The Forgotten Wish

Sylvera storms angrily to the place where Comedy vanished. She feels like she got a lot of information, but most of that information is pointless considering she doesn't know what to do with it. Perhaps she should have simply asked where to start, but then again he probably would have given the same answer. Unfortunately, with everything piling up in her mind, she finds it difficult to focus on what's in the room. 

Part of her wants to find something, anything, that will reveal all this to be some sort of trick... but then, if it was, then where does that leave her? At least if what Comedy said was true, then she has a lead... she just doesn't know which direction that lead is pointing her. For all she knows, it could just end here--leaving her just as lost as where she started. 

Making a very unladylike growl, she puts a hand to her forehead in frustration. Great, now whenever she gets her next delivery of funds she won't even know what to do with it. Where does she go now? Should she just hire a bunch of workers to come tear this place apart in search of something 'magic'? Or does she look around for any other strange death rituals like this one they've come to carry out for Pallen... if he even wants to proceed with that. 

She turns to Asimi, "Where is the room he said his body is in? Perhaps we can learn something by investigating that."

Oren nods enthusiastically when he hears Sylvera ask about Comedy's body.  "Good idea.  Very normal idea.  We need that I think."   

But then he also looks over at Pallen, and asks quietly, "Has any of this changed what you want to do?"

Too lost in her own thoughts to effectively look around the room Asimi was snapped out of them at Sylvera's voice. Looking at the other elf she straightened out her posture before speaking, "I know not the exact location," The elf began, "It's somewhere to the south but I was only given vague directions at best," She admitted, "However far it is I cannot say." Though her voice was fairly neutral in tone there was a hint of underlying anger still lingering within it.

She too turns her attention to Pallen, if the elf was the one employing the group then perhaps it'd be in her interest to hear what he has to say as well... For however much time he had left. 

Rick's brow furrows during Comedy's replies and he leaps back when the thing disappears, posture ready to bolt.

Perception: 20

"Once we complete our business here, we should seek it out," Sylvara says curtly, turning to Asimi. "If you require payment for the trouble of leading the way, I will provide half now and half if we reach the location." 

She turns to Pallen, "For now though, we have... something to attend to." She waits to hear the dying elf's response to Oren. It really won't surprise her if Pallen chooses to end his life now instead of waiting, but then again, his wife is still here so perhaps he'll take the risk of whatever 'mercy' Comedy might provide. 

 Rick, still looking from side to side, slides closer to Pallen and asks,

"Boss Pallen?"

Most people are still too stunned with simply... Everything, happening, to pay too much attention to their surroundings. Only Rick briefly hears what sounds like a faint "click" coming from somewhere above them. There's some piping up there, and a few mechanical looking things, but he's not sure what thing, if any, made the sound.

Briefly after there is some talk on what to do next, and that maybe they should find out more about this Comedy fellow. Asimi feels pretty certain her dreams could lead her to this other location she was shown. The very same kind of dreams led her to this place, after all. A vague sense that she would simply "recognize" things until getting where she'd have to be. But accurate assessment is indeed hard. She thinks a few days at least, probably?

But this is mostly all afterthought as attention turns to Pallen, still shell-shocked from all of it. And now, after the initial anger has started to die out, is left mostly with just... Confusion, and more.

"I'm... I'm okay," Pallen lies after seeing all the concerned gazes. He unsteadily forces himself to move just a bit, forcing himself to land in one of the nearby chairs with a surprisingly heavy drop. It takes a moment longer for him to actually continue.

"I... Just don't know. I'll be honest, a part of me was starting to come here that maybe this whole belief I've had was just dumb. My son thought so, so maybe I should have just followed him, you know? Now, I guess... I guess it's actually very, very real!" he says, a forced, awkward laugh escaping his lips for just a moment.

"So I could just... Sit here, sleeping, I guess. That's what he called it, yes? But... Damnit, there's so many questions I should have asked! It sounds like... There's an afterlife, yes? From what he said? But do I even trust him? You saw he basically admitted to doing something to those kids, and causing that whole mess! If he comes save me eventually, who even knows when, is it just going to be for some twisted game?!"

"Or maybe, just... I don't know,"

He glances around the group for a moment, as if trying to gauge what everyone thinks. But seems to realize that maybe this burden should not lie with the group.

"Just... A little bit of time to think, please. And can someone help take me to the other room? I'd like to sit at my family's table."

Rick brushes the clicking sound from his mind after not seeing any visible issue. Things click sometimes.

Rick moves over to help Pallen to the table,

"Rick will help Boss Pallen over."

Asimi looks over to Sylvera with a nod, "Agreed," She said simply. Though she doesn't touch the subject of pay, feeling it unnecessary. If they had the same goals it seemed logical to stay with them. That, and a lingering sense of needing to finishing some final task, made the decision rather simple.

Hoisting her halberd over her shoulder she makes her way towards Pallen, giving Rick a curt nod, she offers the elf her free arm for assistance. Although there was a lack of any real concern in her expression, eyes instead looking over Pallen's form to get a better understanding of what this Wasting actually meant.

Rick and Asimi work together to escort Pallen to the other room. The people turned statues are as eerie as they've always been, and the elf they are helping is one in the making. He's keeping intentionally covered up, hiding most of it... But it's obvious by this point he can no longer bend his knees, and many other parts of his body, making the whole transport difficult. 

(there were people wanting to investigate, right? I'd take an investigation check from anyone wanting to search, at least until they may potentially encounter something...)

Breldo Investigation: 13

Investigation: 16

Oren is looking about the room, but he is still in the 'comedy' room, not the dining hall yet.

When he does see Sylvera move to Pallen's side and she helps move him along with Rick, anyone watching can see a smile cross his face.

Staying close to Breldo, Nuria also investigates her immediate area.

Investigation: 10

With some guidance, Rick and Asimi help Pallen over toward an indicated table, where he eventually slides in. The table, at first, is both as macabre yet perhaps in a strange way uplifting as all the others are within this hall. Many elves seated as if enjoying their final feast or moment of comfort, before this disease took them over completely. And while the table is much like any other, this one is clearly special to him. As becomes obvious when he leans in to the fine female figure to which he seats next. Her forever frozen expression is of a soft smile, belying a hint of sadness, one hand on the table as if reaching out to someone beside her.

He slowly comes to move his hand over hers. His hand is already frozen in a position where a proper match is no longer possible. But it is good enough.

"...I don't think I could do it. If she spent so long waiting here for me... Would it be selfish of me, to not want to wait however much longer it might take..?"

Others around, and in the other room meanwhile, begin researching their immediate rooms first, before eventually exploring further. The place is much bigger than these two big entrance halls after all, as they'd quickly find out. But the only thing anyone finds out for now is that earlier discussion this place was probably looted before is true. It does seem that everything that wasn't bolted down has been stolen at some point. It even seems that many of the things that were, but seemed valuable enough, got taken anyway, judging by damage against the walls here and there. It is likely a grim realization once the party starts to put two and two together as to the why so many of the statues seem to be missing a few fingers or more at times, most often the ring finger the one being removed.

On Oren's side, he's quite certain the only reason the organ there is relatively untouched is because it is far too massive to really steal from. With that said, he notes that several of the pipes that come out of the organ are, in fact, missing.

...Making one wonder how exactly the performance earlier worked without issues.

On Breldo and Nuria's side, there's not even cutlery to be found within the dining hall. Eventually, between going either deeper on the first floor or checking the staircase, they figure they might as well see what is actually on the second floor. This leads to a hallway, many doors lining the side as it seems to imply many private rooms, judging by glancing in just a few and seeing most furnished with simple, now far dilapidated beds. They come to a soon stop when they notice something ahead however. A pipe within the wall seems to have burst, and leaked a thick, black liquid all over the floor. Now, the hole itself seems patched, as where the breach happened some dark material seems to have solidified, effectively blocking more leakage; but what is still on the ground bubbles idly in the passage.

(Didn't move Oren ahead as you specified wanting to stay in the one room, though my intent is probably to move through the whole complex and stopping on interesting stuff/ allowing closer investigations if anything catches interest. Everyone is free to do further investigation rolls if they want.)

"Rick doesn't think Boss Pallen is selfish."

Rick will say comfortingly.

He'll reach out to help make sure Pallen and his wife's hands are in contact with each other and to hold them there for as long as he needs to.

Breldo approaches carefully, wafting the air to him to check for noxious gasses before they get too close. 

"Careful of bubbles bursting, we don't want whatever that is to get on us..."

He'll look about for something to poke into it to try to figure out what it is...

Nature: 5

Looking away from Rick and Pallen, Asimi turned her attention back to the rest of the room. Waiting for the rest of the group to convene together once more, she prepared herself to properly ingratiate herself to them instead of the scattershot introduction from earlier.

The downtime did, however, spark her curiosity about this place. With the urgency of summoning Comedy now gone Asimi found herself making her way through the room, looking through it more carefully than before. Perhaps it was redundant, pointless even, but she couldn't shake the niggling thoughts plaguing her when looking at the myriad statues surrounding them.

Investigation: 4

Khond is...  Uncharacteristically quiet.  For a time, he simply stands, staring at the stage, before he mutters to himself, "Magic.  Now this is a story worth telling."

Breldo wafts some air to him to check the strange stuff on the ground. There's a vague metallic smell, but nothing that he'd describe as "noxious", noticing no effect on his body besides the maybe vaguely unpleasant smell. He finds some vines that have broken through a window not too far from his position, and uses that to stick into it. The texture feels like mud, yet at the same time causes the surface of the black goop to ripple around the impact point.

He has no idea what it is, except perhaps that it doesn't quite seem natural.

Nuria nervously watches Breldo. She'd never have considered poisonous gas had she been alone...but then again if she'd been alone she'd never have come here in the first place. When the halfling inches closer to the strange substance, she trails behind him as well.

She looks at the substance, also trying to figure out what it is.

Nature: 8

She doubts she knows what it is, but thinking about that is better than dwelling on the strange conversation from earlier....