods at Kassah "where there could be an ambush in wait, things like that to slow or capture the caravan. Unfortunately, I domnt know how to get it off. Have you tried cutting it?"

"She seems lost in thought. "Other than that, I can only tell you about what I saw. I will answer any questions as best as I can. But, please. if they are watching, it might already be too late for my kakkiss'a. Please promise me you'll save them !"

She looks up at Artaxes, the bag hse was trying to flee with forgotton at her side. "Can I stand up, please? My nose hurts."

Alright, so you can go ahead and ask her any questions or whatever else you guys want to do. This is kind of importan and as I cant exactly play Artaxes in a kind of situation where you guys are asking questions to get info or doing rolls, so Ian, would you be adverse to waiting for OB to get back?

BTW< you can roll a gather info if you want hints about what type of questions to ask if youre drawing a blank there. Theres plenty of other stuff to do too, thats just a hint to get you guys started
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by ian_scho »

OOC - I'm happy to wait for the week, sure. No rush here raixel! I'll make a post now, but there is no need to move anything on until oh_brother returns. In the meanwhile I've picked up Baldur's Gate I again...

Thiy was familiar with the story she was hearing, only the names had changed. Listening to her account being retold she knew that her own experiences related to this alien creature more so than to the others in the group. Thiy was effectively an outcast like her, Thiy had been traumatised and felt abused by those more powerful than herself. But she would give no sympathy to this lizar. She broke a little too easily as well, she decided to herself. No matter. This was still not her war. However, there was a slight possibility that Thiy could redeem herself with her own branch of the cult with this new possibility that sat on the floor before her. She didn't have high expectations, however. The various branches and cloisters of her brotherhood rarely worked with each other so to reduce the possibility of any internal treachery.

"You will need to relate all of this with more detail of places and dates to the authorities when we arrive at the next city, Makan. We would do well to search that safe house upon our arrival."

She wondered, briefly, it was possible to tell if a lizar had given birth, thereby validating the lizar's motives. For some animals it was possible to tell, yet the practice was humiliating. Thiy was more cruel to herself than others however and let that thought pass by. "Tell us more about Sssaar... You mentioned he was ill and..." she casts a glance to the others for a little support "...We know why. And we'll need to check on you as well."

Finally she puts her foot on the bag, not ready to relinquish this prize. With that she picked it up to examine it's contents. Carefully. I don't want any of those alien face huggers jumping out at her :)
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by raixel »

What is with you people! Goblin tits and now wondering if there's a way to tell if a lizar gave birth?! XD ;P. Well, they are oviparous and have a cloaca instead of 2 genital openings, being reptiles. So unless you want to find a lizar doctor, I highly doubt a human could get any useful info "down there". Thanks for not making me descibe it and entertaining the crap out of me at the same time. :D
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by ian_scho »

OOC - The wife is a Vet (actually she's a meat science researcher (actually I'm a vegetarian)). So this stuff about treating demi-humans like cattle is not too difficult a stretch of the imagination for me :)
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by raixel »

Hey, its cool. I got a fascination with parasites, biology, culture, genocide, and the generally bizzare so I'm not bothered(just spent time reaserching the Khmer Rouge for the hell of it). And woo vegetarian pride! (Actually im not a vegetarian, I just dont eat meat much. My rule is I only eat meat if I or someone in my family hunts and butchers it ourselves. I think the state of farming in the industrialized world is beyond repulsive and I believe that if youre gonna eat meat you should be willing to kill it yourself.)
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by ian_scho »

I've got to ask... Is there a term for people who only eat meat that they hunt for themselves (or similar to what you mentioned)? It's time you made one up if there isn't!
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by raixel »

Hm. Did OB say he was gonna be back on Mon or Tues? I'm gonna advance the story based on Thiy's observations if I dont hear from him by tonight. Hope hes just busy or tired.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by ian_scho »

I understood that it was going to be a full week.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by raixel »

Ahh, IC. I read it as this Tues, not next. Well, Im down with waiting, I really dont want to have him miss out on such an important part.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by oh_brother »

"You can stand up" Artaxes responded. "But one false move and I will make sure you regret it. I won't be using the flat of the blade next time." He passed the longsword from one hand to the other, ready to pounce if needed.

He nodded a Thiy spoke of searching the safe houses. "There is only one way to save your children. You tell us everything - every detail, every contact, every campsite, every safe-house - and when we arrive in Makan we have a coordinated strike against the cult." He looked her in the eye as he continued, pointing at her with his index finger to emphasise what he was saying. "It is important you give every detail. If you forget to mention some contact, and he or she hears about this attack, then, well..." he shrugged his shoulders.

He turned to Kassah, though keeping the traitor in sight at all times in case she tried to flee. "Do you think the lizar city guards would be willing to attack the cult? If they have infiltrated Makan then it would be in their best interest."

Apologies for the long delay, I am back with no further disruptions (other than weekends) on the horizon!
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by ian_scho »

OOC - Oh blimey. I forgot. Next week it'll be the beginning of a 2 week holiday. The start of it shouldn't be the cause of many disruptions, but if you plan to rob my house go for the 4th to the 12th of next month!
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

Post by raixel »

YAY! YAYAYAYAY! Welcome back!

Hmm. *mental note* Save up a whole lotta money to fly over to Spain to steal Ian's TV! Yeah!


The female nods to Artaxes and stands up slowly and carefully, keeping her hands up to show that she isn't going to make any sudden moves. She looks up with interest when Thiy says she knows why Sssaar is sick.

"You know why Sssaar is sick? I will tell you what I know but I don't know much about him. I met him at the safehouse in Kelt and was told to escort him to Makan, like I told you before. He didnt speak of anything else to me. It was strange. Sometimes he would be friendly, chatting with me, asking about my life, making me food while we waited in the safehouse for our mission to begin. Other times he was prone to snap in anger at a moments notice. In the safehouse he hit me in the face once for walking in front of a window he was looking out of and blocking his view. He would also murmur to himself and giggle while rubbing his chest. But then in the blink of an eye he;d be back to his friendly self. And I know this sounds very strange, but I swear on the egg of my mother that he looks slightly different than he did in the safehouse, about 2 sevensuns ago. He is thinner, and taller, his snout more narrow and his eyes larger. I know that sounds strange, but I swear it!"

She stops as if something just occured to her. "What do you mean, check me? You think he somehow infected me with his illness? I haven't felt sick." she says, looking confused.

She nods to Artaxes. "I can only give you the layout of the camp I was in and the layout of the safehouse in Klt. This I will do, but I can't tell you how o get to either. All I know is the camp in the swamps 2 1/2 days outside of Makan somewhere." She looks around and picks up a stick and begins to scetch a map in the compact dirt on the ground. Kassah and Kassil BTW, on a side note theres a reason so many female's names start with "Kass". In ancient Makani-Zaangaardian, Kass was the word for "beauty". peer over her shoulder as she draws, Kassah having pulled her bone stylus out and copying what the female draws onto a blank reed-scroll she pulled out of her pack.

"So, it is surrounded by a palisad made of sharpened logs and covered in foliage and vines to blend in from a distance." she begins. "There is a small wagon-trail entering a gate *here*. In the back over *here* is where the "servants" are kept. Basically people like me. Whether they were tricked, kidnapped, or joined of their own free will I have no idea. We werent allowed to pseak to each other and would be severely beaten if caught talking. There are 14 rooms, although when I was there only 10 were occupied. The layout of each is basically the same. Its a wooden box with a slanting roof. The door opens outwards and can be barred from the outside witha thick heavy board. Manacles are attached to one wall, the chains long enough to allow the servant to move around the room. Trustworthy servants aren't manacled, although they are still locked in at night. The rooms contain nothing more than a table and chair, a bucket for relieving oneself, and a box-bed filled with a mattress made of leaves and moss. A tiny barred window lets in light and air. It is 2 inches wide and spans most of one wall" She unconciously rubs her horrific scars on her wrists. "I spent most of the first year in one of those boxes, chained to the wall, and never leaving unless I was to be taken to a ritual or one of their "teachings of freedom""

She examines her maps, then makes two large marks near the center of the map. "There is a large ritual chamber *here* and a meeting hall *here*. There were swamp lizar in the camp. They lived in crude hide tents scattered throughout the area, including some outside the walls. They could move like ghosts through the swaps, invisible and silent. There were also Makan lizar and some humans. They had barracks here, and here. The 5 priests each had their own quarters, They are in this area, near he center of the camp by the meeting hall and ritual chamber. The priests quarters are, of course, better than anyone else's. There is also a few guest rooms there, when Arass and others came to visit. The group was always looking for kakkiss'a. Any kakkiss'a they managed to kidnap or coerce into joining lived in this building *here* next to where the priests had quarters. According to my kakkiss'a, each kakkiss had their own small but luxurious room, smaller but as opulent as the priest's rooms themselves.. There was a shared full bathing room, with 4 large copper soaking tubs for bathing. Ssolia told me that besides her and Ihssoss, there were 3 other kakkiss'a there. " she explains.

"Please, you must help them before the completely become swallowed by the New Way!" she begs Artaxes, clasping her hands to her chest.

"Hmm. What else. Oh yes. Grahhssk pens are *here* outside the walls. I don't know how many grahhssk there are, as we servants were never allowed outide the palisade. When ever a servant was taken out of the palisade, we were blindfolded until we reached hwere we were going."

She looks at everyone as she finishes drawing. "Any questions?" Artaxes goes to ask Kassah a question, but she holdsup a finger as soon as the words leave hi smouth. "Just a minute, please. I want to make sure I get this down." she tells the mercenary as she bites her lip in concentration.

The female doesn't react as Thiy takes the bag that the fugitive tried to flee with. It is knotted shut, and the monk carefull undoes the knot. Even though she doesn't suspect anything in the bag, it is still posible that the traitor is lying, and something horrible might happen.

Ok, that was long. To keep from beng overwhelming, I'm goig to adress what Thiy found in the bag next post as well as Artaxes' question about the Makanguards. Theres a lot of info, so if anything is unclear or confusing as a player, I'll try to OOCly answer any questions. Eventually I'll make a map using Maptools, but Ive been damn busy lately
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Artaxes eyed her with suspicion."What about the safe-house in Makan, where you were headed? You must know how to get there. What was the plan when you arrived in Makan?"

"And you were blindfolded entering Kelt, but what about leaving? Which way did you come? What did you see? Did Sssaar know how to get there?" He fired off the question in quick succession, not even giving her time to respond.

Regardless of any sympathy he might have felt for the creature's plight, this would not override his focus on the enemy. Viborg could be in danger, and he had a score to settle with this group anyway.They had to use any possible lead they had, and this female was their best shot.

As a father he could understand the pain she must feel at having her children in danger, but in truth it might be too late for them anyway. If people were watching as they had said it seemed unlikely they would not carry out their threats.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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OOC - Don't forget the remote!

Thiy continues peeking at the bag, as Artaxes is in his usual gruff way of handling the situation. She had assumed that the female was Sssaar's handler, but if they find nothing incriminating then she'd be wrong. She still didn't really understand the organisations motive for sending her with him. Supposing that Sssaar was unstable then perhaps it would warrant a guardian, or just sending someone expendable with him was preferred and less suspicious than travelling alone.

"I wonder what he would have changed into." Thiy murmured while she thought about Sssaar. And why? Perhaps Sssaar himself was the important goods here.

"Kassah, please. Check her over for any charms or artefacts attached to her."

Thiy put to the back of her mind the concept of a New Way when she heard about it, to ask the female for more information later. With less people and less pointy swords around. She was interested, if not susceptible, to hear about it. Anything to change the order of things now was a step in the right direction from her point of view.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Kassah finshes her map and turns to Artaxes. "Hm.. I don't know. I know the Council would be interested in catching those traitors inside Makan. But she said this Arass is a noble. I don't know if you know this, but it is very hard for noble lizar to hide their status. Noble lizar generally have brighter scales and more defined patterns than us commoners. It is really hard to hide one's nature. It can be done with makeup or illusion to pass from a distance, but it wont hold up under scrutiny. It is usually used to portray nobles in the theater. "

The female interrupts Kassah "Pardon me, m'sa. But I can tell you, because of my....profession...that I got close enough to him to tell that his scales really were of nobility, and that he wasn't wearing scale paint, nor did I see the shimmer of illusion." she says meekly.

Kassah nods at the female's revelations. "So. He could just be an errant heir who failed his hsssir test and sought to get back at those who rejected him. But he also could be a liason for an entire House, or even part of the Council. I would hesitate to inform the Council until we know if this "Arass" is acting alone or if the corruption has spread to a whole House, or farther." she tells the mercenary.

She stares at her map for a few seconds before shaking her head. "And even if the Council is'nt affected, it can be very hard to get them to stir for anything outside of their direct interests outside of the city. Like I said before, they would be all for catching the traitors actually in the city. But to actually attack the camp...I don't think so. The only reason they even sent any units out to join with you humans to wipe out those "bandits" was because they were directly affected due to the bandits capturing or destroying caravans carrying their luxuries or trade interests."

Thiy opens the bag and peers inside. The female speaks up "In there is a sealed envelope. I was to open that when we got to Makan. In it is directions to the safe-house we would be using, and the name of our Makan contact. Also, there is a blueish crystal stone. Don't touch it! It is what I use to communicate with my superiors. It has a partner, back at the camp or wherever my superior is, Im not sure. If either stone is grasped in a fist, the partner stone emits a chime. If both stones are held, an image of the person's face holding the stone appears in the air above the partner stone and vice versa. I have already made my report for last night, saying that Sssaar was moving to slow the caravan at dead-night, and that we suspect there is at least one runescholar on board. They will not expect another report until this evening."

The monk pokes around inside the bag. Ther is some clothing, camping gear and wrapped iron rations, a bluish stone that looks like a rough chunk of unpolished blue quartz about the size of a hen's egg, with a rune of OH inscibed on it, a large envelope, what looks like the charm around the drover's neck without being on a leather thong, two vials of some liquid, and a small leather pouch, a crystal rod about 3 inches long, and a rolled sheet of reed-paper. In the very bottom is an extremely worn piece of reed paper, folded up to be a tiny square. It is very old and dirty.

While Thiy examines the bag, the female thinks over Artaxes' question. "Now, I don't know Kelt well, and we werent allowed outside of the safehouse. And when we went to the caravan, a windowless wagon took us to the yard. I guess they didnt want the yard seeing us arrive blindfolded."

"The windows of the safehouse were heavily curtained, with the curtains being nailed to the windowframe so they couldn't be moved. But I did get a few glimpses outside, and also when we were climbing into the wagon to go to the caravan yard. The neighborhood we were in looked a bit run down, but not quite a slum. The roads were lightly cobbled, although still prone to mud. Most of the houses were rowhouses right up against each other, with no sunning area (yard) or fences, or rooming houses that had once been single-nest houses that had been partitioned off. They were done in many different styles, although the one we were in was done in the traditional Keltian two floor style, with the second floor being an open loft surrounding the main floor. There were a few local shops, some of which catered to other races besides Keltians. Most of the traffic was on foot, and there were quite a few serpentus, lizar, and other races wandering around, although there were still a lot of Keltians. There was two city walls close by, and I could see a main road a few blocks over before I was hustled into the wagon. I wish I could tell you more, but other then describing the colors and shapes of the nearby houses, I really didnt get a good look."

"That sounds like the Foreign Quarter, or at least the Southwest corner of it." Kassil murmurs. "I guess it makes sense, a bunch of lizar wouldn't stand out there if they rented a nest for a while."

Kassah nods. "And was there anybody else in there? Or just you and Sssaar?"

"No, there were 3 other lizar. One of them was my Keltian contact, a male. His name was Dolaatss, and he was squat with green and black patterned scales. He was the one who drove us to the yard and gave us the items we were to use to sabotage the caravan, as well as our orders. He ran the safe-house as well."

"One was a young yellow and gray striped female, Ssorakass. She seemed like she was barely out of the nest, perhaps just old enough to begin to dream about mates(In human terms, about 15). She was fanatically loyal to Dolaatss and the "cause". Any conversation with her always ended up being about how much better it would be when everyone followed the New Way, or something like that. She acted as a runner, ocassionaly carrying missives from Dolaatss elsewhere and going on the general errands keeping the safehouse running such as bringing food and supplies."

"The third was another male, with the blotchy dull coloring of a swamp lizar. He had brown and black blotches and was a huge scarred brute. He had a scar on hi ssnout that disfigured his mouth, making it look as if he was showing his teeth all the time. I think his name was Issn. He didnt speak much and always wore a huge sword. Sometimes he left for a few days and then would show up again. He didnt seem to be an operative waiting for a mission. Perhaps he was some kind of bodyguard, I don't know. The few times I tried to make conversation, he just grunted and ignored me." she tells Kassah.

Kassah writes the information down on the map that she made. "Alright. One last thing. Kasssil, if you will hold her please?"

Kassil steps forward and grabs the females shoulders. The fugitve looks scared, but doesnt resist.

"This will be over soon. We aren't going to hurt you. We just need to make sure of something." Kassah tells the shivering lizar, as she steps forward.

The pathfinder quickly undoes the ties holding the traitor's shirt closed and pulls the shirt down, exposing the female's chest and back. Although there is no SAR symbol or any other noticeable pattern or lump, her sexless chest is riddled with scars, a few as long as 3 inches. On her back, the scars are even worse, some like deep pits and craters where terrible burns were not treated. Kassah steps back and hisses her breath out through her teeth when she sees the horrific burn marks and other scars.

The pathfinder gently traces a claw along one of the marks. "They did this to you?" she asks gently.

The female nods, looking down at the ground and blinking her nicitiating membranes across her eyes. "Yes. They hit me, cut me, whipped me and burned me when I fought them, or sometimes even because I wouldn't recite or learn the things I was supposed to in their "classes". That is why I gave up and quit fighting them. At least then, you didn't get hit so much. Its a hard thing to understand, but I started to believe in what they were saying, believe taht it would be better if their Lord came to power."

Kassah nods "Did they ever do any rituals or anything where they put anything inside your body?"

The traitor looks at the ground again "Um, well sometimes during or after a ritual the males would..."

"Wait, I don't mean someone's erit'ohss, or that you nahli'ohss with them! I mean something that isn't natural, like putting an object in a wound anywhere on your body." Kassah hastily interrupts, looking slightly embarrased.

'Um, no. They never did anything like that" the female says.

Kassah tells Kassil to continue holding the female and steps out of earshot, motioning for the humans to join her. "I don't think she has anything like that on her. After all, it makes sense that if she was watching Sssaar, the other cultists didn't trust Sssar to be stable. Perhaps she was a failsafe or a guardian if you will."

So, Stockholm Syndrome much? The females name is Pahhhtee Hurrsst, btw :D (not really!)
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Artaxes grimaced in disgust as they spoke of Arass. "So some pampered noble's son wants adventure, and goes off to join a cult?" he snarled. "I hope I get the chance to meet him." His mood did not improve when they spoke about the council. "Typical politicians" was all he could mutter, as he clenched and unclenched his fists in growing frustration.

He remained quiet as the rest of the conversation continued, his eyes focused on the middle distance and his fists remaining tightly clenched. In truth he was too wrapped up in personal thoughts of revenge to join in, and the hint of a smile played out on his lips as he ran through potential future scenarios. Dead cultists, beheaded nobles, hanging corrupt politicians...basically unpleasant ends for everyone who was currently annoying him.

He dragged himself back to reality at the mention of the blue stone. "Right. You check in with your superior tonight" he barked at the female. "You tell him that there is chaos in the caravan, and that it is slowed down. If you seem agitated he will assign it to nerves at being discovered. And if I get even a hint that you are trying to pass any secret messages I swear by the High Lords I will gut you myself." He was shouting now, his face close up against hers.

"As for what else we do, I don't know" he continued in a slightly milder tone, looking at the others. "I don't want to leave the caravan - clearly the runescholar is important. But if we went ahead and arrived in Makan before the caravan we could take them by surprise - we have directions to the safe-house. You want to read that letter to us, sister?" he asked, looking at Thiy.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Thiy thought Artaxes idea of misguiding the cultists via the stone was a good idea. "Yes he's right. We can make them think that the caravan is delayed yet deliver our friends here earlier, and let the authorities take charge. But I warn you Artaxes." she rounded on the human male as best she could as she possessed a light frame compared to him and his armour. "These lizar will not execute justice as YOU or I want them to. We need to respect their culture." she added as if imparting some kind of wisdom. "I even doubt that you could execute your personal crusade on their main encampment should you find it... But help you I will." [*]

She then passes the sealed envelope directly to Kassah as it will surely be in a tongue she was unfamiliar with. The crystal rod, however, she would have a go at assaying (1d20=14). She was never very good with the more technical or thaumaturgical side of her teachings but if a lesson involved personal suffering she always excelled in the tuition.

She unrolled the sheet of reed-paper to take a look at and then after some diligent ogling she carefully unfolded the smaller piece of paper over the top of it. She had seen once an abbot transport what he called firepowder in folded paper and was most exciting when he throw it in someone's face.

[*]Occasionally Thiy reverted to speaking like one of her more twisted and diminutive teachers who had goblin green skin and dubious sexual practices that would likely throw anyone's grammar backwards.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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"No. No tricks! I never thought I would get a chance at freedom for me and my kakkiss'a! I'm not going to ruin that now!" the female states emphatically. She stops and looks thoughtful. 'i understand why you don't trust me. i wouldn't trust me if I was you. But believe me when I say that I will help you in any way possible. You have manged to help me begin the climb out of the hellish pit I was in, and for that I am grateful." she tells the group.

Kassah takes the sealed envelope from Thoy and cracks it open as the monk looks over the other items in the bag. Oddly enough, when she unrolls the scroll, she finds it blank. A strange quill that looks as if it was taken from a large black bird dusted in silver falls out of the roll as Thiy unwinds the vey end. The small rod of polished crystal is strange. Although she isnt sure how this thing was to be used, she learned in her studies that clear quartz is often used in items that have something to do with sight.

The small folded piece of papr, when opened, shows glyphs that Thiy recognizes as Makani-Zaangaardian. However these glyphs are odd. Some are larger than others, and some slant in odd directions. Even to the monk's inexperienced eye, she can tell that whoever drew these didn't have much experience in the language. Next to the glyphs is a few very simple figure drawings done in colored inks. Juging by the faces and bodies, they are 3 badly drawn lizar. One lizar is bigger than the other two, and all three share the same green and orange ink coloring their bodies. Above the three figues is what seems to be a rainbow, and below them are green lines the monk takes to be grass. each lizar's nostril holes are drawn in black, and seem large compared to the faces, as if the artist wanted to emphazie that feature.

Kassah opens the envelope and looks the resulting pieces of paper over. "Ones a map" she says, as she shows it to the huans. Map will be up soon, but I dont have tie today "ths other paper has 3 names on it, and what appear to be passwords and directions. There is also an admonishment to keep a low profile, as "there has been persecutions of freedom fighters in Makan.

I will add more soon, rat ot of time.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Artaxes did take a half step back, eyes wide open in shock, at the admonishment from Thiy, despite the obvious difference in size. It was like being shouted at by a previously friendly teacher. Perhaps his own experience with determined nuns - from childhood up - had left a mark.

Taking a deep breath he regained composure, and glared at Thiy with his eyes narrowed. "That's where your wrong, sister." He pointed with his index finger to emphasise the point. "I had my friends butchered by this cult, and I intend to make them pay. I don't care whose lands they are on, any cultist I see is fair game."

When the others were examining the paper Artaxes continued the discussion, though in a lower voice. "And I respect their culture just fine. They can sunbathe and eat as many flies as they want, I won't get in their way. But just remember who's side you are on - when the chips are down it will be other humans you turn to." He said this as if it was self-evident, unaware that Thiy had such a different perspective on the whole matter. "They may be perfectly nice, but remember: a friendly reptile is still just a reptile."

He listened to the female, and nodded his head when she finished her speech. "Well lets try to figure this parchment out."

Won't be around for weekend (as usual!). @Ian - Artaxes thinks that Thiy is just some liberal goody-two-shoes, who wants to be friends with all the races - her actual nature has passed him by completely!
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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That'll give me time to work on both maps!

When the female sees Thiy unfold the old worn paper, she looks up. "Can I have that back please? It is very very important to me."

Kassah looks over at the paper and flares her nostrils when she sees whats on it.

"Happy day of life beginning, ma! You are the best ma ever!" the pathfinder reads out loud to the others.

"Yes, my kakkiss'a made that for me a few moonturns before we were kidnapped on my celebration of life-beginning day. Ihssoss drew the pictures, and Ssolia wrote the words." She looks sad as she glances at the paper. "I guess they saved their chore-coppers for many sevensuns to get enough together to buy the colored inks and high-quality paper. They were so proud when they gave it to me. I have kept it with me the entire time. Sometimes when I felt the most despair I would look at it, and remind myself that I must do what it takes to keep them alive."

Kassah looks around. "Perhaps we should go back to Ktch'klik and the drover. We can take her too, that way she can be watched until we get to the bottom of this. I also wish to give you humans a copy of this map, and the documents and map in the envelope. And perhaps Ktch'klik can begin to teach you our words. I'm sorry, but I can't write your language, so I can't translate the papers into anything but Trade Makani."
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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For a brief moment Artaxes response ingratiated her but she let it pass by. She expected nothing less and had low expectations of the man. She inhaled deeply, and reminded herself that she did appreciate the fact that most of his annoyances involved his contact with other races and not with with the way he treated her. "Of course you are right." she replied and then scratched her nose thinking it would be nice to let a few cultists go just to infuriate the man. "Just remember that a Lizar sword through your back will be as painful as any human's." Artaxes should read that previous phrase two times to get both meanings but he probably misses Thiy's second significance. It was one of those mental lapses that she fails to keep inside.

Thus far the lizar female had done no wrong. Yes, she had been complicit in destroying the food in the caravan and yes, she probably wants to destroy civilization as we know it but then who doesn't! Thiy however had mixed with too many sinister types and was not yet ready to trust her and her sad story. She picks up the quartz and peers through it at the empty sheet of paper. She waves the silver dusted quill over it to see if anything happens. "And what are these things? Is there anything on the sheet?" Next she scribbles in the corner of the paper with the quill, not expecting anything to happen as she had not dipped it in ink beforehand. "We should show them to the rune master wizard-like clever people."
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Artaxes nodded at Thiy's words, any subtext in her speech going well over his head. "Don't worry, I won't draw the lizar guards on me. All I want is to find these bastards."

He felt another pang of sympathy at the female's words - no one should have to endure what she had put up with. Assuming it was true, she was doing well to still be sane. "Let her have the paper" he sighed, though in order to show he was not getting soft he made sure to frown extra-hard as he said it.

"Yes, lets go back to the others."The details and significance of everything they had found had gone slightly over his head, partly because he had spent much of the time shouting at hostages or insulting the lizar race rather than focusing on maps and crystals. Not wanting to admit that he was unsure he spoke. "So, we have enough information to begin a search for the safehouses..." He was not fully sure that was true, so he kept an eye on everyone's reaction to his statement.
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Re: Thiy and Artaxes' Excellent Adventure!

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Oddly enough, when Thiy peers at the paper through the crystal, spidery Makani Zaangaardian runes writhe into being before her eyes. She blinks in surprise and notes that the runes only appear to show up when she is looking directly at the paper through the crystal, and only under where the crystal is placed. The rest of the paper still appears blank. After this discovery, she waves the quill through the air. But it does nthing besides leave a brief trail of silvery sparks that fade away as if they are those little alchemist-powder soaked sticks children light and wave around to create showers of sparks at festivals around Viborg.

Next she tries writing on the sheet. Oddly enough, even though the quill tip appears dry, it leaves a thin line of black ink overlayed with silver. As she watches it, within a minute the ink fades and the corner of the scroll she scribbled in appears as blank as the rest.

"I was to write a journal of my mission, as well as document anything that happens with Sssaar. Dolaatss didn't make it clear what I was to be looking out for, just that if I noticed any changes in Sssaar I should write them down. Also, I was to document exactly how many people were on the caravan, the path the caravan took, where we camped and ho wlong it took to get from spot to spot, any trade goods that we carried if we could find them out, the tactics or items we used if we decided to perform sabotage, the names and races of the caravan's pathfinder, drover, and also any self-merchants or suspected runescholars on the caravan. That kind of stuff. It was blank so that if it happened to be spotted, it wouldn't be immediately obvious what it was. The magic is actually just in the clear stone and the quill. I can show you how to use it if you want, as any decent quality parchment or paper can be used, but it must be treated first." the female tells THiy.

She thinks for a second, then adds "When I got to the Makani safehouse, I was supposed to give the scroll, crystal, and quill to my superior there. I dont know why, considering I made nightly updates through the blue image crystal. I didnt really question it, but it kind of maybe think that perhaps the different factions of the follwers of the New Way diudnt trust each other. Perhaps that is something you can use to your advantage?"

Artaxes notices as he watches her that although sh still seems frightened, she seems as if she realizes that the beings standing in front of her are her best hsot to free her offspring from the brainwashing of the cult she claims to have been kidnapped by. Kassah nods in response to the mercenary's statement and motions towards where the wagons are circled nad Ktch'klik and Hssilaa are still watching the drover and the unconcious Sssaar.

"Yes. I will copy these documents as soon as we get back to where the wagons are and give you two a copy. That way, if something should happen to one copy, we can still have the other. Searching for the safehouse in Makan might be a good way to start. Lets go back to the wagons now." Kassah tells Artaxes.

"Keep the female in the center as we walk" the pathfinder says quietly as she looks one last time around the area where the two tents are sitting. The RA orb is fully in the sky now, although it is still very early. As the group walks back to the wagons, the humans can hear murmurs comig out of a few of the tents they pass as the occupants rouse themselves to begin the day. Most, however, are still silent. One tent they pass has a loud rhythmic hissing wheeze drifting out through the mesh. The humans notice that this tent stands off by itself, as probably no one wished to camp next to such a loud snorer.

The group reaches the wagon where they left Sssaar and the drover. They see Hssilaa leaning against the wagon on one side of the drover, who sits slumped against the wheel with a worried look on his face. Ktch'klik "sits" a few feet off and appears to be working on some kind of silk cloth held in his four hands.

The arachne sees the party approaching and stands up, moving over to greet everyone. His red eyes glitter as he looks at the female and he doesn't offer her a greeting. Instead he turns to Thiu and holds out the silk object in his hands. "Here. I finished this for you." the spider tells her as he gives her the cloth. It is the shirt the monk was cutting with her shiruken, all stiched together. Although it is a simple cut patern, it appears to be well made as she looks it over.

"I also have something for you." he tells Artaxes. With one of hi supper arms, he reaches under the point on his chest where his bandoleers cross and unhooks something there. He pushes the object into Artaxes' hands. It appears to be a small cloak or robe pin made out of a dark silvery metal in the shape of an arrow, probaby pewter. Along the arrow shaft are 4 small red gems, one of which is very dark, almost black. "Thraxxiss made this for me. If you touch one of the gems and concentrate, it helps protect you from arrows for some time, but once all the gem sare dark its power is gone. And I dont think it i spwerful enough to stop manatouched arrows. I had a vision that I should give it to you." the arachne tells Artaxes.

So in game terms, you get a +1 deflection bonus to nonmagical arrows for an hour when it is activated. The shirt that Thiy got also has nonmagical bonus(es) associated with it. But what, I'm not saying :D

Hssilaa looks up belatedly from where he is leaning against the wagon when Ktch'klik starts speaking, and sheepishly snaps to attention and thumps his fist over his heart at Kassah.

"At ease." the pathfinder says to the embarrassed guard.

"Its been a long night. As long as you dont nod off, I'm not going to begrudge you a bit of rest. How is he?" she asks as she motions towards the drover.

"Frightened." replies Hssilaa. "He keps on reminding me to keep an eye on him if he starts acting crazy."

Hearing himself discussed, the drover looks up at the newcomers. the strain of being affected by a cursed item is visible on his face. "I'm holding it together." he says tensly. His eyes alight on the female fugitive and his gaze softens and he appears enraptured.

The female notices and looks uncomfortable. "This is the closest Ive been to him since Sssaar gave him that talisman. I am afraid it might affect his perceptions of me" she murmurs quietly to everyone.

Kassah looks to the humans for advice. "Perhaps we should try and cut it off of him?" she asks them. "I have never delt with this kind of thing."

Alright. So if you want to see if you know anything about magical cursed items and their removal, you could roll either a knowledge arcana/religion or a straight int.
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