"I'm nothing like Andra!..." Vilus spits out before he can stop himself. After taking a moment to calm he continues "I think we should head north, follow the ships, find out what the cultists backup plan is, maybe visit the tower on the way, but I don't know.
I don't know how far along my father's plan is, the cultists were different, their plans were just to turn everything to ash and start again. But this time it'll be more difficult, it's not just fighting and retrieving a relic... If my father has already got what he needs we'll have to fight the infrastructure of an entire city, and I don't know where to begin." He shudders thinking about his next words, "we could just find and kill him of course, it won't be easy, but finding his sympathisers and supporters will be even harder, the members are everyday people as well as spies and assassins. All already having history and even families going back generations in this city. It's not going to be a small task and we'll be chased the entire time. Though one thing we can use is their own 'Ways' against them."
Not hearing a 'No', Ashley pulls out her dagger and starts cutting into the wooden cocoon. She is careful as she goes, unsure of the magic and the body encased that she is looking for.
As she works, she responds, "Vilus, you aren't leaving this city on your own. But I too don't feel it is right leaving this city to your father and his cronies. But at the same time, do you think it is smart to head north, into the Veil and continue our work against Razmus? I feel we are starting to fight on both fronts now." She looks up to Malachi and smiles, remembering their time at the Inn as well, "That would be nice, wouldn't it? Maybe we can all retire there." she chuckles.
But then she frowns, "So in Tensmith we got in with the guard there, earned their trust and convinced them of the danger. We should at the very least do the same here, warn them of Delirium and your father. I think that should be our first step."
She then continues to carve Marigold out of the cocoon.
Green sap oozes from the roots and branches as Ashley's blade cuts in, and one by one, the wooden limbs are discarded onto the floor. A few inches in, she sees the first sign of skin. The intact right half of the cultist's face is slowly uncovered amidst the tangle. The mask of Marigold's face is gone, leaving a pale, plain, faintly female looking face, though there is some resemblance to John Shep's features.
But a few small tendrils of green coil around her eye, and some appear to have burrowed under her skin. Pulling more roots from her face, a peculiar sight greets everyone. Where once a good portion of the other side of her head had been destroyed, there is not a tangle of wood and vines that roughly approximates the features not of the cultist's original face, but of the one stolen from Marigold.
Closer inspection with the medallion reveals that there is still a faint trace of yellow coming from her, but only from the right half of her. Her eye flickers under its lid, though she makes no other movements.
"Not sure going to the guard will do anything if Vilus’s father has them on the payroll, but it could be a good first step.” Malachi turns to Vilus “Can we stand up to your organization together? Aren’t you tired of running?”he asks somberly.
As the others start to peel away the wood and roots surrounding Marigold, Malachi bends down to inspect the body “By the Blue Lady. Look at her face, it is like whatever is in the seed is fighting against the cultist’s magic.”
"the organisation has deep roots, even if we cut off the heads we'd be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives, unless we could either assume control ourselves or maybe... I dunno convert their beliefs to what little connection they had to the watcher generations ago..."
Turning to the malformed marigold vilus raises a brow at the yellow still present on the medallion, "this is good, we can use her to locate the rest of them with the hydaelym before she dies, I'll at least help you guys do that, it'll give me time to think..."
Ashley is surprised by the sight. "So they actually didn't turn Marigold against the council, they killed her and used her face. Maybe turning people to their cause isn't that easy so they just kill instead." Her mind is racing as she looks upon the countenance of what used to be the woman they were chasing.
Finally stands up and faces Vilus, "So are we certain that the cult and this Watcher clan that is now headed by your father are completely separate? There isn't a connection there? But yes, let's get her down by the hydaelym."
She kneels again, working to get the rest of the body out of the wooden cocoon.
"I don't think they recruited anyone to their cause, those who went out to sea came back changed right?... Delirium has no operations at sea, none that I know of anyway, though they likely have insurgents at the docks, it's not impossible that they have members who are also cultists, hut it's also not likely..." Vilus mutters noncommittally, his daggers still out waiting for any sign of life from Marigold.
As more and more of her body is revealed, the wonder continues. More branches and vines twine throughout her form, having replaced much of her missing left side with plant growth. Snaking roots that resemble a ribcage with small leafy stems arc back into the rest of the cocoon, and deep within is something nestled among the green and brown where a heart should have been. Les the red of blood and tissue, and more the red of a ripe fruit, it pulses within her broken chest, releasing a small glow from within
A problem presents itself as the chopping continues. While the face and torso have been half reconstructed, she does not seem to have an arm or leg on her left side, so much as she has a tangled mass of roots that fuse her to the rest of the cocoon. Perhaps they have not formed yet. Perhaps they were never going to. As Ashley starts to cut into one of the thick cords of wood, Marigold suddenly gasps with the sound of wind blowing through trees as air moves through the leaves in her ribcage. "Wh-where am I?"
"Who am I?" she looks around with confused recognition, like she knows your faces but can't quite recall from where. "Razmus... no... Marigold. Wait, is that right? There was a ship. And a fight..." Her eyes find a bit of focus as she looks at Vilus and the knife in his hand. "We fought, didn't we?"
Malachi places his hand on Vilus’s forearm, trying to calm him down. “Relax, she is not the same person she was before. Let’s find out what she knows, calmly.” He turns to the others “Question her on what you want to know, I will try to suss out the truth of what she says.”
He steps forward to Marigold “Yes, we did fight, but that is over now. We are going to ask you some questions, answer as best you can, we will know if you are not truthful.” Malachi flips his copper coin along his fingers and looks inside Marigold’s mind as he detect thoughts.
Joren recalls the questioners who visited prisoners of war during his campaign in the Veil, suppressing a shudder. Yet here we are, needing to question...
The warrior's voice is subdued. Gentle, even. "You were uttering 'Razmus' before answering 'Marigold.' Who or what is Razmus signifying to you?"
Vilus stares at Malachi a little taken aback. He obviously doesn't trust this situation at all, but he is reminded of everything the group has been through so far. Lowering the daggers but not stowing them Vilus moves to one side of 'Marigold', still prepared to attack but out of her eyeline.
Ashley smiles at Mal, seeing that he said exactly what she was thinking. She then watches Marigold, waiting to see how she answers Joren. The way her body looks... it's incredible but at the same time, so gory, it makes her shudder.
The heart-like fruit in her chest pulses quickly as her eyes flick back and forth over her captors. "Razmus created me. No. He didn't. Razmus did not create me. I have a mother. I was born right here in Talmouth. But no, wait. I was on a boat. For a long time. My homeland is black and ash. But that doesn't make sense. Talmouth isn't black and ash. It was going to be, but that changed..."
Malachi:
Her thoughts seem to weave back and forth between conflicting memories. Part of her truly does believe she is Marigold, and even has her memories, but it competes with other memories. Both parts are her are confused. Lost.
Wood groans and her back arches. "Razmus! I don't understand what's happening. Why can't I hear you?!"
The heart-like fruit in her chest pulses quickly as her eyes flick back and forth over her captors. "Razmus created me. No. He didn't. Razmus did not create me. I have a mother. I was born right here in Talmouth. But no, wait. I was on a boat. For a long time. My homeland is black and ash. But that doesn't make sense. Talmouth isn't black and ash. It was going to be, but that changed..."
Malachi:
Her thoughts seem to weave back and forth between conflicting memories. Part of her truly does believe she is Marigold, and even has her memories, but it competes with other memories. Both parts are her are confused. Lost.
Wood groans and her back arches. "Razmus! I don't understand what's happening. Why can't I hear you?!"
Vilus' eyes dart around the group finally landing on Samir he telepathically communicates "if her yellow light is fading then we need to move fast, can you check again?"
"Your homeland is black and ash? Can you tell us anymore about that? And what did the plan change to if it isn't Talmouth anymore?" Ashley is still amazed that this is going on, she wonders if the woman is in pain with half her body now wood.
"I have memories of a dark continent where the sun never rises. There is no day and night. The horizon sky is like a ring of fire lining the smoky blackness above. The earth is naught but black dust. No plants grow there. That seems... sad to me now." She pauses and considers. "So Talmouth is safe then... I feel both disappointed and relieved..."
She starts crying. Softly at first, chest heaving with silent tears. And then comes the audible sobbing.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
"I'm nothing like Andra!..." Vilus spits out before he can stop himself. After taking a moment to calm he continues "I think we should head north, follow the ships, find out what the cultists backup plan is, maybe visit the tower on the way, but I don't know.
I don't know how far along my father's plan is, the cultists were different, their plans were just to turn everything to ash and start again. But this time it'll be more difficult, it's not just fighting and retrieving a relic... If my father has already got what he needs we'll have to fight the infrastructure of an entire city, and I don't know where to begin." He shudders thinking about his next words, "we could just find and kill him of course, it won't be easy, but finding his sympathisers and supporters will be even harder, the members are everyday people as well as spies and assassins. All already having history and even families going back generations in this city. It's not going to be a small task and we'll be chased the entire time. Though one thing we can use is their own 'Ways' against them."
Not hearing a 'No', Ashley pulls out her dagger and starts cutting into the wooden cocoon. She is careful as she goes, unsure of the magic and the body encased that she is looking for.
As she works, she responds, "Vilus, you aren't leaving this city on your own. But I too don't feel it is right leaving this city to your father and his cronies. But at the same time, do you think it is smart to head north, into the Veil and continue our work against Razmus? I feel we are starting to fight on both fronts now." She looks up to Malachi and smiles, remembering their time at the Inn as well, "That would be nice, wouldn't it? Maybe we can all retire there." she chuckles.
But then she frowns, "So in Tensmith we got in with the guard there, earned their trust and convinced them of the danger. We should at the very least do the same here, warn them of Delirium and your father. I think that should be our first step."
She then continues to carve Marigold out of the cocoon.
As Marigold becomes more visible, Vilus produces two daggers of his own and prepares at attack should marigold wake and try anything hostile.
Green sap oozes from the roots and branches as Ashley's blade cuts in, and one by one, the wooden limbs are discarded onto the floor. A few inches in, she sees the first sign of skin. The intact right half of the cultist's face is slowly uncovered amidst the tangle. The mask of Marigold's face is gone, leaving a pale, plain, faintly female looking face, though there is some resemblance to John Shep's features.
But a few small tendrils of green coil around her eye, and some appear to have burrowed under her skin. Pulling more roots from her face, a peculiar sight greets everyone. Where once a good portion of the other side of her head had been destroyed, there is not a tangle of wood and vines that roughly approximates the features not of the cultist's original face, but of the one stolen from Marigold.
Closer inspection with the medallion reveals that there is still a faint trace of yellow coming from her, but only from the right half of her. Her eye flickers under its lid, though she makes no other movements.
"Not sure going to the guard will do anything if Vilus’s father has them on the payroll, but it could be a good first step.” Malachi turns to Vilus “Can we stand up to your organization together? Aren’t you tired of running?” he asks somberly.
As the others start to peel away the wood and roots surrounding Marigold, Malachi bends down to inspect the body “By the Blue Lady. Look at her face, it is like whatever is in the seed is fighting against the cultist’s magic.”
"the organisation has deep roots, even if we cut off the heads we'd be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives, unless we could either assume control ourselves or maybe... I dunno convert their beliefs to what little connection they had to the watcher generations ago..."
Turning to the malformed marigold vilus raises a brow at the yellow still present on the medallion, "this is good, we can use her to locate the rest of them with the hydaelym before she dies, I'll at least help you guys do that, it'll give me time to think..."
Ashley is surprised by the sight. "So they actually didn't turn Marigold against the council, they killed her and used her face. Maybe turning people to their cause isn't that easy so they just kill instead." Her mind is racing as she looks upon the countenance of what used to be the woman they were chasing.
Finally stands up and faces Vilus, "So are we certain that the cult and this Watcher clan that is now headed by your father are completely separate? There isn't a connection there? But yes, let's get her down by the hydaelym."
She kneels again, working to get the rest of the body out of the wooden cocoon.
"I don't think they recruited anyone to their cause, those who went out to sea came back changed right?... Delirium has no operations at sea, none that I know of anyway, though they likely have insurgents at the docks, it's not impossible that they have members who are also cultists, hut it's also not likely..." Vilus mutters noncommittally, his daggers still out waiting for any sign of life from Marigold.
As more and more of her body is revealed, the wonder continues. More branches and vines twine throughout her form, having replaced much of her missing left side with plant growth. Snaking roots that resemble a ribcage with small leafy stems arc back into the rest of the cocoon, and deep within is something nestled among the green and brown where a heart should have been. Les the red of blood and tissue, and more the red of a ripe fruit, it pulses within her broken chest, releasing a small glow from within
A problem presents itself as the chopping continues. While the face and torso have been half reconstructed, she does not seem to have an arm or leg on her left side, so much as she has a tangled mass of roots that fuse her to the rest of the cocoon. Perhaps they have not formed yet. Perhaps they were never going to. As Ashley starts to cut into one of the thick cords of wood, Marigold suddenly gasps with the sound of wind blowing through trees as air moves through the leaves in her ribcage. "Wh-where am I?"
"you don't ask the questions! You answer them!" Vilus barks at the woman, "Who are you?!"
He takes a step forward daggers still out threatening, and now with a glowing heart to target, should 'Marigold' attempt to cast a spell
"Who am I?" she looks around with confused recognition, like she knows your faces but can't quite recall from where. "Razmus... no... Marigold. Wait, is that right? There was a ship. And a fight..." Her eyes find a bit of focus as she looks at Vilus and the knife in his hand. "We fought, didn't we?"
Malachi places his hand on Vilus’s forearm, trying to calm him down. “Relax, she is not the same person she was before. Let’s find out what she knows, calmly.” He turns to the others “Question her on what you want to know, I will try to suss out the truth of what she says.”
He steps forward to Marigold “Yes, we did fight, but that is over now. We are going to ask you some questions, answer as best you can, we will know if you are not truthful.” Malachi flips his copper coin along his fingers and looks inside Marigold’s mind as he detect thoughts.
Joren recalls the questioners who visited prisoners of war during his campaign in the Veil, suppressing a shudder. Yet here we are, needing to question...
The warrior's voice is subdued. Gentle, even. "You were uttering 'Razmus' before answering 'Marigold.' Who or what is Razmus signifying to you?"
Joren's Insight: 18
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Vilus stares at Malachi a little taken aback. He obviously doesn't trust this situation at all, but he is reminded of everything the group has been through so far. Lowering the daggers but not stowing them Vilus moves to one side of 'Marigold', still prepared to attack but out of her eyeline.
Ashley smiles at Mal, seeing that he said exactly what she was thinking. She then watches Marigold, waiting to see how she answers Joren. The way her body looks... it's incredible but at the same time, so gory, it makes her shudder.
The heart-like fruit in her chest pulses quickly as her eyes flick back and forth over her captors. "Razmus created me. No. He didn't. Razmus did not create me. I have a mother. I was born right here in Talmouth. But no, wait. I was on a boat. For a long time. My homeland is black and ash. But that doesn't make sense. Talmouth isn't black and ash. It was going to be, but that changed..."
Malachi:
Her thoughts seem to weave back and forth between conflicting memories. Part of her truly does believe she is Marigold, and even has her memories, but it competes with other memories. Both parts are her are confused. Lost.
Wood groans and her back arches. "Razmus! I don't understand what's happening. Why can't I hear you?!"
The heart-like fruit in her chest pulses quickly as her eyes flick back and forth over her captors. "Razmus created me. No. He didn't. Razmus did not create me. I have a mother. I was born right here in Talmouth. But no, wait. I was on a boat. For a long time. My homeland is black and ash. But that doesn't make sense. Talmouth isn't black and ash. It was going to be, but that changed..."
Malachi:
Her thoughts seem to weave back and forth between conflicting memories. Part of her truly does believe she is Marigold, and even has her memories, but it competes with other memories. Both parts are her are confused. Lost.
Wood groans and her back arches. "Razmus! I don't understand what's happening. Why can't I hear you?!"
Vilus' eyes dart around the group finally landing on Samir he telepathically communicates "if her yellow light is fading then we need to move fast, can you check again?"
"Your homeland is black and ash? Can you tell us anymore about that? And what did the plan change to if it isn't Talmouth anymore?" Ashley is still amazed that this is going on, she wonders if the woman is in pain with half her body now wood.
"I have memories of a dark continent where the sun never rises. There is no day and night. The horizon sky is like a ring of fire lining the smoky blackness above. The earth is naught but black dust. No plants grow there. That seems... sad to me now." She pauses and considers. "So Talmouth is safe then... I feel both disappointed and relieved..."
She starts crying. Softly at first, chest heaving with silent tears. And then comes the audible sobbing.