"Vark," the ventriloquist pronounces proudly in the puppet's voice. "It means freedom."

“Curious,” he replies, cocking his head to one side. “In what tongue? And exactly how old are you, Vark?”

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Cassandra smiles sadly.

"I'm not offended. I'm flattered," she explains, tucking a rogue lock of hair behind her ear. "Stay true to your heart, Alaris, and it will see you through whatever troubles life throws at you."

Stepping into the aasimar's embrace, Cassandra offers them a chaste kiss to the cheek, before departing down the passages of the abbey once more.

A moment later, Alaris hears a sudden shockwave of displaced air followed by a string of Breannian curses that would make a sailor blanch, as Shiva abruptly appears in the courtyard in a cloud of purple energy.

Alaris leaps down stairs and over railings to make their way down to the courtyard. They see Astrid kneeling beside the weeping tiefling, so Alaris rushes towards the courtyard gates, looking for attackers. "Shiva! Where are they?? How many??" The aasimar pauses for a moment, then turns their attention inward for a moment. "Do you see anything? CAN you see anything"

Shiva lays still for another moment as Astrid approaches her with concern, then slowly sits herself up. With the adrenaline beginning to fade, the horrible pain across her back makes itself known, and while sitting in this way she is able to feel warm blood trickling down to stain the waistline of her pants. She's just about to speak when Alaris comes sprinting to her aid. "I'm alright, Ari. Well, I'm not actually, but the men who did this aren't here." She feels a warmth recede from her hand, and looks down to see sparks jumping from the ring that slowly diminish to inactivity.

Now that she has a moment to really think, memories enlighten her as to what she'd seen. "The Ravagers' Rest is run by Norscans. Wolf Clan. Bunch of muscle-bound pieces of shit who likely abducted women and bound them to those beds. They're sex slaves and those Norscans are making money off of them. I attacked when I had just one of the Norscans in view...then there were two..then three." She looks from Alaris to Astrid as her eyes begin to fill with new tears and her voice breaks. "I couldn't help them. I almost got killed myself. We have to go back, we have to get those women out of there."  

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“Curious,” he replies, cocking his head to one side. “In what tongue? And exactly how old are you, Vark?”

 
"Why the new tongue, of course," the puppet retorts, before breaking off into giggles. "As for myself, I am but an innocent young boy a few days of age. Not a week ago did I become aware of my own existence!"

"Fascinating." Caio responds dryly. Despite the puppet's deeply unsettling presence, beyond keeping the poor gnome bound to it, Vark does not seem to be an active threat. Caio considers marking the entity, but how hard could it really be to track down something like this again? "Have your shows become a regular fixture here? I'd like to bring my companions to watch, they'd get quite the kick out of you."

     Astrid reaches out to Shiva, placing her hands on the tiefling's back. "Easy there, hon. You don't look like you're in much shape to go after anyone at the moment... And I have no idea where Caio wandered off to. But this does sound concerning. I don't know how a town would allow this type - !" The dwarf then recalls her previous conversation with the Abbess. 

    "I wonder... I mentioned to the Abbess about the shapechanger we uncovered in Hearthstead, and she mentioned there were rumors of something similar here. A guard came here to pray and explained that he had seen the mayor 'change their skin'! I wonder if they could be connected?!"

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Now that she has a moment to really think, memories enlighten her as to what she'd seen. "The Ravagers' Rest is run by Norscans. Wolf Clan. Bunch of muscle-bound pieces of shit who likely abducted women and bound them to those beds. They're sex slaves and those Norscans are making money off of them. I attacked when I had just one of the Norscans in view...then there were two..then three." She looks from Alaris to Astrid as her eyes begin to fill with new tears and her voice breaks. "I couldn't help them. I almost got killed myself. We have to go back, we have to get those women out of there."  

"Shiva, love, take a deep breath and listen to me." Alaris moves from the gates to kneel beside the trembling tiefling. "You are helping them. You just forgot something even more important - you are not in this alone. Thank the Lady that you made it back to us... Shiva, we are stronger than the sum of our parts. When you and Caio and Astrid and I face an obstacle together.... we each make each other's power that much greater. You have to believe me - you're back here because we need to do this together. Come inside and have some tea - we have to wait for Caio to get back before we can move anyway."

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"Fascinating." Caio responds dryly. Despite the puppet's deeply unsettling presence, beyond keeping the poor gnome bound to it, Vark does not seem to be an active threat. Caio considers marking the entity, but how hard could it really be to track down something like this again? "Have your shows become a regular fixture here? I'd like to bring my companions to watch, they'd get quite the kick out of you."

 
"Seosamh keeps us moving around the city," Vark remarks casually. "Perhaps we will see you again sometime, shadow elf."

Alaris's words and the concern of her two friends brings a weak smile to Shiva's face. Looking to Astrid, she processes what the dwarf had said. "Never a dull moment huh, Lady Silverscar? I'm sure that will have our full attention very soon." She then looks up to Alaris "Thank you Ari. It was the thought of all of you that made the ring bring me back here. We can accomplish anything when we're together, and each of you is dear to me. I...I'm still use to needing to be able to do things on my own." Still trembling, her mind floats across the years of fear and rage that kept her alive and bereft of real connections. 

Slowly, she stands, inhaling sharply at the pain in her back. "Yes, let's sit and wait for Caio to get back. But we must move tonight. Who knows what those ******** are doing now that I've attacked them. And I won't stop until those women are safe." Her gaze floats away from Alaris, and her voice takes a sinister edge. "...and I feel those men die."

Caio departs without another word to the powerful fiend, only a lingering gaze as he turns to go. 

Not long after Caio returns to the abbey, Ghoul swooping in ahead of them seemingly happy to see the others gathered. He lets out a little squawk as Caio steps forward. "I have disturbing news," He begins, but stops as he picks up in the tension and spies Shiva's wounds. "But it can wait. What trouble have you gotten into now?"

Having just lowered herself into a seat with a wool blanket around her shoulders, Shiva does her best to make herself brief for Caio's often curt manner. "There's a brothel run by Norscans in Paragon, the Ravagers' Rest. The Norscans are Wolf Clan. They seem to have abducted women and are holding them captive as sex slaves. I came upon this, and I'm sure you can imagine my reaction. There were three attacking me when I managed to get out of there by sheer luck. We need to move tonight before they can react.

She takes a pause to gauge the Shadar-Kai, then continues. "I know that I'm hurt, I'll manage. Those women will be free. Those men die tonight, even if it means taking me with them."

Caio nods with grave understanding. As ready as he stays to chastise Shiva’s reckless behavior, Caio has never questioned her rage in the face of injustice, especially not injustice like this. “What is our plan of attack?”

     "Wait, tonight?! Why does it have to be tonight? I get that these ladies are in a bad place. But we haven't a clue what's inside that place. Not many of us are good at sneaking around. So if we're going in without knowing anything. All of us need to be at out best."

     "What if we go in the morning? Hopefully some of the muscle will be drunk and most of the customers will be out of there."

“You would prefer to wait until these girls are ferried away or killed?” Caio snaps back. “Shiva is right, we move tonight. Perhaps we could have had more time to prepare had she not already ignited this fire but we’ve fought far worse than a pack of mangy thugs. I can scout ahead, at the very least they will lack the element of surprise as well.”

     "Well, no. Of course not!" Astrid crosses her arms and turns up her nose a bit as her advise is rebuked. "If we're in such a hurry then, why don't you get a move on so we can learn as much as possible?"

    Astrid turns her attention to the injured tiefling. The cleric summons the healing energy bestowed to her by Brightmantle. She places her hands over Shiva's injury, which heals quickly, but there is a roughness to her touch. "You know what, hon...? SIGH. Nevermind. At this point it's like talking to a chunk of granite."

Shiva grunts in a pain that evaporates almost instantly as Astrid works her healing magics.

"Speak your mind, Lady Silverscar."

      The dwarf taps her foot as she considers her response, then lets out a calming breath.

       "I'm glad you realized you needed some help... I just wish it would have been a bit sooner, is all."

Shiva's first response is annoyance, but the gentle tone of Astrid's voice bring her to a calm. Shifting so that her side is now facing the cleric, she lays a hand upon the dwarf's. 

"It doesn't come naturally. I was on my own for a long time. Then, even with Nik and Ling, I needed to be able to hold my own at all times. And...my life is more than who I'm sleeping with or the coin I make. If I can't free those who suffer under monsters, I may as well have died in that Pit."

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Caio nods with grave understanding. As ready as he stays to chastise Shiva’s reckless behavior, Caio has never questioned her rage in the face of injustice, especially not injustice like this. “What is our plan of attack?”

"Caio, calm yourself and keep watch in case these Wolf Norscans are able to track Shiva back here by her scent. I'm going to find the Abbess and see if the Abbey has any information or any contacts we can borrow... It troubles me that this is happening within the sphere of the Volkfelder and we need to know their numbers and the scope of their operation NOW."

Belying their call for calm, flashes of silver fury radiate from the aasimar's expression as they turn towards the abbey and call for assistance.