Lissa paused as she beheld the man on the ornate wooden throne. Commanding authority, he clearly had character, if his tattoos and battle scars were anything to go by.
She crooked an eyebrow at the general, unamused by the bipolar nature of his responses, but turned away as he was interrupted by another. She responded to her question with a slight inclination of her head. “Yes, indeed! I thought that I should drop by, at least, to see how things were doing. An envoy should not be kept in the dark, no?” she decided to reply, mostly neutrally, knowing that injecting herself into local politics like this was a dicey thing, as it had been for the past couple hours, already.
Although the tension was palpable, she continued with her own positive demeanor. “Yes, it’s a pleasure! It’s not a problem. I understand things have been difficult lately,” she commiserated, prodding for information at the same time.
She continued to smile politely even as Marushka was all but ordered out of the room. As the others vacated the room, she stepped forward at the enthroned man’s gesture.
“Ah… it’s not a problem. It was a little rough earlier on with the Kyrsa, but I appreciate the Yagan hospitality,” she replied, with a bob of her head. “That explains their undue hatred of merchants, at least. What was the story behind that? But where are my manners? I am Lissa,” she continued, looking a little flustered as she affected a polite bow with her hand flared out, as was the custom for addressing some lords that she was familiar with.
“...must be something demonic related if you don’t find this revoltingly sweet.” Yuisa held a hand to her nose, trying not to breathe too deeply as Vammy teased her. “What, can I stay here? Then I will.” That was probably a bad thing to suggest really. It wasn’t like Yuisa would be willingly following Vammy anytime soon.
What was also likely not a super smart thing, was chasing after some scurrying shadow disappearing into the depths of this place, and it’d soon become apparent that one indeed, should not simply run head first into this place. The moment Vammy got to the end of the hallway, she’d almost run right into some sort of…humanoid, plant thing. Pale, taught skin pulled around its bones. In the place of its head was a blood red flower, inky black nectar slowly leaking from its head. Its arms, had been replaced by sharp, bladed plants.
It tilted its head curiously at vammy, a low gurgle coming from somewhere in its body as it’d regard her curiously.
This thing, whatever it was, definitely was demonic, and it didn’t immediately seem hostile. Somewhat curious, perhaps.
The goddess sits atop a tower, gazing out over a sea.
Current location: Old prison Time: afternoon Current Objective: Find the contraption the God Iva mentioned Potential Events:
“Ambroś, traveler.” The man greeted Lissa with a sigh. “I can’t tell you much, aside from what Marushka has told me. Someone broke into the home of a high ranking member of their court. Some…shaman or wiseman of theirs, with intent to kill. It just so happened that it was the same time that the caravan of that one merchant - Mie - was passing through. They say they have proof, but they aren’t showing it.” He’d shake his head, leaning forward slightly and resting his arms on the throne. “A mess, is what this is. We were initially more than happy to help, but we’ve reason to think the Krysa have some other agenda here since they’re cracking down on any merchant or trader that isn’t affiliated with them in some manner.”
“Yes, yes, Envoy. The rats are being little rats, as one might say!” Jolca swiftly walked over, casually grabbing Lissa’s outstretched hand with a smile. “Not like you, hm? Is this a customary greeting where you hail from?”
“Jolca, what do you think?”
“About her? Hm...the travelers were quite interesting. I may not have your foresight, but I wouldn't have intervened if I didn't think they could help! She even came here like I thought she would.” She had yet to let go of Lissa’s hand, and was now running her thumbs over the disguised raam’s open palm as if feeling for something.
As Jolca did whatever it was she was doing though, Ambros got up from the throne, his towering frame walking towards Lissa and stopping a few feet in front of her.
"Alright, then you'll help us." He'd say in a very matter of fact manner, as though this was a foregone conclusion.
The goddess is playing fetch with a dog Current location: Dawn Time: Morning Current Objective: Gain access to the village Or perhaps you’d like to avoid it entirely and go straight to Mie? Potential Events:
“Woah, lass, someone ever tell ya ye talk too much?” Eirhild responded before Novak could. The dwarf simply took a seat on the table as the two of them conversed, likely in some attempt to be on the same height level as the two of them. Ayumi joined her, sitting next to the dwarf and watching the back and forth curiously. “If I could get a word in, I’d say its fine if we stick together. The Yaga already seem t’think we’re some sorta envoy from the underworld or whatever, might as well stick to that story eh? A bunch’a strangers arriving in town at the same time’s gonna cause a ruckus. Might as well say he was someone we’re lookin for and we got word that he was here.”
She’d turn to Novak with a friendly smile.
“Dunno much else about Dawn though, I’m just a hired sword that was passin’ through. Lissa promised me coin so here I am.”
The moon goddess waves hello, a little dialogue box tells you good morning Current location: Northern Snowfields Time: Morning Potential Events:
There was the sound of ripping, like some sort of mechanical contraption being jammed as the spear did as Gideon intended it too. The beast made a noise like grinding of rocks and earth as it tried to regain its footing after quite literally being moved against its will and the interior of its mouth grinding to a halt as the spear effectively jammed its mouth open.
This didn’t save his arm entirely, though. Sharp teeth ripped through his flesh and clothing, but as it stood it was nothing a Raam couldn’t just walk off after a bit of rest. Glass shattered, and with one swift movement, the jagged edge was shoved right into the beasts eye.
It made a sound like the earth itself was howling as Gideon yanked the spear back out, the beast fell over onto its side, thrashing and squirming as its eye was bleeding out. It wasn’t dead yet, but it’d be a simple matter to shove the mostly intact spear into its eye, and right through its more fleshy interior.
The moon goddess punches an oddly shaped square tree that produces an oddly shaped square block of wood which she then somehow turns into a wooden pickaxe. Current location: Dawn Time: Morning Potential Events:
"Ahh!" Vammy exclaimed as she almost ran face first into some weird plant thing. "Uhh..." It looked at her. It didn't attack, it didn't do much other than what she assumed was stare at her curiously. "Ummm.... He-hey there?" Vammy said, confused about why a plant thing would be in a workshop of all places. "H-hey! Yuisa! Come check this thing out. Just like, be careful? It's a weird demon plant thing." Thinking about that a little more, she just thought of the best person to ask.
"Hey, asshole in my head. What the heck is this thing? Do you know it?" Vammy asked the demon, curious for an answer as she took a couple steps back from the plant thing. Luckily, if she needed to, she could probably delete it from existence pretty fast. Plants were quite flameable after all.
“Hmm… strange. From an outsider’s perspective, I agree, it sounds rather engineered. To what means, though? Persecuting merchants or traders is self-destructive, unless you intend to isolate your village and community from the outside world. Either that, or… he’s trying to play to his populace over something that isn’t obvious,” she decided to offer, voicing some of her thoughts aloud. She was about to tuck an arm under her chest for a bit of a thinking pose when Jolca suddenly stepped over, grabbing her hand.
“Eh? A bit forward, aren’t you?” Lissa raised her eyebrow as the other girl more or less began to fondle her hand, although she refrained from jerking her arm back for the moment. Deciding to ignore her question, she instead focused on Ambros’. Were her actions that transparent? Why was Jolca playing with her palm so much, anyway? Checking for a pulse?
She tapped the girl on her free shoulder with her other hand. “Ahem… Is my hand really that interesting?”
That little bit of dialogue, however, was cut short when Ambros descended from his throne to approach her. He was a large man, but despite the size difference, the smaller Raam was not intimidated. There was the obvious deceptive strength parity, of course, but enough years of experience had immunized her to such a tactic, despite her bright-eyed, sometimes flustered personality.
“Hmm… I will, but conditionally,” she responded, keeping her same stance, although she affected a thoughtful expression as she dropped into her merchant mode. “It’s… obvious that the current situation doesn’t benefit anybody. This de facto embargo on merchants is devastating other villages and communities up the road, without access to vital goods from traders like Mie; I’ve seen it in person. If you can clear the roads for Mie, or other merchants like her, then you’ll also gain the good graces of others in the neighborhood. If you can do that, then I won’t have problems lending the full assistance of me and the rest of the resources at our disposal.”
“Woah, lass, someone ever tell ya ye talk too much?”
The nervous moth girl's face began to turn beet red, deeper and deeper so until her hands came up to hide her face. It was a nerve-wracking situation, and she....oh by the gods and goddesses she had let her mothy mouth run. She had no idea how this was supposed to go! She was just here to try to help, trying her best at things with no idea of how this cloak and dagger type of thing worked. Unless Lissa or Eirhild had some secret skills in this, really, it could be said perhaps all three of them were out some of their depth in all of this.
At the same time, though, she would try to control her breathing like her mother had taught her to do. In. Out. In and out. Focus on the goal in front of you. Don't let the nerves get too much.
"S-Sorry...and Eirhild is right. That would work too as a plan."
Nylah gave an apologetic, and trying to be more friendly, smile back at Novak.
"Truth be told this is not something I'm experienced with, but I am an apprentice herbalist and know some magic. But we couldn't just leave you and Mie and everyone else to suffer here either. So while there's only three of us, it really is all we could spare from Dawn to come here."
Her tone took on a slightly more sad tinge. It wasn't the best case scenario for sure...for all she knew, Mie and them expected a full array of hunters or a war party to come to their rescue. As she'd said prior, she couldn't imagine what Novak and them had been through by this point. At least Haruno was ok, but even so it was only a minor bit of good news at best unless they could get the rest of Mie's people out of there.
Nylah hoped that Lissa was having better lucking getting information and such, or at least doing better than her own rambling mess she'd just managed to pull off prior. Ugh.
***Kyr Reed acted as a sort of coagulant as well as sedative. Made people calmer…not particularly useful for treating frostbite on its own, but it was useful for staunching bleeding or injuries. Could be crushed into a paste with a variety of other things to achieve various effects. Wind-Leaf acted as more of a stimulant. When properly mixed with Kyr Reed it made salves and healing poultices good for bolstering the immune system and promoting natural healing. Coral Moss and Slug mucus were a bit harder to find, since the slugs only could be found in shallow water during the day, with Coral Moss being found in damp sea caves off the coast near the Goddess Spear. Slug Mucus was good for making topical salves for alleviating pain, while Coral Moss, when exposed to certain other substances actually heated itself to temperatures good for gentle rewarming of frost-bitten areas.
***Making anesthetics and preparing healing potions and salves.
It’d be easy enough to prepare both of those things especially with the things she had on hand. Fresh water for a base, crush the ingredients, then boil it to a broth. Simple enough, they didn’t have time to refine it. The Salves could be made by taking the same ingredients and crushing them into a paste without the water. Better for topical use on flesh wounds.
***
***
***
-Acquired Lore/World Knowledge:
***Yaga Deity + Yaga Perspective On Rifelshka -
and slowly running her thumb across it. “It doesn’t have a name. Our deity, that is. We just know he exists and is the reason we survived the Moonless Era.” She’d pass it to Nylah for her to hold. “As for The Death goddess…” She lowered her voice, briefly glancing over her shoulders despite there being quite obviously no one else in the cabin. “We say the rest of the gods are lesser spirits born from our nameless deity when he fell from the heavens, his body was formed into these lesser Spirits. But the Death Goddess? She existed before him and if you believe the elder, had a direct hand in creating the Moonless Era and seeks to kill our deity once more. That’s all I’m saying.” She’d fall silent, seemingly nervously scratching the back of her head. “Uh, sorry I’m gonna take a walk. Hate talking about this, but one more thing. Do not mention her name here, outsider. That’s a good way to get every Yaga to want you to leave. Say she hears every time her name is spoken and we don’t want to try any attention from her.”
***Why the Krysa are at the Yaga Village and are attacking Mie -
Something has the Krysa spooked.” A brusque reply the Yaga ignored the snow starting to fall, leading the three towards a small house towards the middle of the village. “Someone trying to attack one of their wisemen or something? I dunno. They blame that merchant that travels through here around this time.”
***About Novak:
First, I know that I don't look the part of one of Mie's people. I originally wasn't- I was just some nobody that her caravan picked up, and she was gracious enough to allow me to earn a living working for her. She sent me to sneak out since I'm neither an Oni nor a Chagawa human, thus they have no reason to suspect that I'm with her."
***Mie's Caravan Situation Information As Acquired from Novak:
"I presume Haruno already filled you in as to what our situation is. Nothing's changed since she left- we're still holding out, but our food is running low and we need to get this resolved one way or the other. However, I did manage to learn some rather interesting things on my way here. The Krysa woman you saw me with, Lady Marushka, is with the Office of Internal Peace. She's acting on direct orders from the Tsarita herself, hunting some "person of interest" in the snowfields. I also overheard a mention from her guards about the life of someone important being threatened. Sir something...Ost...no...Osh...Ozven, that's it. Sir Ozven, they said."
***
***
***
-{Enthralling Dust} (Racial): Mothraki produce a potent pollen like dust upon their wings. Merely by existing they spread this where they go, though it's mostly harmless if not inhaled in large quantities. Causes hallucinations and dulls one's senses. As one may expect, people tend to frown upon this sort of thing.
-{Journeyman Light Magic}: A magic encompassing pure light and illumination, ranging from harmless orbs to light up one’s path all the way up to rays/beams of light as attacks to even light barriers and other light constructs such as swords and spears and shields and so forth. A versatile magic that does not call upon the fire of the sun, but does have its myriad uses and capabilities.
-{Novice Herbalist}: Non-magical practices of a healer, ranging from identifying or figuring out the use of new herbs and recognizing familiar ones, to making things like certain poultices and healing-based alchemy/potion-making, to how to handle wounds/injuries and such using these things.
-{Herbalist's Bag}: A simple leather bag with a well-built shoulder strap, that is filled with a good number of many types of herbs, a good amount of bandages, and finally tools to make tonics, poultices, and potions alongside a scare few pre-prepared ones that are within the bag itself. She usually wears it around most of the time. (EDIT: Has refilled her supplies, with three one total healing pots remaining now. Also now has four three vials of baby-chameleon-thing poison.)
-{Small Knife}: A gift from her mother, made with a smoothed-out bone handle and treated with certain oils, mainly used to help cut things like vines and plants when out collecting herbs and so forth. Also a very niche emergency self-defense tool.
-{Food}: A small pouch sitting on her opposite hip that contains a few strips of preserved game meat and a few dried edible herbs from the local area. Not much in amount, since it was meant to be snacks for heading into the woods to gather herbs before 'that' happened.
-{Wristband}: A simple little bracelet made of pretty stones dyed in various colors, carefully having had a hole made through each, sitting on a band made of twisted and treated leather strips. Worn on her left wrist and given as a gift to her by her mother. How long it took to acquire or even make is unknown.
-{Cuteness}: She is a definitely cute moth girl. This is inherent to her existence. Yes.
"I am sorry to hear about what happened to Dawn," Novak replied somberly. He had no idea that Dawn had suffered such a misfortune. The most sorrowful matter, however, was that the other four Oni didn't make it. He knew them, he served with them, and they had given their lives to obtain outside help.
It might just be these three that they were able to bring, but I won't let their sacrifice be in vain.
"I'll help however I can, but perhaps you're right, I should try to avoid jeopardizing your cover story," he continued. "I will continue to act according to my own cover story as a wandering sellsword." Now much warmer, he turned to the exit to leave. It was going to be cold out there, but he didn't want to associate too closely with the Dawn locals. He'd walk around the town, get a feel for the place, and see if he couldn't notice anything or anyone unusual.
Besides, Lady Marushka wanted him to keep his eyes open for anyone suspicious, and he couldn't do that by hunkering down here.
For once in her life, the demon wasn’t speaking or talking, giving her derisive jabs, calling her a dumbass, or anything. Just silence. The only thing she could hear was this things ‘breathing’ and Yuisa walking over. She had put on the mask she had worn when they had fought in the forest, but she seemed mostly fine.
“...definitely a demon - ” Yuisa replied.
The moment Yuisa spoke, the demon turned to look at her, and immediately leaped towards the human. Yuisa hissed, pulling a knife from her belt as the creature ripped into her clothes, blood spilling from a fresh cut in her stomach as a black, inky tar was left behind in the wound. She shrieked, plunging the knife into the creature and trying to throw it off of her.
The goddess has an odd shaped device that is spewing fire and burning down a garden.
Current location: Old prison Time: afternoon Current Objective: Find the contraption the God Iva mentioned Potential Events:
@Click This “Yes, actually. Your palm…is so dainty, but so strong.” Jolca continued to run her hands through Lissas, until both of hers had clasped themselves entirely over the other womans while she made her offer to Ambros. She still seemed entirely unfazed by the prodding on her shoulder, too.
“Its not the Yaga that are looking for trouble.” Ambros replied. “We welcome outsiders openly. The only reason we helped the Krysa to start with is because we are not in a position to have an open conflict with them without good cause.” He shook his head. “The losses we took in the initial assault and when those Oni broke through the line gave us a good enough excuse to pull back, for now at least.” The yagan male shook his head. “I’ll do what I can to convince the Tsarita’s women, but once they’ve made up their mind on something they are unlikely to change it easily.”
“Hmm…Ambros, maybe tell her about the witch? If she can get to her before the Krysa can, perhaps we can help more?”
“That one isn’t likely to help us, you know that.”
“Well, she certainly doesn’t like the Krysa!” Jolca released Lissa’s hand, stepping close enough her ears could tickle Lissa’s nose. “Hm, in the forest! There’s a lone Yaga. We don’t know her name, only that in the past she really, really, made enemies with the Death Goddess. Something about necromancy and what not. She could help us, with a little convincing, I’m sure of it.”
“Relying on her help is dangerous, Jolca.”
“Yes yes, taboos and all whatnot.”
“Hmph, regardless, Lissa. If you want to help the merchants we’ll need to both do something about the Krysa. Jolca’s insights are usually spot on, but even so…I’d say look about geting more information from the rats themselves. Ambushing and getting information and written orders from one of their patrols likely won’t be difficult or noticed.”
The goddess is playing fetch with a dog Current location: Dawn Time: Morning Current Objective: Find the supposed witch? Or potentially anger the Krysa? Potential Events:
“Well, suit yourself stranger.” Eirhild shrugged as Novak made to leave. “What’d you want to do then, Nylah? It’s probably best if we stick together at least.” Just as Novak turned to leave, he’d pass by Jivka. The other Yaga was just now returning, glancing at the newcomer with a mild suspicious glance before looking at her two guests again.
“Made yourselves right at home, eh? Figure out what you’re gonna do?”
“We’re, uh, workin on it. We got some new information at least.” Eirhild replied.
As Novak left, he’d be given friendly greetings by the local Yagas. The Krysa mostly ignored him, though whether that was from indifference or Marushka had said something to them, it was hard to tell. Ayumi scampered off somewhere, not wanting to be seen just in case some Krysa had gotten some bright idea about a potential connection.
Soon, Novak would find himself near the edge of the village. There hadn’t been to many things of note. The Krysa had been busy doing their usual routines of patrolling and running. The only thing that really stood out though, was where they seemed to be patrolling.
A wooded area, not far outside the city. He’d have watched a number of Krysa soldiers both enter, as well as leave.
The moon goddess yawns, and starts dozing off, just ever so slightly bored Current location: Northern Snowfields Time: Morning Potential Events:
Vammy questioned the silence of the demon that usually chimed in to be a nuisance but... nothing. How odd. Truly odd. Vammy thought about it as she listened to the creature's breathing and Yuisa's footsteps. Turning to the human as she spoke, only to see her being attacked by the demonic creature. Swiftly, she conjurered a blast of fire and attacked the creature with it, blasting it away from her human pet.
Then casting a dangerously hot stream of fire at the creature, Vammy walked over to Yuisa, checking the woman's injury. "The wound looks bad. It'll heal I think. I'm more worried about that black goop." She didnt look too worried, however. "Too bad I dont have healing powers or anything like that." She commented as she let up on the fire. It was probably char or ash by now.
A simple matter indeed, and one that was quickly executed as Gideon proceeded to lunge its spear into the ferrous monstrosity's eye. With a deeper plunge and a twist of his one good hand, the Raam would wait until he was assured of the beast's death. Once that bloody affair was over, Gideon would collapse, leaning his back against the dead Living Vein. He'd place a hand on the fallen beast's head, feeling a sullen sense of kinship with the animal due to their shared biological similarities. It was a shame that a beast of iron was unrefined when compared to a man of steel.
With the beast's death, Gideon was sure the iron shortage would be somewhat alleviated, although he wonders if there could be a more efficient way of finding more iron for Dawn. Hopefully it wouldn't involve fighting more of these things, but after viewing a bit of their behavior, there are a few more efficient tactics Gideon could use against similar beasts. Still, it would be better to find veins that didn't wish to eat the Raam. Surveying the area more would probably be his best bet, especially with the Stonesinger in tow.
But that would wait another day. Gideon would instead stab his spear at the end of his cloak, tearing a piece of it off before preparing to bind his injured hand. As he looked at it, however, a strange thought came to his head. He looked to Raelzeth with a peculiar expression on his face.
"Your stonesinging... does it work on steel? Why don't you try healing my hand with it?"
Before Raelzeth would respond, Gideon would quickly work on binding his hand with plans to properly mend it once they return to Dawn. As he did so, he stood up before assessing the situation further.
"Help me figure out how to bind and drag this thing back home. We'll have your father try and salvage what iron he can from it after we explain to him you weren't lying your way out of work this time. Afterward, I may have a look at the rest of its carcass, see if I can figure out if any of it is edible, at the very least. If these things happen to be more common in this area than I'd surmise, they'd be a proper beast to try and hunt for both food and ore. Good work, by the way.
"Oh, and the whole thing about healing my hand was a joke. I think you and I are both exhausted from stonesinging for a day."
Lissa raised her eyebrows at the girl’s response. She wasn’t wrong, but Jolca’s behavior was starting to get a bit beyond social propriety as she clasped her hands over hers. It probably wasn’t nearly enough to keep Lissa there if she had really wanted to leave, but it left her wondering if it was some sort of negotiating tactic while she continued her dialogue with Ambros. Considering that she had gotten them out of a tight spot earlier, the Raam wouldn’t begrudge her for some strange behavior when she still owed the girl.
“Mm… I see. That’s helpful to know, at least,” she nodded, taking his words at face value for now. Lissa had no doubt the nuances of the situation were far different than what he was probably saying; internal politics were hardly ever that simple, but if she could work with him right now to get that caravan and other merchants through, then that was good enough for her.
What Lissa didn’t expect was the potential third party. Frankly, though, a necromancer and an enemy of the Death Goddess didn’t sound particularly promising. It sounded very dangerous instead, and her kneejerk reaction was to agree with Ambros.
Then again, she was a Raam, and certain aspects of such dark magics didn’t particularly faze her…
“I wouldn’t mind looking into this witch if we have an accord… Just give me some more information and I can see what I can do. Jolca, what makes you think she would help against the Krysa or getting the merchants though? Now, those patrols, hmm. They would let me or my companions just do that? There’s the envoy status, but that sounds a bit provocative.”
Curious, they seem to be focusing on that area," Novak silently noted and he observed the patrols come and go. It was odd that the rat-folk soldiers would focus their patrols on that unimportant-looking wooded area outside of the town. Just what were these Krysa up to?
There was a lot that didn't make sense. Why would they be harboring so much suspicion if they were convinced enough of Mie's guilt to lay siege to her caravan? It wasn't like the Kitsune and her Oni could be mistaken for anyone else. And just who were they looking for in the snowfields. His first thought was that it might be Haruno, but surely they wouldn't be looking for her so close to where she had broken out.
Going in there would be risky. He already had a run-in with Lady Marushka, so getting caught poking his nose in more of their business would bring considerable suspicion on him. However, Mie and her people were counting on him, and he couldn't let down the people who took him in and taught him how to survive. He needed to know what these rats were up to, and what they were hiding.
At about the halfway point between the patrols, Novak slipped out of the town and followed the guards' tracks, carefully keeping an eye on his surroundings. The next time he'd see Ayumi, he'd gesture at the fox to follow him. The guards' route shouldn't be too hard to follow, and Ayumi's sense of smell should keep them on track even if the footprints disappeared. He'd need to stay unseen though, and if he made any tracks in the snow outside of the guards' route, it'd alert them that someone else was out here.
The fireball slammed into the floral demon, resulting in shrieks and hisses from the creature as it’d roll off Yuisa, rolling on the ground and trying in vain to put out the flames as it burned to cinders from the demons jet of fire.
“Nngh, probably some sort of poison.” Yuisa mentioned with a grimace. “Its odd the wound isn’t bleeding as much as it is otherwise…” The human grunted, getting to her feet. “Well, good to know those things are hostile to just me, huh.” She narrowed her eyes at the demon. “Looks like you’ll have to babysit me, doesn’t it?”
Whatever the cultist was thinking, it was hard to tell, but she didn’t seem like she was glad about this particular situation.
From somewhere below, something rumbled, and the two could hear something chittering in the darkness of the hallway beyond. The hallway from here split off into several rooms of little importance, and a long hallway that seemed to lead to a sublevel that seemed full of what was likely prison cells. A few odd broken glass tubes could be seen, too, whatever was inside of them long since broken out. The only other way was a set of stairs leading up into some tower like structure and a door that seemed to lead outwards into a snowy courtyard.
The goddess has an odd shaped device that is spewing fire and burning down a garden.
Current location: Old prison Time: afternoon Current Objective: Find the contraption the God Iva mentioned Potential Events:
“Hmhm, It is true, the Death Goddess is not one we would ourselves openly involve ourselves with…but what do you know of the Death Goddess, Lissa? As an envoy surely you should know as such.” She’d flash the Raam a teasing smile. “That witch is in penance, I’m sure of it. The Death Goddess would never let an enemy of hers live unless they are paying some price or service to her. In such cases, they are likely forbidden from using any magics. No doubt she has the death goddess watching her every move for any moment she behaves out of line.”
“Do you have another suggestion?” The Yaga elder replied gruffly. “They’re not likely to just give it to you either way.”
The goddess is playing fetch with a dog Current location: Dawn Time: Morning Current Objective: Gain access to the village Or perhaps you’d like to avoid it entirely and go straight to Mie? Potential Events:
A decent enough plan. Between the patrols, Novak would slip into the forest. Ayumi wouldn’t be too far behind, soon joining Novak with a yip and trotting along behind him. The forest wasn’t too hard to navigate, though the gentle snowfall was quickly making any footprints that were left behind disappear into white.
Aside from having to hide from a few unexpected Krysa popping up in the forest though, Novak wouldn’t have much of an issue as he’d trek through the forest until Ayumi perked her nose up into the air, taking a brief look around before running off away from the main area the guards seemed to be patrolling, stopping only once, turning around, and yipping at Novak to follow.
Soon, he’d find himself coming across a snowy cabin in the woods. Smoke, gently rising from a chimney. A few logs stacked by the door, and animal and bone charms hung in a nearby window, while on the door of the cabin itself seemed to be engraved with some sort of magical sigil. Ayumi had run up to it, but hadn’t touched the door itself yet, seemingly considering whether or not she should.
Didn’t seem like anyone else was here, though.
A maid with a purple blindfold and a broom suddenly shows up in the dialogue box. The Moon goddess, startled, runs away while the broom wielding maid chases her. Current location: Northern Snowfields Time: Morning Potential Events:
As he asked his question, Raelzeth’s eyes widened, quickly glancing to the side and letting out a sigh of relief as he’d say the request was a joke.
“Pfft, of course I could work with steel. I’m the best stonesinger in all of the dwarven tunnels and Gloomhaven!” She’d chuckle smugly. “But wow, you took down that thing like it was nothing!” She’d walk over to the now deceased beast. “I’m not sure how much ore we could get from it, but this thing was pretty dense, I think? And very pure as far as Iron goes from what I felt.”
Dragging it back to the village though, was something of a feat in and of itself. To say the beast was heavy, was an understatement. Even if they stopped for a few moments and made a makeshift sled from some tree branches and rope, moving the beast was a superhuman effort, with Raelzeth helping every now and then with her stone singing to help make it lighter and a bit easier if she could.
Ultimately though, it would eventually be nightfall by the time the pair returned, dragging the beast right in front of Asvar’s shop. Strangely Raelzeth had been pretty quiet for the remainder of the trip, not bothering to speak much.
Upon returning, Raelzeth wouldn’t immediately go in, seemingly thinking about something.
The moon goddess punches an oddly shaped square tree that produces an oddly shaped square block of wood which she then somehow turns into a wooden pickaxe. Current location: Dawn Time: Morning Potential Events:
“We’re, uh, workin on it. We got some new information at least.”
"Indeed. Myself and Lissa set out to see if we could learn anything more, albeit Lissa hasn't returned yet. But I think she was out to look for your sister to talk some more.
I on the other hand ultimately I ran into a friend of a friend of ours rather unexpectedly, though, one who had just arrived here in the freezing cold. He's the one who just left after just talking with us for a brief time near a warm fire. Hence the new information."
Nylah spoke amicably and honestly, but would still rub the back of her head sheepishly in slight embarrassment still. She hadn't done much to really help but talk to this guy, and then rush him out of the building. He had seemed to be on a similar wavelength to her, maintaining cover on both their ends of things at the very least. That much did make her feel a little better about her own burst of just outright talking. So much talking it was embarrassing to have spilled out without much pause all in one shot.
But that aside it was a sign to her she was certainly out of her depth, that much she felt to be sure, but she had resolved to come here all the same. She wouldn't be backing down either. Herself and Lissa couldn't leave this as it was, for Mie and her people to sit and die eventually (or something of the sort). Haruno had fought to hard to find help as well, coming so close to death it had been ghastly, and she wanted to bring the oni back good news of some kind at least. Maybe even more than just good news to boot.
It was also valuable to Dawn itself if...well...even potentially Mie and her people had any reason to be in Dawn's debt. Maybe. Truth be told she wanted to save lives where she could, that was reason number one, but secondarily she couldn't hide from herself her own thoughts on the matter otherwise. Even if that meant breaking or sneaking or somehow getting them out and back to the village or some other form of safety, what Mie and her people had could very well help Dawn rebuild.
Most of all, perhaps there would be something she knew or had to assist in the one thing the Mothraki held most dear and crucial even now: Healing her ailing mother. Anything. Something. She had to figure something out to help her, to save her. That much she knew for sure without having to think hard on it at all. No matter what the past was, her mother was the only mother she'd ever known and remembered. They had much more to talk about, to experience, to do, and so forth.
...She wouldn't be letting that all that fade away because of some Elder Beast and a mysterious ailment.
***Kyr Reed acted as a sort of coagulant as well as sedative. Made people calmer…not particularly useful for treating frostbite on its own, but it was useful for staunching bleeding or injuries. Could be crushed into a paste with a variety of other things to achieve various effects. Wind-Leaf acted as more of a stimulant. When properly mixed with Kyr Reed it made salves and healing poultices good for bolstering the immune system and promoting natural healing. Coral Moss and Slug mucus were a bit harder to find, since the slugs only could be found in shallow water during the day, with Coral Moss being found in damp sea caves off the coast near the Goddess Spear. Slug Mucus was good for making topical salves for alleviating pain, while Coral Moss, when exposed to certain other substances actually heated itself to temperatures good for gentle rewarming of frost-bitten areas.
***Making anesthetics and preparing healing potions and salves.
It’d be easy enough to prepare both of those things especially with the things she had on hand. Fresh water for a base, crush the ingredients, then boil it to a broth. Simple enough, they didn’t have time to refine it. The Salves could be made by taking the same ingredients and crushing them into a paste without the water. Better for topical use on flesh wounds.
***
***
***
-Acquired Lore/World Knowledge:
***Yaga Deity + Yaga Perspective On Rifelshka -
and slowly running her thumb across it. “It doesn’t have a name. Our deity, that is. We just know he exists and is the reason we survived the Moonless Era.” She’d pass it to Nylah for her to hold. “As for The Death goddess…” She lowered her voice, briefly glancing over her shoulders despite there being quite obviously no one else in the cabin. “We say the rest of the gods are lesser spirits born from our nameless deity when he fell from the heavens, his body was formed into these lesser Spirits. But the Death Goddess? She existed before him and if you believe the elder, had a direct hand in creating the Moonless Era and seeks to kill our deity once more. That’s all I’m saying.” She’d fall silent, seemingly nervously scratching the back of her head. “Uh, sorry I’m gonna take a walk. Hate talking about this, but one more thing. Do not mention her name here, outsider. That’s a good way to get every Yaga to want you to leave. Say she hears every time her name is spoken and we don’t want to try any attention from her.”
***Why the Krysa are at the Yaga Village and are attacking Mie -
Something has the Krysa spooked.” A brusque reply the Yaga ignored the snow starting to fall, leading the three towards a small house towards the middle of the village. “Someone trying to attack one of their wisemen or something? I dunno. They blame that merchant that travels through here around this time.”
***About Novak:
First, I know that I don't look the part of one of Mie's people. I originally wasn't- I was just some nobody that her caravan picked up, and she was gracious enough to allow me to earn a living working for her. She sent me to sneak out since I'm neither an Oni nor a Chagawa human, thus they have no reason to suspect that I'm with her."
***Mie's Caravan Situation Information As Acquired from Novak:
"I presume Haruno already filled you in as to what our situation is. Nothing's changed since she left- we're still holding out, but our food is running low and we need to get this resolved one way or the other. However, I did manage to learn some rather interesting things on my way here. The Krysa woman you saw me with, Lady Marushka, is with the Office of Internal Peace. She's acting on direct orders from the Tsarita herself, hunting some "person of interest" in the snowfields. I also overheard a mention from her guards about the life of someone important being threatened. Sir something...Ost...no...Osh...Ozven, that's it. Sir Ozven, they said."
***
***
***
-{Enthralling Dust} (Racial): Mothraki produce a potent pollen like dust upon their wings. Merely by existing they spread this where they go, though it's mostly harmless if not inhaled in large quantities. Causes hallucinations and dulls one's senses. As one may expect, people tend to frown upon this sort of thing.
-{Journeyman Light Magic}: A magic encompassing pure light and illumination, ranging from harmless orbs to light up one’s path all the way up to rays/beams of light as attacks to even light barriers and other light constructs such as swords and spears and shields and so forth. A versatile magic that does not call upon the fire of the sun, but does have its myriad uses and capabilities.
-{Novice Herbalist}: Non-magical practices of a healer, ranging from identifying or figuring out the use of new herbs and recognizing familiar ones, to making things like certain poultices and healing-based alchemy/potion-making, to how to handle wounds/injuries and such using these things.
-{Herbalist's Bag}: A simple leather bag with a well-built shoulder strap, that is filled with a good number of many types of herbs, a good amount of bandages, and finally tools to make tonics, poultices, and potions alongside a scare few pre-prepared ones that are within the bag itself. She usually wears it around most of the time. (EDIT: Has refilled her supplies, with three one total healing pots remaining now. Also now has four three vials of baby-chameleon-thing poison.)
-{Small Knife}: A gift from her mother, made with a smoothed-out bone handle and treated with certain oils, mainly used to help cut things like vines and plants when out collecting herbs and so forth. Also a very niche emergency self-defense tool.
-{Food}: A small pouch sitting on her opposite hip that contains a few strips of preserved game meat and a few dried edible herbs from the local area. Not much in amount, since it was meant to be snacks for heading into the woods to gather herbs before 'that' happened.
-{Wristband}: A simple little bracelet made of pretty stones dyed in various colors, carefully having had a hole made through each, sitting on a band made of twisted and treated leather strips. Worn on her left wrist and given as a gift to her by her mother. How long it took to acquire or even make is unknown.
-{Cuteness}: She is a definitely cute moth girl. This is inherent to her existence. Yes.
Ayumi had led him to something quite interesting. It was a cabin, situated in the woods where the Kyrsa were sending their patrols. He didn't see anyone, but the smoke rising from the chimney suggested that somebody was inside.
Novak considered his next course of action. There was definitely something strange going on with the Krysa, and this cabin might have the answers he sought. Why were they so agitated and suspicious of outsiders despite having their supposed culprit under siege? Who was this person of interest that Lady Marushka was looking for? Why are their troops patrolling these unimportant-looking woods? And the most recent question- what is a cabin doing so close to their patrol routes?
Judging by the charms and sigils on the dwelling, whoever lived here probably knew magic. There meant there was some risk in attempting to get their attention, depending on how benevolent or malevolent they proved to be, or how attached they are to their solitude. Judging by Ayumi's hesitation to touch the door, Novak judged it wise to likewise not touch it. For all he knew, that sigil could be a trap. Still, he needed to obtain the answers he sought, and after steeling his nerves and looking around to make sure nobody was watching them, spoke through the door.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" he would ask at first, to see if there was a response. If he had learned anything from observing Mie interact with her prospective customers and work her mercantile charm, now was the time to put it to use.
"I represent a merchant that traffics in trinkets and exotic goods...the sort of merchandise you might have an interest in," he introduced himself. "Unfortunately, we have found ourselves mired in a rather difficult kerfuffle with the Krysa and Yaga for reasons they refuse to share. The Krysa in particular are acting very strangely, evidently searching for somebody and routing their patrols in close proximity to your home. Might you be willing to share with me just what is going on with them?"
Novak eyed his sword, but did not reach for it quite yet. He had no idea if this person would be hostile- heck, for all he knew, there could be a Krysa in there- and wanted to be cautious until he knew otherwise.
Gideon slumped himself against the dead beast once more, when they had finally returned to Dawn. Even for one accustomed to traveling with a heavy load, dragging that large hunk of iron around was a large effort. He almost wondered if this was how it felt to drag an unconscious Raam around.
Looking up, he noticed Raelzeth still standing about, not looking to greet her father despite the successful haul they had brought in.
"What's troubling you, Raelzeth?" Gideon asked, standing himself up. "Not too keen on greeting your father?"
Walking towards the child, Gideon would hesitate for a moment before giving her a pat on the shoulder.
"We wouldn't have gotten this much iron if it wasn't for you, you know. I'm sure Asvar would be proud of that." Gideon spoke, doing his best to sound reassuring. He was never quite good with feelings, or with children, but he still tried his best. After all, it is indeed true that they would not have found this haul of iron if it wasn't for Raelzeth's particular talents.
"Don't think your father has heard us yet, if you don't want to see him just yet."
Finn chuckled at the huntress' remark regarding his distaste for the Valtem, "They're man-eating monsters and a mockery of the human form! You'd have to either be mad or some kind of perverse fool to see them in any other way!"
Finnegan's upbeat demeanor hardened as the pair drew closer to the caves' entrance, "That's a fair point… Even if they're desperate to feed the broodlings– it would make sense for a few hunters to have at least stuck with the Broodmother as extra protection… If heard right, two Valtem came to protect the Broodmother, and I doubt that they would leave a single Valtem in charge of guarding the young alone…. So in total its probably around four adults, the Broodmother, and an uncertain amount of broodlings."
Finn stopped at the edge of the cave, speaking in hushed tone as he would peer inside, "If you've got anything on your mind, you should say it now– Valtem have extremely good hearing so we'll have to be as quiet as possible once we're inside."
“...ha.” Soyala smirked lightly at Fin’s contempt for the Valtem, though if she had other thoughts about it she didn’t share as they’d step into the cold darkness of the sea caverns.
“A good hunter knows how to move quietly in any terrain.” She’d respond, moving to the edge of where the flow of water disappeared below, slowly fading into darkness as the cavern led downwards. “It’d be less worried about their hearing, and more about the echo in this cavern making everything hear us if we make too much noise. Also the issue that if they’re water dwelling creatures, then they can likely see in darkness better than we can.”
She’d put her hand in the waters, taking a handful…and promptly splashing it onto Finn.
“Also, we’re probably gonna get soaked. These caves flood pretty often. We’re gonna want to be out of here before the sea rises.”
"In that case we'd better light a t–!!!"
Finnegan's entire body went rigid as freezing cold water splashed down the back of his neck and trailed into his clothes; a yelp of surprise only being prevented by clamping his teeth together as to not let the sound escape.
The Apostle whirled to face Soyala, his eyes only inches away from her own as he did his best to hide how startled he'd been from the sudden splash of freezing water. "The hells is wrong with you? Are you trying to give us away?" he hissed at the woman; his widened eyes seeming to carry a light of their own in the darkness, "Light a damn torch if you have one. No point in risking drowning when the dark will do nothing to hide us."
“You need to relax, boy.” Soyala chuckled, not seeming too impressed with his reaction or his thoughts about being given away. “Being too tense will make stalking prey hard.” Instead of a torch though, Soyala would toss Finn what seemed to be a small metal cage with glass panels on all sides, and a wick inside. A small lever was on the bottom of it, Soyala turned it on her own lamp, a shower of sparks playing inside and catching the wick on fire.
“Torches aren’t gonna be useful here.” She’d retort. “Our opponents are sea creatures, and torches don’t work well when wet. Some hunters bought these from that Kitsune merchant when she passed through here last. Good for small areas and weathering the elements, but it doesn’t light as much as a torch.”
"Don’t treat me like I’m some kid…" Finn grumbled under his breath as he eyed the lantern Soyala produced with curiosity; the device unlike anything he’d ever seen, "That’ll work perfectly. " the Apostle resigned with a sigh, grasping his spear firmly as his eyes scanned through the now illuminated cavern area around them, "Can we keep moving now? Without distractions? I’d like to be in and out before the tunnels flood next."
“If you weren’t a kid,” Soyala walked by, giving him a rough push on the chest. “You wouldn’t be demanding me not to treat you like one. I’ll go first. My eyes are sharper than yours and I know these caverns better. Stay close, and don’t go running off. I won’t come looking for you if you get lost.”
She’d sit lowering herself to the ground and dangling her legs over the ledge before sliding herself off the ledge and onto the one further below a few feet down, a few pebbles and specks of dust joining her.
“Don’t worry about noise, the waterfall will probably stop us from being heard for a bit.” She’d hop down to the second ledge, and then the third, and fourth quite quickly. He’d definitely want to move quickly, she wasn’t going to be taking her time.
"Wai- let me– ach–! Hold on dammit!" Finn stammered as he made a poor attempt to keep pace with the Huntress; barely managing to keep himself from slipping as he hopped down the ledges after the huntress. Though he was far from uncoordinated; the month-long dream had taken a noticeable toll on Finnegan’s motor skills, and despite his body being healthy as ever– more dexterous motions still felt odd and disjointed.
But nonetheless, he did his best to keep up.
Soyala, seemed intent on running Finn through the wringer. She moved swiftly, and as they hit the bottom of the water carved hole into the rock, she’d waste no time in moving along the smooth path. The water was only ankle deep for now, but water lines clearly indicated that later, the water would certainly be to their necks. The cave twisted and turned, and at a few points Soyala would seemingly stop as though she was trying to recall something, before heading onwards down an offshoot or some side path that required some crawling or squeezing to get through.
The only constant though, was the the cave kept heading downwards, either slowly gently sloping in some areas, or having to climb down another drop carved by the constant stream of water. Thankfully, though, the caverns too seemed to grow more spacious the further down they went, reaching the old, well carved paths, and it was at a particular smaller room, that Soyala would stop…and motion for Finn to remain silent by placing a finger to her lips.
“Pretty far in. If they don’t already know someone is in here, they probably will soon.” The cacophony of the waterfall had already long since faded into the background, only the occasional echo of another in the distance briefly breaking the silence. “If I remember right, beyond this crawlspace is where the cave meets a large pocket of sea water that opens to an underwater cave system. This is likely close enough to where they’ll be.”
By the time Soyala had finally given pause, Finnegan’s pants had been soaked up to his knees; the frozen waters having seeped through the entirety of his boots, socks and underlayer. The slight discoordination from before changing from careful; albeit off balance, quick steps– into a stiff and awkward trudge as his breath steamed the cool cavern air.
"Haa– Ach… Hoo.. " the Apostle panted as he leaned his weight against the wall of the cave, nodding in response to the huntress. Biting hard on the inside of his cheek, Finn slowly but surely got control of his breathing– before giving a final nod of affirmation; knuckles clenched white around the haft of his spear.
"Hah– What are we waiting for then? Lets do this."
“I’ll go first.” She’d say, getting on her stomach. “Stay alert.” With that, the huntress would squeeze through the small passageway, crawling along the cavern floor, muddy earth sticking to her clothes. No doubt if the sea was higher, this would be entirely underwater right now, so they likely no longer had much time to reach their destination if they wanted to come back out the same way they came in.
Thankfully, the crawl was short.
And on the otherside? As Soyala pulled herself up, she was quiet, saying nothing immediately. Finn would watch her slowly crawl against a nearby rocky wall, observing the room in front of her. She immediately motioned for Finn to follow closeby.
The cavern they found themselves in, was large and surprisingly well lit with odd glowing fungi and other bioluminescent plant matter of some near alien sort, almost placed on the walls like torches. The room itself was huge, with sea water splashing against the nearby rocky shore.
What neither probably expected though, was the dozens of dead Valtem laying peacefully on the ground, lightly covered with plants from the sea. Against the far wall, was a now deceased Broodmother, whose body had seemingly almost been nearly split in half.
Soyala quietly turned her gaze towards Finn.
“...so how does this play into your theory from earlier?”
Finnegan barely managed to swallow the bile that rose in his throat as the thick smell of gore invaded his nose. Sure Finn had gutted animals before– the sheer concentration of gore in this enclosed chamber produced a nauseating stench unlike any the Apostle had ever encountered.
"Eugh– what the fuck?"
Stepping forward, Finn set his expression and hesitantly inspected the corpses under the various coverings. While the wounds across the bodies ranged from slashes, to punctures, to blunt force trauma… Whatever had killed all the Valtem hadn't been doing it for food. There wasn't a single sign the bodies had been even partially eaten. And what was perhaps most chilling– whatever had split the broodmother in half must've done so with brute strength; the ragged split being far too rough to have been done with a weapon before dragging the creature out of the water and into the creature's current position.
"Whatever killed these wasn’t a normal animal…" Finnegan muttered as the color drained from his face; eyes drifting to the pool leading into the ocean, carefully scanning it's surface for movement. His eyes then fell upon an offshoot the led deeper into the Cavern system, creeping forward ever so carefully as he'd peer into the passage beyond.
Finn approached the tunnel leading away, carefully listening for anything that was coming this way, and something was indeed coming. Before he could get too close, he could hear it. The sounds of two people talking, clearly female just out of sight, judging from the sound of it they were slowly coming this way, their voices echoing off the walls, clearly not expecting any human to have made it to this place.
“Haa…that’s another dead.”
“...what do we do, Sella?”
“...I don’t know, Melleph. As long as the Broodmother doesn’t leave, we can’t leave, but as long as we stay here…”
“...maybe we could ask the humans for help?”
“Stop with that idea already, Mell.” The one named Sella snapped. “They’ll kill us if they even make it here.”
“But what about our sisters? If we don’t bring them back, if we don’t…Sella, wait…!” They were quickly heading this way, and Soyala smirked, positioning herself on one side of the cavern and readying her spear. She’d look over to Finn.
“Well, this should make our job easier.” Soyala said with a smirk. “We’ll remove this problem. Permanently.”
The Goddess yawns, stretching and seems bored with this situation Current location: Dawn Time: Afternoon Potential Events:
Jolca would give Lissa some rough directions to where she thought the Necromancer was, though also cautioned her that the person in question didn’t like visitors and set up magical wards around her home, preventing most people from getting into it without some know-how on their part. Jolca thus, handed her a small handcrafted charm that should as she said, repel any sort of illusions or at least make them more perceptible to the average human.
So Lissa would head into the same forest Novak would have walked into, not too terribly long before. Oddly, despite the Yaga’s words of warning about both the wardings and the Krysa patrol, she saw nothing immediately save for some old tracks that looked like a man and some small animal, but they were quickly being buried by the gently falling snow.
The only other thing of note, was a lone Krysa in the distance, seemingly marking a nearby tree with some simple carving before running off.
The goddess throws the stick off screen, and the dog comes back…as a skeleton dog, and runs after the startled goddess. Current location: Dawn Time: Morning Current Objective: Find the Necromancer Potential Events:
“Hmph. Boringly quiet. Was hoping one of those rat bastards would look at me funny.” Jivka replied to the Mothraki. “Well, feel free to stay as long as ya want. I’m not going anywhere…well, maybe not unless one of those rats piss me off. Might do something and get dragged off to prison if I do…haaa… ”
Jivka walked over to the table, putting up her feet as she’d lazily look over to Nylah.
“If you’re lookin’ for something to do, we could go mug those rats. Jolca keeps trying to talk me down but we’re not gonna get anywhere just from sitting here.”
“...well, I’d rather not end up on the wrong end of a Krysan arrow.” Eirhild replied. “I know they didn’t give us the warmest welcome, but maybe we could learn their side of the story?”
“Heh, good luck getting them to talk.” Jivka laughed.
“Yeah? You just gonna sit on yer arse and do nothing then?”
“Yes, because I like being able to do that when I’m not hunting.”
“...well, Nylah, what do you wanna do?” EIrhild would turn and look towards the Mothraki.
r. Current location: Yaga Village Time: Morning Potential Events:
The inside of the cabin was silent for a few seconds after Novak had spoken, but it wouldn’t take long before he could hear movement from within. A quiet hum was heard briefly coming from the door before it would slowly creak open. A pair of bright green eyes stared at him from the small slit in the door, and a few locks of chestnut colored hair could be seen hanging from the persons head though it was difficult to tell too much else as they were intentionally hiding themselves behind the door.
“...how did you find this place? I had wards setup to confuse people.” Ayumi yipped happily, seemingly pleased with herself about something as the person continued. “...I want nothing. You should leave before you lead them to me. I want no part of this conflict.” Finished saying her piece the woman would quickly and quietly pull the door too…but not before Ayumi managed to scamper her way inside.
“H-hey! You…whatever you are, get out of here!”
The door would be left open as the person would head back inside, attempting to find the little fox that had scurried inside. At least now he’d get a good look at the person in question. A yaga of somewhat difficult to tell age, sporting long hair and vibrant green eyes. She was dressed in a fairly simple attire, though it seemed a bit foreign to the area and what Yaga would usually be seen wearing.
“You come get your pet rat!”
A maid with a purple blindfold and a broom suddenly shows up in the dialogue box. The Moon goddess, startled, runs away while the broom wielding maid chases her. Current location: Northern Snowfields Time: Morning Potential Events:
Raelzeth looked up at Gideon, tilting her head to the side before realizing something, then shaking her head.
“...cant…speak…urgh-well…” She pointed towards her throat as a strained voice came out. She’d shake her head again. “I was just…thinking how I’d gloat about it to him.” She’d manage to get out despite her weakened vocal cords and obviously now hoarse voice.
“Ah? What’s all this then? Raelzeth? Ah, Gideon you’re back and…what in the sages wisdom is this?” He’d say upon seeing the beast, eyes widening just slightly as he’d eagerly walk over, laying a hand on the creatures hide. “Ain’t never seen something like this…it was alive? This is some of the highest quality iron I’ve seen!” He glanced over to Raelzeth and Gideon. “What do you want for it? I can’t just let you hand this over empty handed.”
The moon goddess punches an oddly shaped square tree that produces an oddly shaped square block of wood which she then somehow turns into a wooden pickaxe. Current location: Dawn Time: Morning Potential Events:
"Well, lets hurry up and find what we're looking for so we can go back and get that treated. It'd sure be a shame to lose you to some annoying plant thing." Vammy grabbed the servant's and made sure to hold on as she examined the wound "You're not bleeding badly. That's good. Means we can search around without my favorite new toy passing out."
The demon frowned at the rumbling from below. She had to wonder if down was the way to go. Still, this place was more dangerous than she had expected. Vammy brought Yuisa's hand up and kissed the top of it like some imperfect imitation of a knight. "I'll protect you, my dear damsel~"
With that, she moved forward a bit thinking of which direction to go. She wondered if something special might be kept in a tower. Her old master used to live in a tower of sorts if she remembered correctly. "Not afraid of heights are you?" She asked, stopping at the stairs that went up, keeping an eye peeled for any more of those plant bastards. She could burn them easily, at least.
Finnegan's jaw clenched tightly as he crept to the side of the passageway; opposite from Soyala, as he listened intently to the voices that approached the larger chamber. From what he could discern, the Valtem were indeed fighting something; and only staying due to the Broodmother's insistence to remain in the area.
A chill passed down Finnegan's spine.
Something wasn't right with this situation.
When the voices mentioned 'bringing back their sisters' Finnegan's face paled.
There was only one reason he could think of for a Broodmother refusing to leave an area; and the "missing sisters" all but felt like confirmation of the Apostle's fears... Something... Or someone... Must've stolen the tribe's young; and were now waging a borderline war against the Valtem in secret to cover their tracks.
And the Village was suffering for it.
"If an entire tribe goes missing and Dawn gets blamed-- the Village wouldn't stand a chance against the retaliation of their kin." Finn whispered in response to the Huntress' seeming enthusiasm; shaking his head. Much as he hated the very notion of giving any quarter to man-eating monsters... The alternative was facing an unknown foe strong enough to tear a Broodmother in half whilst fighting off continuous raids of pissed off Valtem warriors.
With a deep breath, Finnegan steeled his nerves as a silver glint of resolve shone in his eyes.
"Stay right there. Let them think I'm alone unless they decide to try something."
Not allowing the Huntress the time to protest, Finnegan rounded the corner; spear leveled at the source of the approaching voices from a low stance, "Stay where you are fishfreaks!" he declared confidently, "I'll only kill you if give me reason to!"
"Alright, I'll come get her," Novak replied to the red-haired Yaga, quite pleased with Ayumi's actions. Not only did the fox prevent the mysterious and uncooperative Yaga from slamming the door on him, it also meant he'd be able to get a good look at both her and the interior of the cabin.
Could this be the "person of interest" that Lady Marushka was looking for, he thought as he stepped into the house. He looked all around him, ostensibly to locate Ayumi, taking close note of what she had set up in here. When he saw her, he'd move in to seemingly grab her, gesturing to the left with his eyes in hopes that she'd get the hint to evade him.
"Are you aware that the Krysa patrols are swarming this area?" he asked as he made a insincere attempt to grab Ayumi. "Or that the Tsarita herself has taken an interest in finding someone around here? Do you really think those wards of yours will keep them away forever?"
This woman may be be dangerous, especially if she thought for a moment that he might rat her out (pun intended) to the Krysa, but she did need Novak to come in to retrieve Ayumi. Regardless, he couldn't let his guard down, she clearly had some degree of magical power or knowledge.
In the end, while it wasn’t quite the true assurance that Lissa had been looking for, she at least had a way forward to approaching the volatile situation with the Yaga and Kyrsa—enlisting the help of this necromancer Yaga girl. Lissa had her own apprehensions about a girl that was willing to dabble in such dark magics, but she was always willing to listen to a story, or hear out a redeemed character. In the end, she knew that political expedience was always the king, even if she disliked it at times.
After accepting the anti-illusion charm from Jolca, Lissa headed straight for the forest.
Ever onwards, after all.
Her trip through the forest was blissfully uneventful, enough that it made the Raam-in-disguise question if she had followed the directions correctly, or had been given proper directions at all.
She did come across a lone Kyrsa in the snow-covered forest, though, and the marking that she did on the tree made her curious enough to wait for the Kyrsan figure to leave before inspecting what they had marked. If it wasn’t anything of significance, she would continue on searching for the necromancer’s abode.
