The Exploits of Misfit Company

Stella gives Alys's hand a gentle squeeze, pulling the cleric a little closer so that she can wrap an arm around her shoulder. She gave Bix another long look, eyes steady and serious as the others say their pieces.

"Well Bixby, I accept your resignation and wish you all the best with your new life and new family. I'll start looking at the new applicants soon." With that, Elysia takes her new husband and planeshifts back to the Plane of Air, leaving you all with a bag that contained all of Bixby's possessions and the new applicants that he had in mind.

Yvan's eyes would flicker to Bixby then back to the ground when he hears the changeling in his mind. There's a small chuff that escapes him, the corner of his lips twitching into a somber smile.

When Bixby is whisked away to the Plane of Air, Yvan gives a look at the bag possessing a few applicants for their choosing. "... Should we... look now? Or..."

It occurs to at least one member of the group that you may need to flip the bag inside out and dump out its contents, least it take some time to obtain the 'right' scroll. So, taking it inside may be a good idea. Regardless, whoever decides to eventually search the bag find the following in addition to scroll containing the dossiers:

 
Any other magic items in Bixby's possession yet remained with him; including or presumably the 2nd stone paired with the one given to Stella. As for the Dossier, there is one that had printed on it 'Read First'. Within the following can be read:

If any individual belonging to the Misfits read this, it either means I, Bixby, am either dead or resigned as a member of the company. In either event, the following are three potential candidates scouted during my off times for your consideration. An initial sign on bonus in addition to any payment to secure their has been taken care of by a trusted contact established during my search.

You may reach Mr. Shortfellow, a ruddy haired halfling bearing a missing eye, in the event you need to be more direct in finding him in the city, through the black sending stone otherwise. They will then reach out to the three, or whichever one based on the below summary you wish to meet. The individual(s) chosen should then meet you within the next day or two. Do read carefully, and for what its worth, may they prove to be an adequate replacement.

P.S - If for an unexpected reason Kasha decides to test them by transforming into a Tyrannosaurs Rex or some other primitive, do not let her eat them. Some at least have significant enough connections that may wish to retaliate in some fashion in the event of their wrongful demise. Not to mention it would publicity.

P.S.S - In the event of my death, and if my body is recoverable, immediately consecrate and destroy it, leaving ABSOLUTELY no remains.

On that last and somewhat mysterious note, the rest of the scroll goes into a recap of any interviews, negotiations, and sidebars that seemed only to be noteworthy in the most minor of sense.  Within the rest of the documents and scrolls go into brief overviews into the abilities and characteristics of the candidates that goes as follows:

Name: Flawless Night Upon The Faraway Glades (or Flawless Night for Short)
Race: Tabaxi
Skillset: All Rounder, but prefers the blade, support magic, and is a capable tracker
History: Has worked with the Misfits, as well as a number of other adventuring parties in the past though current members are either deceased or long retired.
Noteable Ties: Djinni Minor Noble said to be former teacher reincarnated into current form due to an "incident".
Noteable Characteristics: Black fur and general physique resembling panthers, slight foppish attitude but otherwise sociable, and bears an ancient metal lantern.
S/N: Appears however that time spent on alternate planes has resulted in his being over 100 years out of touch with material plane. No known surviving family as of this record. Otherwise cares only for coin so much as it can be spent towards future ventures. Wishes to collect noteable magic items and historic knowledge to send back to Patron Djinni.
--
Name: Courage
Race: Tiefling (presumed of some abyssal lineage based on appearance)
Skillset: Artificer specializing in frontline support and various crafts, and an exceptional cook
History: Claimed to belong to a 'different' world, and has been on various other adventures across multiple planes such as Mechanus, Nine Hells, Bytopia, and Sigil, to name a few
Noteable Ties: Few, and most Outer Planer
Noteable Characisterics: Missing an arm, leg, and eye. Must wear specially made armor with built in prosthetic for mobility, no shadow, middle aged and fairly calm and collected
S/N: Was displaced from home world due to magical incident, and has been searching for a means to return. Has otherwise accepted current difficulties of finding a way back home after twenty years of searching, and highly unlikely break loyalty for promises. Is otherwise interested in acquiring funding for future smithing projects, and schematics for the creation of an Iron Golem. Try his gumbo, it is very delicious.
---
Name: Idoza:
Race: Aasimar (bloodline presumed to be Solar or Empyrean)
Skill set: Healer specializing in frontline support
History: Has worked with various religious orders in uprooting vampiric and fiendish activity, most recently current member of city watch
Notable Ties: Cleric of Tyr, proclaimed father is an Empyrean ruling some distant island country
Notable characteristics: Hair appears to light up or darken in response to high emotions, oddly appears carefree compared to most Tyr worshippers
S/N: Due to a religious or familial reasons is a runaway of her home nation, interested namely in coin to support religious practices, may require "convincing" if participating jobs with questionable moral implications.

Kasha peers over someone's shoulder at the items in the bag, should anyone open it and look through it. She wouldn't touch anything and after a few minutes, lost interest and did something else.

In her stubbornness and inability to find the words, it was too late. Alys had only stared.

No words. No telepathy. No tricks.

Like that, B was gone too.

A tear would roll down her cheek as she'd look at the bag.

"Should probably do this inside..." Alys' voice was quiet.

Vastra flips the bag over and spreads out the contents, allowing the remaining Misfits to take whatever of Bixby's items would suit them best. Then she reads over the scroll that he left for them. 

"So there is Flawless Night, whose abilities are already known to us, as well as an artificer who is apparently good at frontline support and cooking, and a healer. Which do you all think we should contact as a replacement for Bixby? I am admittedly drawn towards the cook."

Stella nibbles her lip. "Okay, not gonna lie, the cook is pretty tempting for me too." she admits. "And frontline support dovetails pretty well with our current capabilities."

Yvan casts a worried glance Alys' way when her voice comes out quietly, though with everything that had transpired in just these few days it was more than understandable. He keeps himself close to the wizard had she needed him for anything. 

Although it felt... odd to sort through Bixby's things. Yvan, at most, gives the pile a curious glance, but nothing would truly be of use to him. Had there been left over items, he would suggest, "... Maybe something could be of use to the new person...? It would be a shame to let these things go to waste..."

When Vastra finishes reading out possible other candidates, and mentions knowing of Flawless Nights abilities, he couldn't help but tilt his head. "Who... Oh." He only remembers the cat very briefly, when they bid a farewell and left. At least he now knew his name. After listening to the others decision, Yvan puts in his own. "Frontline support would be... good."

Alys shifts uncomfortably, eyes mostly staring out of focus. Occasionally they’d glance over at something and refocus for a moment before fading away. The elf wasn’t ready to grab anything for herself, but she didn’t want to start giving it away to just anyone either. And she knew how irrational that was.

The wizard couldn’t deny that the thought of a cook got the attention of her stomach and constant desire for munchies... but when Stella and Yvan would both end their thoughts with the frontline support, that had caught her attention too...

“We could have a real cleric...” She’d say meekly. 

Kasha looked over at Alys confused and perturbed, as if her comment didn't make sense.

"We have a real cleric," Stella tells Alys firmly. "Which of them do you want? Which of them sounds best to you?"

Alys had originally reached out in an effort to provide Stella with comfort, but Stella being the amazing strong woman that she is, was in turn comforting Alys once again. She’d kind of glance down and kick at the ground, staring at Yvan, Vastra and Kasha’s feet close by. The elf didn’t want anyone else but B...

She’d let out a defeated sigh. ”I could go for some comfort food...” Alys would give Stella’s hand a bit of a squeeze. The cook could feed her feelings.

Yvan’s gaze falls upon Alys when she speaks, a frown prominent on his features at her words. It fades slightly when Stella speaks up to affirm to Alys that she was a real cleric. When her final thoughts are said, he says, “I suppose we should work on contacting the cook then...?” 

"Very well then." Vastra picks up the sending stone. "Mr. Shortfellow? This is Vastra Melloran, an associate of Bixby's. He has left our company to go raise his family and we are interested in bringing in Courage as a replacement for him. Tell him to bring his gumbo with him."

"Really? Odd. Odder still the request, but it is really quite good gumbo. In anycase, I vill make sure to notify them of it in addition to all else. Vhey shall be at manor by... tomorrow." A gravelly voice answers politely in turn before the stone loses their power for the day. And with that, the group are free to do what they wish, including what to do with all the "junk" left behind by Bixby. His tent in fact was still pitched up just outside the manor. But besides that, there was little to nothing to speak of that needing tidying up.

In hindsight, it seemed much like the persona of Barnabus before, the changling never fully settled into the manor. As if both in their own ways did not expect or were even capable of believing in the notion of a more permanent home. Not so surprising consider both were in their own way eager to move on to the next venture or settlement upon completing a current one. 

"Well that's... efficient..." Yvan comments. After a moment and had no one needed anything further, the goliath begins to move towards the stairs. "I have... something I need to do, so I'll be in my room if you all need me."

Stella rubs her forehead. "Yeah...I guess so," she says softly, heading for her own room, where she takes out the sending stone that used to go to Bix and looks at it for a while, turning it over in her hands before she slips it onto the shelf next to the note Rinn had left and Furlong's pre-Better Judgement "walking stick".

Alys would shift her weight as she'd stand in place. She had been staring down at her feet for who knows how long when one by one everyone took their leave. Her eyes would glance up to watch them each head in their own direction. The elf would look back down and wiggle her toes. She wanted to split herself up into multiples and head after all of them, but knew she couldn't. Besides, everyone could probably use some time and space to themselves to sort out their own thoughts, right? With a tentative step, the blonde would finally decide what direction she'd take. Following the other's example, she'd make her way to her own room.

Reaching the door to her room, it would take Alys a moment to open it and let herself in. She'd approach her mantle where she had placed B's cube half expecting it to be gone leaving behind the gem, her misfits corsage and a few sketches that accompanied it. Panning her room further, her baby blues would fall over her portion or her and Yvan's project left sprawled out over her bed. She'd let out a soft pained sigh, fighting back some emotions. Inhaling a deep breath to steady herself, the elf would begin carefully wrapping things up. "I suppose now's a better time than any..." She hoped, hugging the bundle to herself before gingerly storing them in her bag of holding.

After pacing her room nervously for a few moments, Alys would finally push herself to leave. She'd pad her way through the mansion and make her way up the stairs to find her way to Yvan's door. Having to inhale another breath, she'd catch herself standing there for a moment before she could bring her hand to the door. She'd knock gently. "Yvan? It's Alys... Can I come in?" The elf would slowly peek her head in the doorway, hoping she wasn't intruding.

Upon entering his room, Yvan immediately spots something out of place. On his work space, a delicately wrapped parcel sits with a small note written on a piece of parchment atop it, signed with an intricate A. Knowing what it was and who it was from set him at ease, though after the last few days they had, it doesn't set a smile on his face. He slowly sits himself at his work desk, not bothering to read the note, and instead reaches for his whittling tool... only to set it back down and instead cradle his head in his hands.

There was a lot he needed to sort through. A lot that he had on his mind and he didn't know where to begin. Truthfully, he felt sick. His stomach had been twisting, his chest had been tightening, and he felt an oncoming headache. He didn't know what to do about it. Rest maybe? But he had to finish his part of the project. He was nearly finished though. Just needed to add in the final details of one of the figures and it would be done, but... He couldn't bring himself to do it.  

So he sits there and thinks. He tries to sort though his thoughts, tries to take Bixby's final words to him into consideration, yet he finds even that difficult. First it was Rinn, then it was Furlong, and now it was Bixby. While the changelings leave truly wasn't a surprise to him, it still... hurt. Each one that had left them, had left an empty spot in the puzzle they made as a family. Yvan feared most of all that this wouldn't be the last one. Would someone else leave? Stella? Vastra? Kasha or even Alys? Would they go too? 

However before he thinks more on it he hears a knock at his door. He lifts his head from his hands, then slowly moves to sit up straight, taking a quick glance over to the door. When he hears Alys' voice he relaxes a bit. Probably here for the... He eyes go to the parcel. "Uh... Yeah, just... a second." He gets up from his place with the parcel in hand, quickly putting it inside his dresser before opening the door for Alys to come in. "Sorry about that... You're here for the... project, right? They're on the table, underneath the cloth. I hope... they're okay."