The Wrong Guys IC II

[DeafnotDumb]

"Sunspots," Jess snaps, and softens when she looks further at Audric's face. With an effort, she puts a ghost of her usual smile on her face. "Aldaran gave you a job, Choirboy, otherwise you wouldn't be in this world. Anybody can bring Yistin's body back to the Church, and the rumor mill means they will, before he's had time to cool. From what I see, you're the only one who can stick with these people and have you all carry on doing what you all do." She risks reaching a comforting hand forward, but stops it at the last moment. "Which job do you think the Sun gave you life for?"

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

With one last pop beneath his knuckles, Llaars feels a sense of relief as Yistin falls. No longer threatened with a sword thrust toward his head, he turns to the group to plan their next move, but quickly realizes his mistake. Rather than try to convince the paladin that what they did was right, the big man backs himself against the wall and crumples to a seated position, head in his hands.

[Strawberries]

It feels like everybody is talking to the paladin at the same time, and Audric doesn't really have the time to really think about what everybody is saying... except Jess. "And what exactly do you think 'what I do' is?" He takes a step towards her. The look he is giving her is very close to anger, an expression that seems somehow out of place on his face. "You approached me. You had me set up this meeting, you did not stay hidden like I asked, and when it seemed like his version was contradicting your story, you attacked him and provoked all of us into killing him. Was it all a setup to get rid of him?"

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@Deafnotdumb. He is not trying to be intimidating, not consciously at least, but he is still a full armored paladin advancing on a wounded sorcerer. Make of that what you want. Also, I figure indoctrination would play a part here: sorcerers ARE evil deceivers, he has been taught... so when something goes wrong, it's easy to blame them. And Jess was the one to throw that first bolt. He still saved your life, though. Can we manage to play this so we'll still be friends at the end?

[DeafnotDumb]

Blackie growls and hisses at the Paladin and digs her claws into Jess's shoulders, making her wince, but apart from a brief clenching of the fists the woman herself shows no sign of anger. "If I could set up a mourning mother and that little bundle of bones, choirboy... I'm not that good, let alone any other reasons there."

She pauses, trying to think of how to fit the next thought into Audric's mind. "Said mother? Remember how she flinched at you? That's the reaction Church gets 'round here. Yistin doing something nasty wouldn't be news to many around here, only hidden news. If what he were doing was reasonable, why'd her mother never hear from the kid? And he drew his sword on me, which was why I shot at him - the arm, note, as so not to kill. And all that lead up means-" Jess takes a deep breath again "-that 'what you do' is help people who others won't help, and it's been years since I seen a paladin do that. You want to throw that away and leave the trodden with no protection?" There's an edge of bitterness in her voice just then, swiftly swallowed.

[Strawberries]

"I do not believe you." Audric states, flatly, more to himself than to Jess. He makes no move to advance further, though, possibly realising he had been very close to corner the sorceress, and that might have made her lash out. "He was a paladin, as I am. And you are a sorcerer, you could not have expected him not to draw a sword on you. Why would you come out of hiding, if not to provoke this exact outcome?" He shakes his head "I will not be cajoled by your words again. Explain to me why you put me to this, now. Why did you approach me? How did you know I would not attack you as soon as you spoke to me?" Audric has not reached for his sword, but his hands are clenched, and his posture is very tense.

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((I know, I know. Now would be a good time for someone to snap him out of it. It's easy, don't worry... he just has to look past his grief and think about it. Still, I figure his last question to Jess would be a legitimate one... sorry Deafnotdumb, but I'm afraid he can't accept 'I'm a PC and I needed a way to join the party' as an explanation. ))

[DeafnotDumb]

"I didn't." Jess replies bluntly, backing away in mirror to Audric's advancement. There's a long, tense silence before she admits to herself the need to elaborate. "I waited a year. A year with what... I thought was happening burning itself into my brain. I was tired of being a coward, of letting him... hurt..." She stops, uncomfortable and uncertain.

"And I jumped because I was angry." She adds, turning her head so nobody could read her expression. "I wanted to hear him... understand that he could do wrong, that good is what you do and not what you are, justifying your actions. That a dead body and a missing child couldn't be explained away neatly, not when he hunted me so hard for the information I had." She shakes her head. "Choirboy, please, let's go. Even if he was the worst kind of bastard, I helped kill that man. Can we at least talk away from the body?"

[Strawberries]

The emotion in the sorceress' behaviour is a bit too raw to be a fake, unless it's a very good one, and Audric seems to realise it even in his not completely rational state. He takes a step back and passes an hand over his eyes: it seems like he doesn't have the energy to argue anymore. "What do you want me to do?" He ask Jess, first, but then he turns around to include all the others in his question. He has started quietly, almost whispering, but his voice raise in volume again as he keeps talking "What do you ALL want me to do? We just killed a man. Do you expect me to leave him here on the street? Carry on doing whatever I thought I was doing before? "

He takes a deep breath, and brings his voice back under control "I shouldn't be talking with any of you.". The tone is almost surprised, almost a realisation. "I do not know what I believed to accomplish by embarking in this... but I was deluded, clearly. You all talk about me 'protecting the innocents'." He points to the other paladin's body. "This was a possibly innocent man that I didn't protect...and even if he was guilty, we had no right to be his executioners. Do you expect me to just walk away with you like nothing has happened?"

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

"Don't forget..." Llaars lifts his head from his hands as he joins the conversation. "That his sword was out. He would have killed us had we not put him down." zhe starts to get his feet beneath him as he stands. " You need to wake up Audric. Each life is important, but not as important as every life. You're the only guy that has any experience with the spirits we're stopping, the only one that'll believe our crazy ass story, and you're the only one who'll listen without drawing your sword first. How far do you think we'd be if you weren't here?"

[Strawberries]

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((I'm assuming noone else wants to reply anything, so...))

Audric shakes his head, and starts replying something, but suddenly his expression changes. Paral. If the Order had handled it, Paral would be dead, and while this doesn't make what happened even remotely acceptable, it's something that gives him pause. Instead of replying, he turns back towards Yistin's body, crouching again beside him. He doesn't say anything: that's a man he has caused the death of, and he doesn't feel like he has the right of pronouncing the traditional words to bless his body, and Jess has already composed his body, making touching him further useless.

I don't know what to do. The paladin just closes his eyes for a second, silently asking for forgiveness from both his god and the dead man in front of him, and then makes a decision. He takes out the bundle of papers that constitutes the evidence Jess had to offer and lays it down near the body, making sure it won't fly away in the wind. For once, he is perfectly aware of what he's doing. When the Order goes to interrogate Fiona's mother, they will get his name and description: putting those papers down means that almost certainly Audric wouldn't be able to go back to his life anymore. But it's the right thing to do. The Order will make a full investigation, and if he was innocent, at least his name would be cleared.

When he gets back up again, he is obviously trying very hard to regain control of his expression, but there are tears in his eyes. "I am sorry" he whispers one last time to the body in front of him, and then he turns again towards the others. "I am... I do not know if I am making the right choice". His voice is shaking. He says nothing else, but it's clear that he has chosen to follow the others away.

EDIT:

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Bonus feat will be taken off the sheet as soon as I get to a PC. Also, the poor guy could REALLY use an hug right about now.

[Savannah]

Rana hesitates, then puts her arms around him, ready at any second to jerk back. "You're doing what has to be done."

Shadow tries to shove his head between Rana and Audric, obviously not happy about being ignored by his mistress.

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I thought of the hug before I read your spoiler

[DeafnotDumb]

Jess looks in shock at the papers Audric has laid down by the body. It's entirely possible that the recent events made her forget about them. "Choirboy... thanks." She mutters, and backs away. This is not her moment, and she feels out of place.

[Cardea]

Tayet

"Ei ... ei ... Shadow ... iso ... tempo malo. Non interrompa aperta." Tayet says, whisper-shouting to the dog. He holds out his arm, snapping for Cape to get onto it. "Am thinking you're making the hard choice. Usually best choice, Mr. Audric."

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Speak With Animals is still up, I'm assuming.

Sylvan

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"Hey... hey... Shadow... it... bad time. Don't interrupt hug."

[Strawberries]

Audric doesn't hug Rana back, but he doesn't jerk away, either. After a couple of seconds, he closes his eyes and leans his head against Rana's shoulder. It's just a moment, then he gently disentangles himself from the hug, and gives her a very tiny smile in thanks.

He shakes his head in Tayet's direction. He's not sure that he agrees with his assessment. "Please, no 'mr' or 'sir'. It is just Audric." He doesn't say anything to Jess, realising that she's probably not going to stop using the nickname just because he's asking, but he nods at her slightly in acknowledgment of her thanks.

The paladin gives one last look at Yistin's body, then bites his lips and turns away, nodding to the others to signify he's ready to go.

[Nanoblack]

Llaars

Moving along with the group as they walk away form the scene of the crime, Llaars looks to Jess. "Don't thank us yet. As bad as this whole deal was for you, it was just a vacation in the pan for us. Now we're heading back into the fire..."

[Savannah]

"Alright." Rana looks around the group, "We still need to make sure that the Order doesn't come chasing us down, as that will prevent us from stopping the witch. Jess, why don't you take everyone to your home and gather anything you need before leaving town? Tayet and I will clean up here so it looks like you confronted Yistin alone, and were mortally injured and crawled away to die. That should reduce the chances that anyone in the Order would be looking for you in our group. We can meet up at your hideout and leave town after we're done."

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I can't believe I'm suggesting splitting the party, but Rana has her reasons....

[Strawberries]

Audric looks at Rana and shakes his head. "It is best if we all leave now. It is dangerous for both of you to be on the streets, especially if you are alone, and I do not want to leave you unprotected. " Protecting his allies, at least, is one thing he still hasn't failed at. His eyes flicker to Jess and the blood on her shirt. He doesn't have a cloak, otherwise he would have given it to her. "Let us just go. An investigation is going to take time, and we'll probably be far away by then."

[DeafnotDumb]

"I'd move." Jess says, frowning. She's leaning against the wall for support. "The church can be quick and they can be slow, but I don't know if Yistin set up anything in case he didn't come back. Why risk it? They'll assume it's me anyway - at least this time it will be."

She notices Audric looking at her shirt and follows his gaze. "Dropping homewards to get new clothes might not hurt, though." She mutters, trying to cover up the skin exposed by the gash from Yistin's sword with her hand.

[Savannah]

Rana looks like she's going to object for a minute, but she finally sighs, "Alright. I suppose it's more important to keep together...

"Here, let me help with that," she adds, looking at Jess.

Rana murmurs something and passes a hand over Jess' wounds, which begin to heal. Then she pulls a needle and thread out of her pack and quickly sews the major gash in Jess' shirt shut. "That won't last, but it should hide it well enough that we won't get unwanted attention."

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Cure light wounds: (1d8+4)[6] hp for Jess

[DeafnotDumb]

"Thanks..." Jess looks Rana up and down, trying to work out what to nickname her. "...Goldie? Nah, I'll work out something better later."

She breathes in deep, and stops in surprise at the sudden lack of pain, and prods her side like someone poking a bad tooth to see when the hurt will come. She repeats this twice or thrice. "Is that a Church thing or a Magic thing you did? 'Cause if it's the latter I really could use some learning of it."

[Savannah]

"Rain-a. Rana. It's not a hard name.

"And that was magic, but if you do not feel the calling, I doubt I can teach you anything of it. It is not magic like your magic.

"Now, can we go before someone finds us here?"

[Jallorn]

You'd be surprised what people can learn. I managed to pick up a little sorcery despite not having the "calling," Antal seems to be trying to act like nothing has happened. It doesn't really appear to be working, but that isn't stopping him from trying.

[Strawberries]

Audric just nods to signify he's ready to go. Were it any other time, he would have taken the occasion to probe Antal for more information about his abilities, but as it is now, he feels too drained to approach that conversion.

[Ajadea]

Rana's healing is kinder to Jess's abused flesh, if only because the itch of forcing new flesh and skin to grow in is considerably less painful than divine fire. You can actually see the red, twisted, scar melt away into a small raised line bisecting her chest and a swath of new pink skin. And that is soon hidden as well with a bit of deft needlework. There's nothing to be done about the blood, except to get a new shirt.

You decide that, in all, the best option is to leave. So you all do. Quickly. Yistin remains in the alley, looking about as peaceful as a corpse with a broken neck and several crushed ribs can possibly be. Jess leaves you for a short while, and returns looking less like she's danced with the Dark Lady and more like the reckless woman who accosted you yesterday in a tavern seeking to root out evil. It's difficult to tell if she succeeded. At the market, you can buy or sell anything you'd want, for a price. No sight is too odd for these people, it seems, and you are soon on your way.

There isn't really much in the way of taverns, the way you're going. East, to Fort Brennam, on a road taken more often by horses than humans, and even then infrequently. The gate you leave by is not a particularly well-kept one, and you still have to walk for the better part of an hour before you actually leave the last of the city behind. From here on out, it's farms, or nothing.

Fort Brennam, the one you're going to, is technically in use. Long ago, the old fort was destroyed when the earth itself rose up to fight, and swallowed the fort and all its inhabitants. The people shrugged, did some rites of consecration, and built a new one fort where the old one had been. Paladins theoretically control Fort Brennam, but in all likelihood, most of the people there are just ordinary soldiers guarding the border. Which is good. Because they stand a lower chance of killing one of you.

The sky is cloudy gray, though it fails to rain or do anything except look mildly depressing. The road is straight and mostly level, tan dust slicing through fields and hills with only the occasional rock to break the monotony. It seems like one of the most mundane places you could possibly be, if not for what you know full well awaits you at the end.

[DeafnotDumb]

Within a few minutes of leaving the city, it becomes increasingly evident that Jess has never been outside of it before. Her attempts to affect nonchalance are ruined by the glances she sends homewards, the cautious curiosity with which she looks at the animals and plants and the constant attempts that she makes to fill up the silence with something of the noise of the city. It's enough to make one think of tying her up and dumping her at the next Church with a sign saying 'Sorcerer here' but after too much aimless chatter she does hit on something relevant.

"What's the point here?" She asks, stroking Blackie. Her cat has been less hidden about its unease, and has spent its time safely hung around Jess's neck, away from all the scary outside. "I know we're hunting a magic-user, and from your tones I can tell they're a bad one, but what's it that they're doing that's got, well... Choirboy and the rest of you working together?" She scratches Blackie under the chin. "Because the more I know about this person, the better I'll be able to sniff out her style of spells."

Audric

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It's darker and well into the night when Jess finally summons up the courage to speak to the Paladin. In truth, she was more motivated by the difficulty she found in sleeping outside than any bravery to finally do this, and it was the uncomfortable boredom of failing to sleep that's driven her up here. She hopes the man's too asleep for her to do anything, but now she's up she can't find another excuse to go back down. At least she's good enough at sneaking to not worry about waking anyone else up.

She hopes this is the right place. It would be embarrassing if it turned out to be the half-elf girl... Mossy, maybe? "Choirboy?" She calls softly. "You there? Got a moment?"

Maybe she'll get lucky and he won't hear.

[Strawberries]

Audric has been walking in silence, apparently not even registering most of Jess' questions and chattering. The paladin is, apparently, still quite shaken: he's looking straight in front of him, and has a dark espression on his face.

Jess' last few sentences, however, seem to drive his attention. "She is not a person, not exactly, anymore." he says, in a low tone. "She was a magic user, a...a healer, I think, but she awakened something. A spirit, from Kallean time, that possessed her." He draws a breath and continues "I have told you before, she's trying to free her companions, other spirits like her. And, from what we know, she gets her sustenance from other magic users. She tortures them and consumes their power. That is why..." we are working together, he wants to say, but he doesn't finish the sentence.

Jess

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((OOC: He's actually told Jess the story before, when they were in that tavern. And, addressing the other IC piece:))

The paladin was quite obviously not asleep at all. He shifts to a sitting position, blinking at Jess to try and distinguish her her expression in the dark "Is something wrong?"

[DeafnotDumb]

"So..." Jess trails off. "Not nice. Right. Torture. Spirits. Okay." She shakes her head as if to dispel any seriousness, and carries on with a smile. Sure, but what's this spirit's personality like? Arrogant or clever or something? Something I could use to track her down?"

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Jess gapes a moment, trying to figure out what to do. "I didn't think you'd be awake!" She hisses. "I - oh, sunspots..."

She holds her lips tight until she can get back her composure, and then clears her throat. "Confessions, right?" She says. "Pa and Da told me that the Church hears them, but normal events means that I never got a chance to try, y'know..." She waves her hand in the air. "...Giving one." She manages. "But you're Church and not trying to kill me, so..."

She pauses, and then takes a few steps back. The sound carries well in the dark. "I'll go if you don't want to?" she asks.

[Strawberries]

Audric shakes his head. "Her personality?" He throws a confused look at the others. What sort of question is that? "She... she killed her own ally in front of me and Llaars, ripped her skeleton from her body, and used it against us." His voice becomes a bit harder "We know where she is headed. She is going to Fort Brennam, where Rysal and Tavetiir meet. It was the place when one of the other sorcerers of old died."

Jess

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The paladin draws a sharp breath. That's obviously not what he was expecting. "I am not..." he starts, then stops, unsure of what to say. "I am not the most suited person for such things." Especially now. For a second, he's almost tempted to tell the sorceress to go: he had been awake thinking about Yistin, and how could have avoided what had happened that afternoon: he doesn't feel like his head is clear enough to deal with this, too. But if she wants to tell him something, and if this has something to do with something she's done... "I...no. No, if you want to tell me something, I will listen."

[DeafnotDumb]

"If I can see how someone thinks, I can try and guess what they'd do next. But in this case trying that looks like a one way trip to crazytown."

Audric

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"Choirboy, you're the only one suited for this." Jess says plaintively, moving closer and sitting down. "Thanks." That's all she says for a while. The only sounds are the night and her and Audric's breathing.

"Forgetting what Yistin might or might not have done..." She says at length. "That doesn't change what I think he was doing. Hurting children. There's not much worse, right?" She looks at Audric as if for confirmation. "So... the thing is, Choirboy... when I thought he was doing that to boys and girls taken from the streets, I was keeping quiet on the information I had on him, for a year. I'd have let more children be lost, dead, worse... because I was scared. I would've spent young lives for my own. I might have- who knows? I could have let it happen."

She looks down, seeing that her fingers have gone to automatically grasp the necklace that she left on Yistin's body. They're left clutching at themselves instead. "What happens next?" She asks quietly. "Have you... done this before?"

[Strawberries]

Jess (unless someone else that happens to be awake and wants to try and eavesdrop)

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Audric doesn't say anything for a while. He shakes his head at Jess' question. He's never heard anyone's confession before, and especially not a sorcerer's confession. "I cannot give you absolution, if that is what you were asking me for." He doesn't say out loud what he's thinking: I am looking for it myself, but he tentatively lays a hand on Jess' shoulder. It's only for a second, then he brings it back to rub his eyes. "You approached me, in the end. Even if you thought that I would kill you." That has to count for something.

[DeafnotDumb]

Audric

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Jess isn't quite able to hide her unease at a Paladin reaching his hand towards out towards her, but she stills her initial darting impulse and lets it rest on her, and then thankfully it is gone. "But you didn't. She says, and accompanies it with a small slim smile. Her eyes take in his downcast posture and take issue with it. "You heard me out, then and now. Shouldn't be possible, by rights, but you got me holding a piece of faith in something that came from the bastard church..."

She flashes Audric a smirk, something coming from the confident face she was wearing earlier in the day. "So chin up, Choirboy. Miracle-makers shouldn't look so down."