Samir continues his mindless fidgeting with the small cube through most of the watch. It seems less like a task with a goal in mind, and more like one designed to keep hish ands and mind busy. The soft light of the cube continues to shift in color as he moves pieces here and there, rearranging them. Vilus can see that the individual pieces that make up the cube are formed of a variety of different materials, most of them metals of one kind or another. There is not much in the way of conversation from the man, unless Silas initiates it. Exhaustion still weighs heavily on Samir, and anything more than simply waiting and listening seems like too much of an effort.
While 'Silas' listens and watches and feels, his eyes fall again onto the man's body in the middle of the room. Specifically onto the rune on his forehead. He feels a familiar threatening buzz filling his head, and for a moment it feels like something in his mind or his vision is about to shift out of some sort of fight or flight response to the foreign markings, though 'Silas' himself does not feel there is any immediate danger. Just the lingering malignancy of whatever it is that led him here.
The moment passes, and the buzzing fades when Vilus looks away.
Before Samir ends his shift 'Silas' shakes his head a bit to cast off done of the fuzz from the unkonäwn interference, as he does he takes interest in the HalfOrc's fidgeting, with some degree of effort he pushes his thoughts forward and silently communicates with Samir, he hears "is-is this working? Can you hear me? Uhhh... has the cube some mechanical purpose or is it merely a puzzle piece for passing the time?, My body is getting restless and jumpy, if you could leave something to fidget with I would appreciate it... Hello?"
Samir, startled out of his meandering thoughts, startles for a second before realizing what is happening. For a moment, he is silent, before he attempts to focus his thoughts towards Silas and respond in that manner, wondering if the man's ability to speak from mind to mind goes both ways.
I suppose it is a bit of both. As for purpose it merely emits a bit of light, and you can alter the color by shifting the pieces around to change the frequency between the arcane resonances of the different materials. I find that it calms my mind and keeps my hands busy while I have nothing else to do. It is a simple thing, but one I enjoy. I like puzzles and small things of this nature, and have several in my bag. Here, try it yourself.
Samir holds the cube out to Silas, glowing softly in the palm of his hand with a pale green aura.
At the stirring of Samir and the pause in response it becomes apparent from his puzzled expression that 'Silas' cannot read minds as well as he projects thoughts, with that quietly explained and Samir's thoughts whispered audibly instead back to 'Silas', he takes the cube and thanks Samir for the loan, with a smile he lets the tired Half Orc wake his replacement and get some sleep.
When the next person looks over to 'silas' they see him fidgeting with the colour cube very much awake.
Malachi wakes to see the candles completely burned down, and the only light coming from Samir's colour cube in the goliath's hands. The room is deathly quiet besides the occasional click-click from the small device or the shuffling of someone adjusting their position, in stark contrast to the previous night spent in the Shield Pass where one could hardly hear themselves think for the constant howling of the wind.
Everyone else but Samir and 'Silas' slumbers away: Joren on his side with his arm tucked up under his head as a pillow; Marion lying straight on her back with hands clasped atop her stomach; Ashley twitching and silently mouthing "no no no" as she sleeps and sometimes turns over fitfully, apparently gripped by some bad dream.
Malachi wakes with a start as Samir shakes him, it seemed he had just laid down moments ago. He tries to shake off the after effects of his dream, no that wasn’t right, he slept too deep for it to be a dream, but the twinge in the back of his mind remains. It had served him well in the past and opened new opportunities and abilities, but now it feels a little...different. Probably the lingering stress from the fight. Probably.
As Samir goes to get some rest, Malachi drags himself up off the cot, stretches, and makes a slow circuit of the room, just to get himself up and moving if nothing else. The candles have burned down, but the low light doesn’t bother him, a benefit of the elvish blood in him, even if he tries to hide that from others. He pauses in his walk by both the bookshelf and the door, listening for any sign of movement from the rooms beyond.
Satisfied, he turns his attention to Silas, sitting up and playing with a small cube of different changing lights, and gives him a wary look “Trouble sleeping? Mind if we keep each other company?"
'Silas' nods to the empty space on the cot next to him and nonchalantly fidgets with the cube. "Tell me about yourself, if you don't mind sharing, I'll be honest.. out of all of the people here, you are the one I'm most wary of when it comes to the concern of... if this group is hiding a member of the faction that I believe is hunting me."
Vilus' gaze and frank honesty bores into Malachi, as he sets the cube down between them and once again pulls out the shadow book, letting it sit unopened on the Goliath's blanketed knee. He does not break eye contact whilst bringing out the book, watching Malachi for any reaction to the swirling symbols on the cover, with more concern than any intention of intimidation.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Malachi sits down next to Silas and gives a brief chuckle “You have nothing to fear from me. We owe you thanks for coming along as you did, otherwise that could have ended differently. You want to hear about me, where to begin?” He briefly considers weaving a tale of courts and nobles, but he is still so tired and his mind is muddled. He sighs “I am from Madurst, along the Venn Canal. I am on my way to Cambria for new opportunities. I am many things to many people, a collector, a trader, a merchant. I have an eye for many of the finer things in life.”
He makes eye contact with Silas “But I am no hunter.” He pauses “Your turn. Tell me about yourself. Who do you believe hunts you anyway and why?” As he talks, he can’t help but notice the book laying across Silas’s lap and glances at the cover to see if he recognizes any markings. Arcana to recognize the swirling symbols 10.
Malachi pulls a set of dice out of his pouch "Do you play? Something to pass the watch?"
Looking to the symbols, the lack of recognition on Malachi's face does nothing to change the concerned look on Vilus', He knows that even the majority of the cult wouldn't recognise many of these symbols at all, and those they would are relics from a half remembered ritual the meaning of which was all but lost.
"a merchant then..." thinking for a moment "...a fighting merchant, I suppose you would have to learn to fight on trails from city to city, and 'Many things to many people' is a reality I'm facing right now.." Vilus trails off in thought with a smile before he snaps back to the cold reality of his undisclosed situation "I've never seen Mardust, Lived in Cambria all my life and rarely stepped foot outside of the wall, Did what I had to in order to thrive.. not much to my story, I recently inherited something out of my control and I cant give it back, that's why I'm likely being hunted, If you were wondering. Truth is I'm not sure if the reason is jealousy or otherwise motivated betrayal, I'm not sure if it's one individual or a large faction of a well connected and resourceful group, So you see the issue I'm having to deal with?"
Malachi would realise that the Goliath is picking his words carefully as to not lie but also not giving specifics, he seems fluent in secrecy.
"Samir seems like a capable tinkerer, Joren and Marion are trained sufficiently in combat, but I didn't catch the name of your sand dweller" he half heartedly points to Ashley the only party member distinctly visible in the darkness "I think I owe her an apology, but I'm not sure she'll be receptive to it, I might need help there when the time comes. speaking of the others, you don't seem to know each other very well, Do you trust them all?"
Vilus eyes the dice set, squinting in the darkness "I can play but I would need to see better" He picks the cube back up and cranks it a couple of times until a soft blue glow emanates from it and sets it down once more between himself and Malachi "maybe that'll suffice"
At that moment, both Vilus and Malachi hear a sound from the other room. A soft groan. Razmus. There is a muffled shifting and some more groans from him, and then a few faltering footsteps. The two can just make out him saying "Oh wow..." as he takes in the carnage around him.
Vilus stands up quickly, a dagger already in one hand as he quietly sidles up to the door.
From the amount of time passed and the fact that Rasmus is awake, Vilus guesses that the gas has dissipated, and so locking eyes with Malachi's he slowly begins to remove the blockage from the door (he's giving Malachi a chance to stop him or at least give a reason or alternative) 9 for stealth as he moves around the room and begins to remove the blockage.
IF he makes too much noise and hears Rasmus alerted, Vilus will forgo stealth to rush and get through the door to intercept Rasmus.
Not recognizing any of the symbols on the book, Malachi ignores it and listens quietly to Silas’ story. “Her name is Ashley”Malachi responds to his question “Joren calls her Lady Ashley, although I am not sure if it is a title or an affectation of his speech. I have as well, where I come from the nobles are easily offended by such things, so better safe than sorry.” He gives a wry smile.
“It is true that we do not know each other well, we met as travelers on the same trail. But I do trust them”Malachi relates some of the experiences they shared on the path through the Shield Pass “You learn a lot about each other through these. We have each other's backs. We can have your back too, if you are being hunted. Although, it sounds as if you don’t know if you are actually being hunted, or by whom. Could you be mistaken?”
At that moment, both Malachi and Silas are surprised by the sound of the innkeeper from the room next door. As Silas moves to unlatch the door, Malachi looks to the sleeping figures. Should I wake them? They need rest, surely the two of us can take him. Malachi nods to Silas to continue and moves by the door next to him, ready to rush out and confront the innkeeper. Before anything, he turns and notes the sleeping figure of Ashley, she has had the most rest, and makes a connection with her mind, an avenue to call for help if they need it.
Vilus starts removing the wedges, trying to be both quick and quiet. He and Malachi can still hear Razmus moving about in the other room. He has said no more words to himself, but seems to walking hurriedly about the room. Vilus gets the last wedge out and starts to wrest the prybar free from the door handle. He pushes and wiggles, and then the bar shifts suddenly, grating against the stone wall it was braced against.
The footsteps outside stop. Realizing they have been heard, Vilus and Malachi burst through the door and assess the situation.
A few last inches of sleeping gas cling to the ceiling overhead. All of the rat-man bodies lie cold and still where they had died. Just past the shelf to their right, 5 feet from the ladder, Vilus and Malachi see Razmus holding a recently lit candle in one hand and the now earless necklace in the other. He stands frozen for a moment, looking back at them. There is no smile on his face. Then man, half-elf, and goliath all move at once, Razmus for the ladder, the other two to intercept.
(Each of you give me a contested athletics check to grab Razmus before he reaches the main floor, or if you wish to perform another action you may do so. Because you have not finished your long rest yet, but Razmus also just woke up from blunt force trauma and breathing in a decent amount of sleeping gas, everyone can just roll normally without disadvantage)
“Silas, do not grab him!”Malachi shouts before turning his attention to the innkeeper, Malachi shouts again “Razmus, wait!” he grabs his necklace and weaves the power of suggestion into his words “you are tired, sit down here and rest with us until everyone else has awakened.”
(WIS Save DC 14 or it pursues the course of action suggested.)
Vilus can feel the power that Malachi put into his suggestion, but he can also see immediately that just like with Marion's command earlier, Razmus seems to be resisting the influence on his mind. One of his hands wraps around the first rung of the ladder.
Vilus bounds across the room, hesitating for a moment as Malachi attempts his diplomacy, as Rasmus resists 'Silas' feels the telltale sign of magic as his skin prickles and sparks fly, he raises his arms as he thunders toward the skinny man but to Vilus' surprise there is no flash of magic or boom of deathly tolling, caught off guard Vilus' collides at full speed with the scheming bartender.
(Taking the shove action to remove Rasmus from the ladder, athletics 22
(Give it to me flat)
15
Samir continues his mindless fidgeting with the small cube through most of the watch. It seems less like a task with a goal in mind, and more like one designed to keep hish ands and mind busy. The soft light of the cube continues to shift in color as he moves pieces here and there, rearranging them. Vilus can see that the individual pieces that make up the cube are formed of a variety of different materials, most of them metals of one kind or another. There is not much in the way of conversation from the man, unless Silas initiates it. Exhaustion still weighs heavily on Samir, and anything more than simply waiting and listening seems like too much of an effort.
While 'Silas' listens and watches and feels, his eyes fall again onto the man's body in the middle of the room. Specifically onto the rune on his forehead. He feels a familiar threatening buzz filling his head, and for a moment it feels like something in his mind or his vision is about to shift out of some sort of fight or flight response to the foreign markings, though 'Silas' himself does not feel there is any immediate danger. Just the lingering malignancy of whatever it is that led him here.
The moment passes, and the buzzing fades when Vilus looks away.
The second shift proceeds without event.
Before Samir ends his shift 'Silas' shakes his head a bit to cast off done of the fuzz from the unkonäwn interference, as he does he takes interest in the HalfOrc's fidgeting, with some degree of effort he pushes his thoughts forward and silently communicates with Samir, he hears "is-is this working? Can you hear me? Uhhh... has the cube some mechanical purpose or is it merely a puzzle piece for passing the time?, My body is getting restless and jumpy, if you could leave something to fidget with I would appreciate it... Hello?"
Samir, startled out of his meandering thoughts, startles for a second before realizing what is happening. For a moment, he is silent, before he attempts to focus his thoughts towards Silas and respond in that manner, wondering if the man's ability to speak from mind to mind goes both ways.
I suppose it is a bit of both. As for purpose it merely emits a bit of light, and you can alter the color by shifting the pieces around to change the frequency between the arcane resonances of the different materials. I find that it calms my mind and keeps my hands busy while I have nothing else to do. It is a simple thing, but one I enjoy. I like puzzles and small things of this nature, and have several in my bag. Here, try it yourself.
Samir holds the cube out to Silas, glowing softly in the palm of his hand with a pale green aura.
At the stirring of Samir and the pause in response it becomes apparent from his puzzled expression that 'Silas' cannot read minds as well as he projects thoughts, with that quietly explained and Samir's thoughts whispered audibly instead back to 'Silas', he takes the cube and thanks Samir for the loan, with a smile he lets the tired Half Orc wake his replacement and get some sleep.
When the next person looks over to 'silas' they see him fidgeting with the colour cube very much awake.
Malachi wakes to see the candles completely burned down, and the only light coming from Samir's colour cube in the goliath's hands. The room is deathly quiet besides the occasional click-click from the small device or the shuffling of someone adjusting their position, in stark contrast to the previous night spent in the Shield Pass where one could hardly hear themselves think for the constant howling of the wind.
Everyone else but Samir and 'Silas' slumbers away: Joren on his side with his arm tucked up under his head as a pillow; Marion lying straight on her back with hands clasped atop her stomach; Ashley twitching and silently mouthing "no no no" as she sleeps and sometimes turns over fitfully, apparently gripped by some bad dream.
Malachi wakes with a start as Samir shakes him, it seemed he had just laid down moments ago. He tries to shake off the after effects of his dream, no that wasn’t right, he slept too deep for it to be a dream, but the twinge in the back of his mind remains. It had served him well in the past and opened new opportunities and abilities, but now it feels a little...different. Probably the lingering stress from the fight. Probably.
As Samir goes to get some rest, Malachi drags himself up off the cot, stretches, and makes a slow circuit of the room, just to get himself up and moving if nothing else. The candles have burned down, but the low light doesn’t bother him, a benefit of the elvish blood in him, even if he tries to hide that from others. He pauses in his walk by both the bookshelf and the door, listening for any sign of movement from the rooms beyond.
Satisfied, he turns his attention to Silas, sitting up and playing with a small cube of different changing lights, and gives him a wary look “Trouble sleeping? Mind if we keep each other company?"
'Silas' nods to the empty space on the cot next to him and nonchalantly fidgets with the cube. "Tell me about yourself, if you don't mind sharing, I'll be honest.. out of all of the people here, you are the one I'm most wary of when it comes to the concern of... if this group is hiding a member of the faction that I believe is hunting me."
Vilus' gaze and frank honesty bores into Malachi, as he sets the cube down between them and once again pulls out the shadow book, letting it sit unopened on the Goliath's blanketed knee. He does not break eye contact whilst bringing out the book, watching Malachi for any reaction to the swirling symbols on the cover, with more concern than any intention of intimidation.
(Passive insight for the conversation 11)
Malachi sits down next to Silas and gives a brief chuckle “You have nothing to fear from me. We owe you thanks for coming along as you did, otherwise that could have ended differently. You want to hear about me, where to begin?” He briefly considers weaving a tale of courts and nobles, but he is still so tired and his mind is muddled. He sighs “I am from Madurst, along the Venn Canal. I am on my way to Cambria for new opportunities. I am many things to many people, a collector, a trader, a merchant. I have an eye for many of the finer things in life.”
He makes eye contact with Silas “But I am no hunter.” He pauses “Your turn. Tell me about yourself. Who do you believe hunts you anyway and why?” As he talks, he can’t help but notice the book laying across Silas’s lap and glances at the cover to see if he recognizes any markings. Arcana to recognize the swirling symbols 10.
Malachi pulls a set of dice out of his pouch "Do you play? Something to pass the watch?"
Looking to the symbols, the lack of recognition on Malachi's face does nothing to change the concerned look on Vilus', He knows that even the majority of the cult wouldn't recognise many of these symbols at all, and those they would are relics from a half remembered ritual the meaning of which was all but lost.
"a merchant then..." thinking for a moment "...a fighting merchant, I suppose you would have to learn to fight on trails from city to city, and 'Many things to many people' is a reality I'm facing right now.." Vilus trails off in thought with a smile before he snaps back to the cold reality of his undisclosed situation "I've never seen Mardust, Lived in Cambria all my life and rarely stepped foot outside of the wall, Did what I had to in order to thrive.. not much to my story, I recently inherited something out of my control and I cant give it back, that's why I'm likely being hunted, If you were wondering. Truth is I'm not sure if the reason is jealousy or otherwise motivated betrayal, I'm not sure if it's one individual or a large faction of a well connected and resourceful group, So you see the issue I'm having to deal with?"
Malachi would realise that the Goliath is picking his words carefully as to not lie but also not giving specifics, he seems fluent in secrecy.
"Samir seems like a capable tinkerer, Joren and Marion are trained sufficiently in combat, but I didn't catch the name of your sand dweller" he half heartedly points to Ashley the only party member distinctly visible in the darkness "I think I owe her an apology, but I'm not sure she'll be receptive to it, I might need help there when the time comes. speaking of the others, you don't seem to know each other very well, Do you trust them all?"
Vilus eyes the dice set, squinting in the darkness "I can play but I would need to see better" He picks the cube back up and cranks it a couple of times until a soft blue glow emanates from it and sets it down once more between himself and Malachi "maybe that'll suffice"
At that moment, both Vilus and Malachi hear a sound from the other room. A soft groan. Razmus. There is a muffled shifting and some more groans from him, and then a few faltering footsteps. The two can just make out him saying "Oh wow..." as he takes in the carnage around him.
Vilus stands up quickly, a dagger already in one hand as he quietly sidles up to the door.
From the amount of time passed and the fact that Rasmus is awake, Vilus guesses that the gas has dissipated, and so locking eyes with Malachi's he slowly begins to remove the blockage from the door (he's giving Malachi a chance to stop him or at least give a reason or alternative) 9 for stealth as he moves around the room and begins to remove the blockage.
IF he makes too much noise and hears Rasmus alerted, Vilus will forgo stealth to rush and get through the door to intercept Rasmus.
Not recognizing any of the symbols on the book, Malachi ignores it and listens quietly to Silas’ story. “Her name is Ashley” Malachi responds to his question “Joren calls her Lady Ashley, although I am not sure if it is a title or an affectation of his speech. I have as well, where I come from the nobles are easily offended by such things, so better safe than sorry.” He gives a wry smile.
“It is true that we do not know each other well, we met as travelers on the same trail. But I do trust them” Malachi relates some of the experiences they shared on the path through the Shield Pass “You learn a lot about each other through these. We have each other's backs. We can have your back too, if you are being hunted. Although, it sounds as if you don’t know if you are actually being hunted, or by whom. Could you be mistaken?”
At that moment, both Malachi and Silas are surprised by the sound of the innkeeper from the room next door. As Silas moves to unlatch the door, Malachi looks to the sleeping figures. Should I wake them? They need rest, surely the two of us can take him. Malachi nods to Silas to continue and moves by the door next to him, ready to rush out and confront the innkeeper. Before anything, he turns and notes the sleeping figure of Ashley, she has had the most rest, and makes a connection with her mind, an avenue to call for help if they need it.
Vilus starts removing the wedges, trying to be both quick and quiet. He and Malachi can still hear Razmus moving about in the other room. He has said no more words to himself, but seems to walking hurriedly about the room. Vilus gets the last wedge out and starts to wrest the prybar free from the door handle. He pushes and wiggles, and then the bar shifts suddenly, grating against the stone wall it was braced against.
The footsteps outside stop. Realizing they have been heard, Vilus and Malachi burst through the door and assess the situation.
A few last inches of sleeping gas cling to the ceiling overhead. All of the rat-man bodies lie cold and still where they had died. Just past the shelf to their right, 5 feet from the ladder, Vilus and Malachi see Razmus holding a recently lit candle in one hand and the now earless necklace in the other. He stands frozen for a moment, looking back at them. There is no smile on his face. Then man, half-elf, and goliath all move at once, Razmus for the ladder, the other two to intercept.
(Each of you give me a contested athletics check to grab Razmus before he reaches the main floor, or if you wish to perform another action you may do so. Because you have not finished your long rest yet, but Razmus also just woke up from blunt force trauma and breathing in a decent amount of sleeping gas, everyone can just roll normally without disadvantage)
Razmus Athletics: 8
“Silas, do not grab him!” Malachi shouts before turning his attention to the innkeeper, Malachi shouts again “Razmus, wait!” he grabs his necklace and weaves the power of suggestion into his words “you are tired, sit down here and rest with us until everyone else has awakened.”
(WIS Save DC 14 or it pursues the course of action suggested.)
Razmus Wisdom Save: 15
Vilus can feel the power that Malachi put into his suggestion, but he can also see immediately that just like with Marion's command earlier, Razmus seems to be resisting the influence on his mind. One of his hands wraps around the first rung of the ladder.
Vilus bounds across the room, hesitating for a moment as Malachi attempts his diplomacy, as Rasmus resists 'Silas' feels the telltale sign of magic as his skin prickles and sparks fly, he raises his arms as he thunders toward the skinny man but to Vilus' surprise there is no flash of magic or boom of deathly tolling, caught off guard Vilus' collides at full speed with the scheming bartender.
(Taking the shove action to remove Rasmus from the ladder, athletics 22