Samir manages to keep his discomfort to himself as he dons the borrowed clothing and creeps along with the others, all the while questioning his life choices that brought him to the point where he was disguised as a beggar moving through the streets with a cocooned cult member about to plunge into the sewers. As the others begin the task of moving Marigold into the sewers, he finds himself somewhat at loose ends, unable to really help with the physical exertion needed to move the heavy load, and afraid that he'd only be getting in the way if he were to join Ashley and Vilus. Instead, he moves to the side, trying to watch for when his help might be needed and letting his mind cogitate and ponder some of the strange revelations that have come out of late.
Sliding down, Malachi lands in the shallow water with a small splash. He listens for any signs of activity while Joren very carefully lowers the cocoon down. Controlling his breathing and holding the large and cumbersome object clear of the sides, he passes it off to Marion with hardly a sound.
The guard passing by Ashley avoids eye contact with what he assumes is a poor, unwashed vagrant, and carries on his way, not thinking anything amiss. By the time he is out of sight, the cocoon is in the shallow water below.
Then, Malachi hears faintly, as if an unearthly breeze, the groan of a beast echoing through the sewers. The cave bear back in the the cultists' hideout is still roaming around somewhere.
Malachi steps back closer to the entrance as the others come through. “Shh! Be quiet. The cave bear is still wandering around somewhere, I can hear him.” He steps back and lets Vilus lead them through the tunnels to the wreckage of the hydaelym, following along and keeping watch for trouble along the way.
Vilus does indeed lead the group through the now too familiar tunnels. All the while he keeps a passive ear out for the bear or anything else amiss. "I just hope there's a little yellow left in her by the time we get to it, this'll all be a waste if we can't locate the stragglers to hunt down" he communicates telepathically to Samir first and then the rest of the group.
Joren's whisper in response to Vilus' telepathic message is a low, contemplative rumble.
"The red is growing so strong in her now, it will also be interesting, at least to me, to see if other red dots are being revealed, in addition to the yellow."
Ashley follows dutifully behind, the mention of the cave bear has her a bit on edge, but she doesn't try to slow anyone down. She knows doing that would probably put Vilus even more on edge. If it is difficult to see, she'll produce a small flame in her palm to help with moving along.
Malachi follows along, nervously glancing around the passageways. “Do we think there are enough cultists left to make this worth the effort? We’ve blunted the invasion and they are moving off to who knows where.”He glances over at the cocoon “We don’t even know what she will show us in this form. Do you really think it will be Red, Joren?"
"Being honest with myself, I do not know for certain, Mal." Joren keeps his voice quiet so as not to attract unwanted ursine attention.
"Theology and metaphysics and magic never having been my strong suit, yet the red in Marigold's cocooned form was showing strong in Shep's talisman. Stronger than for me or Samir, even. We are knowing a bit now about Razmus and the Blue Lady. Far less about the Red Huntsman. And my sense is that the latter hates Razmus with a passion exceeding the Blue Lady's, who is seeming to take more of a protective stance."
What is that saying about me, Joren wonders. I am never sensing any hate inSamir. But in me...
Sound echoes strangely down here, though Vilus does manage to pick a bear-free route as they return to the map room, and the cave-bear sounds far off. Joren and Marion set down their burden and notice small offshoots of the roots slowly quest towards a few small puddles from the leaks in the roof. "I remember this place," Marigold says. "I used it to track the progress of the tunnel excavations towards Tensmith, and at times to follow your movements... " Her voice is slow and ponderous, carrying a curiosity rather than an emotional affect.
Samir cannot help but glance nervously at the sound of Marigold's voice, a shiver running over his skin. Silently, he cannot help but think that trying to use Marigold to find the other cultists in her current state will be all but impossible. Too much of who she was is gone now, and the balance in her magical leanings has moved steadily further away from Razmus. But what else to do? He knew better than to try and change Vilus' path at this point. Maybe if Mal or Ashley tried to do so they could convince the goliath that going to the authorities was the better option for them, but not Samir. He didn't possess the sort of silver tongue needed to get through that level of paranoia and borderline obsession. no, he could only follow along and wonder how much longer all of this could go on before something terrible happened to their little group.
Hearing Marigold's voice makes her pause in her motions and look down at the half woman, half tree. Ashley looks to the others to see what their reactions are, finding the curiosity on the woman's voice almost more unsettling than if she had a little malice towards the fact the ones she used to hunt are now her captors.
She looks to Vilus to see if he is going to move her towards the map, she hates to admit it, but she's curious to see what will be revealed.
"shoulda left us well enough alone, and maybe you wouldn't be a ****in' tree right now..." Vilus grumbles under his breath.
When they get to the hydaelym and the map, Vilus does indeed waste no time getting marigold situated in front of the area she needs to place her hand, and then he patiently waits for the medallion to be handed over as the component part and for Samir to feed the machine a little liquid arcanum once more.
Joren wordlessly shoulders Marigold, helping get her into whatever position Vilus or Samir direct.
He answers her quietly. Gently.
"That is the other one who is remembering. Those memories are not belonging to Marigold of Talmouth. Being safe now."
He keeps his echo active as Sentinel near the entrance. Ostensibly to guard against an encroaching cave bear, but in reality more as a psychological ward against a nameless apprehension which he cannot quite place a finger on.
Malachi leans against the wall, arms crossed and frowning as the others struggle to move the cocoon into position. He responds to Joren quietly "Safe? You think so? I still think Vilus would just as easily slit her throat once she has shown him what he thinks he wants to see."
He raises his voice and talks to the others. “I still think this is a waste of time, the cult is all but broken here. If we do find stragglers, what do we do? Turn them over to the organization who wants Vilus dead, hunt them down ourselves? If the organization has already infiltrated the government, the city guard will likely be no help. We should warn the council about the threat the organization poses, or try to find out where the invasion fleet is going next, not wander around these tunnels.”
"Those council members were left alive for a reason. You think delirium would chance not having their hands on the strings. What good would it do us to report to the puppet that a puppeteer exists. But I said before, I'm all for leaving this city behind, I'd prefer not to be around when delirium begin showing their 'hand'...
For now, we find the cultists and kill them, that was the point, right? Unless you guys wanna cocoon them all and make a goddamn garden." Vilus grunts in frustration as he roughly breaks the vines away from marigolds arm and tried to extend her hand toward the plate ready for the machines activation.
Joren nods ever so slightly at Malachi's comment, face stoic. Not a nod of agreement, but one of acknowledgement.
Keeping his Dunamis Blade stowed, he keeps a watchful eye as he helps move Marigold into position, both for any clues once the Hydaelym springs to life, but also to attempt to block any move Vilus might make to slit Marigold's throat as Malachi had suggested. His voice is a low rumble.
"Having brought her here, let us be seeing what we see. Then deciding. If we are needing to leave the city, so be it. Already having said I will follow."
The map hums to life with the infusion of essence, and begins to glow as Marigold's human hand is freed and placed on the device. The map shows its view of Cambria, and only one yellow light shines out faintly. Marigold's. But the map slowly expands outwards, back to the view it last took where it showed the ocean. Instead of the lone light indicating a medallion or Hydaelym where the fleet is located, a bright mob of lights shines forth. Zooming in on that area reveals hundreds if not thousands of lights in 40 ship-shaped clusters heading north.
But there also appears to be 2 ships that have split off, heading south of Cambria, in the general direction of the Venn Canal or perhaps the island, Skeald Rock.
Samir remains quiet throughout the process, mutely setting to work to make the machine work once more as best he can. Silently, he agrees with Malachi about trying to warn the city about the organization, although he can grudgingly see Vilus point as well.
As the points of light begin to emerge, Samir frowns, focusing on the massive grouping that appear to be heading north, an army that far outskirts their ability to deal with in any tangible way. Perhaps they can send word ahead so that the locals might be prepared?
Then his attention is caught, snagged by the pair of ships going elsewhere. He frowns, eyes narrowing as he traces an imaginary line to project where they may be going.
"Oh no..." horror drips from the words as Samir's eyes widen. "No no no they can't... we have to... we have to stop them..."
Ashley stands behind Samir as they all watch the map, seeing it zoom out and the pretty little lights appear. When the lights grow, her spirits dampen... there were so many. She remains focused on that until Samir opens up.
She grabs his shoulders and turns him around, "Samir! What it is? They can't what?"
Malachi steps forward and leans over Samir’s shoulder as the lights begin to display on the map. “Ah, see, nothing is left here after all.”he says smugly, locating the single light that is Marigold. But he quickly loses his composure as he sees the full breadth of the fleet heading north, and the two break-away ships moving south.
“No”Malachi echoes Samir’s horror as he traces the path of the ships as well and turns to choke out an answer to Ashley. “Those two ships, they are heading to the sister cities, the Venn Canal. They are going to Samir’s home. Our home.”
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Samir manages to keep his discomfort to himself as he dons the borrowed clothing and creeps along with the others, all the while questioning his life choices that brought him to the point where he was disguised as a beggar moving through the streets with a cocooned cult member about to plunge into the sewers. As the others begin the task of moving Marigold into the sewers, he finds himself somewhat at loose ends, unable to really help with the physical exertion needed to move the heavy load, and afraid that he'd only be getting in the way if he were to join Ashley and Vilus. Instead, he moves to the side, trying to watch for when his help might be needed and letting his mind cogitate and ponder some of the strange revelations that have come out of late.
Sliding down, Malachi lands in the shallow water with a small splash. He listens for any signs of activity while Joren very carefully lowers the cocoon down. Controlling his breathing and holding the large and cumbersome object clear of the sides, he passes it off to Marion with hardly a sound.
The guard passing by Ashley avoids eye contact with what he assumes is a poor, unwashed vagrant, and carries on his way, not thinking anything amiss. By the time he is out of sight, the cocoon is in the shallow water below.
Then, Malachi hears faintly, as if an unearthly breeze, the groan of a beast echoing through the sewers. The cave bear back in the the cultists' hideout is still roaming around somewhere.
Malachi steps back closer to the entrance as the others come through. “Shh! Be quiet. The cave bear is still wandering around somewhere, I can hear him.” He steps back and lets Vilus lead them through the tunnels to the wreckage of the hydaelym, following along and keeping watch for trouble along the way.
Vilus does indeed lead the group through the now too familiar tunnels. All the while he keeps a passive ear out for the bear or anything else amiss. "I just hope there's a little yellow left in her by the time we get to it, this'll all be a waste if we can't locate the stragglers to hunt down" he communicates telepathically to Samir first and then the rest of the group.
(Passive perception whilst walking 17)
Joren's whisper in response to Vilus' telepathic message is a low, contemplative rumble.
"The red is growing so strong in her now, it will also be interesting, at least to me, to see if other red dots are being revealed, in addition to the yellow."
He keeps his echo moving 30' ahead of the party
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Nature Cleric1/Divine Soul Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles
Dyson/Eleo(Twilight Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Shepherd Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Arcane Trickster Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Echo Knight Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Ancestral Guardian Barbarian6/Echo Knight Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
Ashley follows dutifully behind, the mention of the cave bear has her a bit on edge, but she doesn't try to slow anyone down. She knows doing that would probably put Vilus even more on edge. If it is difficult to see, she'll produce a small flame in her palm to help with moving along.
Malachi follows along, nervously glancing around the passageways. “Do we think there are enough cultists left to make this worth the effort? We’ve blunted the invasion and they are moving off to who knows where.” He glances over at the cocoon “We don’t even know what she will show us in this form. Do you really think it will be Red, Joren?"
"Being honest with myself, I do not know for certain, Mal." Joren keeps his voice quiet so as not to attract unwanted ursine attention.
"Theology and metaphysics and magic never having been my strong suit, yet the red in Marigold's cocooned form was showing strong in Shep's talisman. Stronger than for me or Samir, even. We are knowing a bit now about Razmus and the Blue Lady. Far less about the Red Huntsman. And my sense is that the latter hates Razmus with a passion exceeding the Blue Lady's, who is seeming to take more of a protective stance."
What is that saying about me, Joren wonders. I am never sensing any hate in Samir. But in me...
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Nature Cleric1/Divine Soul Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles
Dyson/Eleo(Twilight Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Shepherd Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Arcane Trickster Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Echo Knight Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Ancestral Guardian Barbarian6/Echo Knight Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
Sound echoes strangely down here, though Vilus does manage to pick a bear-free route as they return to the map room, and the cave-bear sounds far off. Joren and Marion set down their burden and notice small offshoots of the roots slowly quest towards a few small puddles from the leaks in the roof. "I remember this place," Marigold says. "I used it to track the progress of the tunnel excavations towards Tensmith, and at times to follow your movements... " Her voice is slow and ponderous, carrying a curiosity rather than an emotional affect.
Samir cannot help but glance nervously at the sound of Marigold's voice, a shiver running over his skin. Silently, he cannot help but think that trying to use Marigold to find the other cultists in her current state will be all but impossible. Too much of who she was is gone now, and the balance in her magical leanings has moved steadily further away from Razmus. But what else to do? He knew better than to try and change Vilus' path at this point. Maybe if Mal or Ashley tried to do so they could convince the goliath that going to the authorities was the better option for them, but not Samir. He didn't possess the sort of silver tongue needed to get through that level of paranoia and borderline obsession. no, he could only follow along and wonder how much longer all of this could go on before something terrible happened to their little group.
Hearing Marigold's voice makes her pause in her motions and look down at the half woman, half tree. Ashley looks to the others to see what their reactions are, finding the curiosity on the woman's voice almost more unsettling than if she had a little malice towards the fact the ones she used to hunt are now her captors.
She looks to Vilus to see if he is going to move her towards the map, she hates to admit it, but she's curious to see what will be revealed.
"shoulda left us well enough alone, and maybe you wouldn't be a ****in' tree right now..." Vilus grumbles under his breath.
When they get to the hydaelym and the map, Vilus does indeed waste no time getting marigold situated in front of the area she needs to place her hand, and then he patiently waits for the medallion to be handed over as the component part and for Samir to feed the machine a little liquid arcanum once more.
Joren wordlessly shoulders Marigold, helping get her into whatever position Vilus or Samir direct.
He answers her quietly. Gently.
"That is the other one who is remembering. Those memories are not belonging to Marigold of Talmouth. Being safe now."
He keeps his echo active as Sentinel near the entrance. Ostensibly to guard against an encroaching cave bear, but in reality more as a psychological ward against a nameless apprehension which he cannot quite place a finger on.
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Nature Cleric1/Divine Soul Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles
Dyson/Eleo(Twilight Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Shepherd Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Arcane Trickster Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Echo Knight Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Ancestral Guardian Barbarian6/Echo Knight Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
Malachi leans against the wall, arms crossed and frowning as the others struggle to move the cocoon into position. He responds to Joren quietly "Safe? You think so? I still think Vilus would just as easily slit her throat once she has shown him what he thinks he wants to see."
He raises his voice and talks to the others. “I still think this is a waste of time, the cult is all but broken here. If we do find stragglers, what do we do? Turn them over to the organization who wants Vilus dead, hunt them down ourselves? If the organization has already infiltrated the government, the city guard will likely be no help. We should warn the council about the threat the organization poses, or try to find out where the invasion fleet is going next, not wander around these tunnels.”
"Those council members were left alive for a reason. You think delirium would chance not having their hands on the strings. What good would it do us to report to the puppet that a puppeteer exists. But I said before, I'm all for leaving this city behind, I'd prefer not to be around when delirium begin showing their 'hand'...
For now, we find the cultists and kill them, that was the point, right? Unless you guys wanna cocoon them all and make a goddamn garden." Vilus grunts in frustration as he roughly breaks the vines away from marigolds arm and tried to extend her hand toward the plate ready for the machines activation.
Joren nods ever so slightly at Malachi's comment, face stoic. Not a nod of agreement, but one of acknowledgement.
Keeping his Dunamis Blade stowed, he keeps a watchful eye as he helps move Marigold into position, both for any clues once the Hydaelym springs to life, but also to attempt to block any move Vilus might make to slit Marigold's throat as Malachi had suggested. His voice is a low rumble.
"Having brought her here, let us be seeing what we see. Then deciding. If we are needing to leave the city, so be it. Already having said I will follow."
Inge(Barbarian2): Krayveneer's After the Fall | Seri(Nature Cleric1/Divine Soul Sorcerer1): Uhtred's Windward Isles
Dyson/Eleo(Twilight Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Shepherd Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Nivi(Arcane Trickster Rogue4): Raiketsu's CoS
Joren(Echo Knight Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Toa(Ancestral Guardian Barbarian6/Echo Knight Fighter4): MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return
The map hums to life with the infusion of essence, and begins to glow as Marigold's human hand is freed and placed on the device. The map shows its view of Cambria, and only one yellow light shines out faintly. Marigold's. But the map slowly expands outwards, back to the view it last took where it showed the ocean. Instead of the lone light indicating a medallion or Hydaelym where the fleet is located, a bright mob of lights shines forth. Zooming in on that area reveals hundreds if not thousands of lights in 40 ship-shaped clusters heading north.
But there also appears to be 2 ships that have split off, heading south of Cambria, in the general direction of the Venn Canal or perhaps the island, Skeald Rock.
(Vilus give me a charisma saving throw DC 18)
Samir remains quiet throughout the process, mutely setting to work to make the machine work once more as best he can. Silently, he agrees with Malachi about trying to warn the city about the organization, although he can grudgingly see Vilus point as well.
As the points of light begin to emerge, Samir frowns, focusing on the massive grouping that appear to be heading north, an army that far outskirts their ability to deal with in any tangible way. Perhaps they can send word ahead so that the locals might be prepared?
Then his attention is caught, snagged by the pair of ships going elsewhere. He frowns, eyes narrowing as he traces an imaginary line to project where they may be going.
"Oh no..." horror drips from the words as Samir's eyes widen. "No no no they can't... we have to... we have to stop them..."
Ashley stands behind Samir as they all watch the map, seeing it zoom out and the pretty little lights appear. When the lights grow, her spirits dampen... there were so many. She remains focused on that until Samir opens up.
She grabs his shoulders and turns him around, "Samir! What it is? They can't what?"
Malachi steps forward and leans over Samir’s shoulder as the lights begin to display on the map. “Ah, see, nothing is left here after all.” he says smugly, locating the single light that is Marigold. But he quickly loses his composure as he sees the full breadth of the fleet heading north, and the two break-away ships moving south.
“No” Malachi echoes Samir’s horror as he traces the path of the ships as well and turns to choke out an answer to Ashley. “Those two ships, they are heading to the sister cities, the Venn Canal. They are going to Samir’s home. Our home.”