Nikolai smiles at Ling's cheeky antics, but then looks down in surprise when she passes him off the strange ring they found. "Uhhh...Ling?" But before he could say anything else, she was moving towards the tower with the momentum of a rampaging bull. There was no stopping her when she had that single-minded determination of hers.... He quickly gathers the sack of loot he found and follows the others. He rushes over to Ling with the rest, pushing his way through to get to her side just as she mentions the word 'Charn'. Nikolai's head swims a moment as well as the tower interior is replaced with a strange looking interior with odd contraptions and decor... and glowing runes of an empty summoning circle... 'Dagon... he knows... Seek out the fallen angel...' Nikolai looks around and spots a reflection of a middle-aged, bearded human... no... his eyes... MY eyes... What? Before he could think anything more the vision fades. He grabs Ling by the shoulder. "The dead city of Charn! You saw it again? Do the bells match in any fashion?" 'How do I know that?'

      "Nothing on that scale," Astrid replies. She climbs a few steps past the other to get a better look at the bell. She pushes her shield above her head so the light emitting from it can illuminate the area. "Can't say for sure. Poorly cast would be my first guess... But if it was dropped in transport, that would do the trick too."

"Dead city of Charn?" he echoes. I bet she would know about that. "What forces are at work here. I don't like any of this, it feels almost intentional."

"That one was tiny, the only thing is that they were both broken..." Ling looks confused as she tries to recall details, but they slip away from her. "I'm sorry, I really don't know." She nods along to Astrid's explanation, seeming absentminded. "We're done, can't we get out of here? I'm starving." Brushing off the dust, Ling gets up, pockets the ruby and starts heading down the stairs.

Nikolai nods. "Agreed, I feel like we have done all that we can here for now. Let us get some food, a warm bath, and some rest. I will look over all these items once we are someplace safe. I can also look over that book you found, Shiva." He makes sure they have everything he can think of in regards to loot before they make their way out, pondering the strange black smoke from earlier....

Alaris frowns and eyes the bell with suspicion and antipathy, waiting for the rest of the group to make their way onto the stairs.

Following them down, they shake their head. "I have a bad feeling about these bells..." After a long moment, they shrug and continue, "Anyway, make sure you get your silvered gear back to me at the Black Sheep -- I will clean it and return it. Don't distribute the shinies til I get back, Nik. That javelin might fit my hand very well."

Some time later the intrepid group of fleder-hunters stagger in through the door of the Black Sheep, beaten, bruised, but alive.

"Well look what the turniakot dragged in!" Andrei remarks dryly from behind the bar. "You will all be wanting drinks, yes?"

"Hey Andrei - tea and bread, a bucket of hot water and some old rags for me, please. Any news for us? I'll be back down in a moment to do some cleaning," Alaris grins as they begin peeling off pieces of armor on their way up to their room.

"Drinks and food, Andrei, yes! But no tea for me, something to warm us up!" Ling slumps down at their usual table. Flicking the ruby over to Nikolai, she calls out: "Catch! Now how much will that sell for, you think?"

Nikolai was busy spreading the gathered loot onto the table in front of him, taking a second to glance up just as Ling tosses him the ruby. "Oh, that would depend, my dear Ling, as to whether or not this is magical." Using his Tarock deck to open his mind to his patron's powers of divination he notices several magical auras glowing along the pile. "That was a good find, Ling." He points to the ruby. "It glows."

He spends the next forty minutes focused upon the spread of his Tarock deck and ensuring that the alignment is not messed up or misaligned on his cards as he lays them out in a very particular pattern and alignment. Once completed he sets the four items to the side and spends a few moments describing their abilities and properties. "Anyone that would like to claim them may do so. I have no use for any of these items quite frankly. Anything we do not wish to use should be sold for gold I say."

He smiles as Shiva comes forward with the bracelet. "AH! Shivala, darling, your bracelet you told me about. Let me take a look..." After several minutes of examining he frowns as he passes it back to her. "Alas, it's not magical. Could be a way for her to scry on you perhaps? But overall the item is quite mundane."

      Astrid wearily drags herself over to one of the chairs. She gives Andrei a nod at the offer of drinks. She wipes some of the dried blood off her face with a tatter sleeve of her robe. As the others deposit their finds on the table, the dwarf reaches into her pack and pulls out the bronze handled tankard she found below the church. "If nothing else, at least I have something nice to drink from."

With a grin, Ling interjects: "Not that I blame anyone for wanting to scry on Shivala! Is it magic that will mean more money for the ruby?" She leans over, trying to get a closer look at what Nikolai is doing. Peering over at Astrid's find, she says: "Or we could break off that handle and sell it. We don't keep fancy things around long, that is, if you're going to be hanging around now. Seems like we haven't managed to get rid of you yet, but you can't say we haven't tried today." Despite the obligatory jab, Ling's tone is warm, much more at ease with the dwarf now than she had been before the fighting that morning.

Ghoul takes his usual perch among the rafters of the common room while Caio vanishes to slip out of his own armor. He returns not long after and begins steadily pecking at the offered food and drink. “I’ll take the ruby.” he says, with a quick smirk at Ling to dash her hopes of selling the trinket. “It will be nice to keep hands on my blade while casting. I’ve no interest in these other items.” He sits back and stares at the gem as he turns it in his delicate fingers. Without looking back up he asks “So now we go collect?” His tone is laced with sarcasm, as it’s clear the upcoming client conversation will be much more complicated than it usually was when they turned in a mission.

Andrei sets a half dozen clean tankards on the table with a clatter, soon followed by pitchers of cheap wine and ale. A pot of water is heating over the fire, and, when Alaris returns, the requested bucket and rags are dumped at their feet with a slosh.

A couple of the other patrons glance up at the oddball group rolling in, but the Infernale are far from unknown in Piotrgrad. The common room is only sparsely occupied, and the few curious eyes soon go back to their own business.

"You know, too much tea is bad for the digestion, Alaris," Andrei teases.

Alaris tears off a chunk of bread with their teeth and grins back at Andrei. "Trying to get me drunk again, are you?" they reply while chewing. "You remember what happened last time..."

Scrubbing down the borrowed gear, the paladin breathes slow and deep, almost meditating as they wash the gore from each item and listen to Nikolai sharing his secrets.

When Ling says, "We don't keep fancy things around long, that is..." Alaris replies, around another mouthful of bread, "I'm fancy, dammit!"

They perk up at the description of the Javelin of Lightning. "Pass that over here, Nik," Alaris murmurs. "Thank you - this will help me protect you all." Dabbing a drop of blessed oil on a dry cloth, the paladin polishes the cleaned weapons while the warlock finishes his arcane endeavors.

"So now we go collect?" Caio asks with a smirk.

"Collecting from that one may be more complicated than fighting the fleder..." they murmur, turning the new javelin over and over in their long-fingered hands. "I do not trust them, but I do not want to jeopardize our place in this community."

As Shiva strolls through the door, she greets Andrei with a smile "Long goddamn morning, Andrei. I'm sure all of us could use a drink. Alaris, I'll be right back with that blade I borrowed."

Slipping away into another storage closet, Shiva returns a short time later with the silver bastard sword and hands it over to Alaris before dropping into a seat. Picking up a rag, she begins sponging blood off of her arms and chest. 

Having mentioned the bracelet, she grins as Nik declares it to be a simple accessory. "I suppose it could be used to scry on me, but I had a feeling that her and I would be seeing each other again soon anyway. As for the other stuff, none of it is really my style, so we can do whatever you all wish with it."

Reclining in her chair, she closes her eyes and leans her head back "But I'll tell you one thing, if we're gonna go confront that pompous *******, I'm gonna need some R&R. I swan dove off a roof before noon, which is a bit much even for me. And damn right, Alaris! You are fancy, you angel-faced killing machine!"

"Is that why you keep throwing yourself into the enemy, to share your fancy with the world?" Ling winks at Alaris as she passes them her silver daggers. "Francesc can wait, I think we're due a break. How about that fancy bathhouse I keep hearing about? I'm dying for some pampering. Shiva? Everyone game? I think we may be able to circumvent the entrance fee..." Wriggling her eyebrows, Ling laughs at her own joke and pushes up from her chair, stretching and getting ready to head out.

     "A bathhouse does sound nice," Astrid says but with some hesitation in her voice. "As long as it's quiet. I'm not up for another raucous evening just yet. Also, I don't think I'm very presentable for going anywhere fancy." She holds up an arm of her robe which has been shredded from the attack she took from the large fleder. "Can anyone maybe help with this?" 

Nikolai glances up from the pile of valuables located within the abandoned church as the others turn to talk of relaxation and he grins. "A hot bath and cool drink would go a long way! Magic has its uses in removing filth, but it is not nearly as relaxing as hot water surrounding you." He glances over at Astrid's robes, then down at the new ring upon his hand. He winks at Ling as he begins waving his hand in front of Astrid's tattered robes. A strange sound comes from Astrid's robes, like the sound of tearing cloth, but... its echoes strangely in the ears as the rips begin to reverse themselves, it was amazing to watch... very different than the same spell he'd seen before. It was almost as if the ring was turning back time and undoing the damage. Nikolai grins in amazement as he watches his handiwork. "Fascinating! Normally this spell just fixes that damage, but this ring is UNDOING it! Ling... this is... thank you."

Ling finishes her stretch and nods: "You're welcome, I clearly give the best gifts - you owe me now." She adds with a wink. "So come on, let's go see the fancy place! I promise this one will be quiet, Astrid, but you won't need your robes, tattered or otherwise, beyond the door. I hear they provide the softest towels to wrap up in..."