[D&D 3.5] - Legends.

[Toliudar]

Guillaume

Given the choice of watching Ahuhi eat another pork shoulder, or retire early, Guillaume rises and exercises valour.

"If you'll excuse me, it's been a long day. I will look forward to seeing you again in the morning.

He departs for his appointed room.

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Where he prays and meditates on the possibility of happy spirits, or whether it is indeed fitting that all, without exception, be brought to the next life as expeditiously as possible.

[Xanos]

The barkeep enters the room with another dish of pork, hands it to Ahuhi, and sits down with a pint of ale. He seems a little excited, whether because you're willing to help with the spirits, or because Ahuhi's giving him a good story, you can't really tell.





The rooms are simple but clean. About 9 feet times 9 feet, a wooden board to lock the door with, a small window (a bit too small to fit a person) a simple bed with linen bedsheets, an empty wooden chest with a lock and a key on top of it for belongings, a chamber pot, and a bottle of water with a glass.

[Toliudar]

Guillaume

[Fastforwarding to morning, if no one minds.]

Over breakfast, Guillaume broaches the poorly-concealed subject of the spirits with his travelling companions.

"My primary concerns are to ensure that these spirits are not bound here against their will, and that they are not suffering. I believe that all should pass on when they, ah, pass on; but I am a guest here, and feel it would be inappropriate for me to impose that on them."

He finishes off his bread.

"You are welcome to join me. I will go, with the innkeeper, if he's willing, to an area where the spirits are most likely to congregate - the kitchen, perhaps. I will try to determine whether they are undead spirits or something else entirely, and then determine if they are sentient beings. Questions? Concerns?"

[Innis Cabal]

((Going to cover the night before the fast forward))

Ahuhi sits down to the plate. Grinning widely.

"Thats better. Sorry for not tryin your vegetables. Can't stomach em ya under stand ya?"

Ahuhi then dives in on the plate talking through a mouthful of pork, his accent and mood shifting suddenly, now that the nobles and people had left, he didn't need to put on an act.

"Alright alright. A story. Well. When I was a kid, me and my partners would go out when we could, and go around the grave yard. Seein as you have spirits here I thought this one might do you some bit of comfort ya understand.

Now mind, we were a bad lot. Kids are ya know? Dirty and poor an' all that. So we thought we'd give em a scare. Take em into the barrows and tombs of all them rich people. We got such a beaten when we got home. The task masters weren't pleased with us goin into those places. But that's a preface ya see. Leadin up to the big show.

So me and my buddies got stuck with this mission ya see. We weren't really...citizen o'this place. We had to earn it ya see. So we went on this mission into this strange land, and they told us. If ya fail, we don't wanna see ya back here. If ya pass, you get to live here free o'charge. We had it rough I tell ya. We had to listen in at bar's. Us young un's...they thought it was odd but they don't look at kids like we're all that bad ya know? We were on a mission to get a guy who stole and lied to the people. Bad stuff ya know? All that liein and cheatin and stealin the people that raised ya. Well, we got the guy in the end, gave me a nasty scar with his sword, took 50 stitchs to close up. Ya wanna see it?"

[Xanos]

"Erh.. Nah.. I think it is getting late for me, rather call it a night. If you need anything, please wait 'till the morning unless it's urgent. Good night."
The barkeep disappears into the other room.

[Innis Cabal]

Ahuhi

Ahuhi finish's up his meal as Shepard raises from his chair and heads up stairs. Ahuhi stays awake for most of the night, finally curling up in front of the fire and passing out


The Morning after

Ahuhi stretchs awake after the others begin to file down stairs

"Ah...sleep well oh Princes and Princess? As for the spirits, I can't leave the group. So I have no choice in going with ya Priest."

[MistressBaerne]

"I quite agree that we should determine the degree of freedom these spirits possess. I will gladly accompany you."

[Vox Clamantis]

Lu Xian

((The previous evening.))

Stepping out of the building with a relaxing yawn, Lu Xian heads toward the mattress the innkeeper had laid out for him. He would have preferred to sleep on the ground, but it would be rude to refuse what was offered. After checking to make sure the horses are doing alright, he stretches out under the stars and falls asleep.

((The next morning.))

Lu Xian awakens at the first sign of light, warmed by the rising sun. After staring at the mattress for a few moments, trying to figure out how to get it back inside on his own without tearing up the bottom, he leaves it where it is and heads inside. It is short while before the others start to come downstairs.

Guillaume, I shall accompany you on the condition that we do nothing to disturb our host's livelihood. He has come to depend upon the spirits, and unless they are somehow enslaved I see no reason to meddle in this affair.

[Fishy]

Adar retires to his room, comes down for breakfast the next morning, and while the mystics are preparing to consult worlds beyond, he... enjoys some toast.

And a glass of orange juice.

And waits.

Idleness clearly bothering the dwarf, he eventually excuses himself from the table, and tries to lend a hand dragging the Lu Xian's mattress back inside.

[Xanos]

The Dwarf roughs up the bottom of the maddress. Badly.

[Tyrael]

Captain Shepard

Shepard rises with a yawn. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in an actual inn like this. Most nights he either slept standing up under some overhang on patrol, or collapsed on a bunk at the Watch house. Feeling a bit groggy, he swigs from his whiskey, then coughs violently. Ugggh. It always left his throat feeling like sandpaper, but it woke him up, no doubt about that.

Donning his armor and equipment again with the practiced ease of an old hand, he clomps downstairs, wondering if coffee is too much to ask for. His cigar from the previous night was still firmly stashed inside the strap he had customized on the inside of his helmet, and he taps it to reassure himself. Shepard orders some coffee anyway on general principle, along with a fat sausage-inna-bun, which he assumed was reasonably available. The Shepard Meal Plan was a fairly simple one to follow: Lots of fat, lots of grease, a good scattering of BCB's (Burnt Crunchy Bits), a swig of coffee, and Bob's your uncle. The concoction put a good lining on his stomach any time of day or night, and its ingredients were universal enough that he hadn't yet come across a late-night dive that couldn't cook up something reasonably similar.

After breakfast, he fishes out the previous night's cigar, lights it, and sucks on the smoke gratefully. Leaning back with his arms behind his head, Shepard kicks back and waits, quite content with the world in general.

[Xanos]

Innkeeper's semi-wandering, semi-dragging himself around, serving you alongside 3 other people who'd spend the night there. Two of them appear to be guards, and the third one is a young bald man in a robe.
Coffee is being poured in streams to those who want it, breakfast consists of eggs, sausages and some leftover pork. None of it is very interesting, and is nothing compared to the meal last night.
It's perhaps an hour or two after dawn, and you can hear the sounds of the town around you, as people go to work and do their daily chores.

[Toliudar]

Guillaume

Guillaume flags the innkeeper down and speaks softly to him.

"Sir, my colleague mentioned that your inn has several non-responsive spirits roaming about, helping out with your operations. The spirit realm is, of course, near and dear to me. I would appreciate an opportunity to stand in your kitchen, or another quiet area where you've seen them congregate, to try to learn more of their nature.

Also, if I may ask: how is it that you see the spirits, where others do not? Do the spirits resemble your departed wife?

[Xanos]

The barkeep scratches his chin. "No, not really. My wife had short, red hair. And was a bit more, erh, round than the 'spirits'. But I do not really know how I am able to see them, where others cannot. I mean, I have always been able to see them.
And yes, of course you may borrow my kitchen, just out the door" his thumb flies up and points towards the door behind the desk.

[llamamushroom]

Nirmaat Yantra

Having risen with his roommate [ooc]I have no idea who; perhaps Adar?[/ooc], Nirmaat tucks into the largest plate of food he can stomach. The night had been reasonably restful, despite a rumbling tum and old ghost stories running through his head. When the barkeep mentions that the spirits do not resemble his dearly departed, Mat tries to think of what could have cause their presence. When he draws up a blank, he turns to the mystic fellow who smelled as though he had spent the evening in the stable, though he didn't look any worse for wear.

"Good morning... Shu Lian? Sleep well? On the subject of resting, if the spirits aren't ghosts, what do you think they are?"

[Vox Clamantis]

Lu Xian

((Actually, his only real magical item is a Replenishing Skin that he carries around to make sure that he'll always be able to clean himself properly. He's rather fastidious for cultural reasons.))

If he noticed his name being mispronounced, Lu Xian gives not even the slightest indication. He simply...bows.

Good morning, my friend. On the whole, I am inclined to think that they are ghosts.

He stands up.

I suspect we don't have much time to spend here before Captain Shepard grows impatient. I will have a quick look around town to see whether this phenomenon prevails.

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Lu Xian takes a quick walk around, trying to see if there are any spirits outside the inn.

[MistressBaerne]

If you don't mind, I'll accompany you. These spirits intrigue me, and I'd very much like to observe them in any other forms they may have taken."

Samantha goes to stand by Lu Xian.

[Xanos]

There are three spirits in the close proximity of the inn, one in the stables, on behind it sweeping with a broom, and one washing one of the windows with a rag. No one seems to mind them, of no one seems to notice.

[Toliudar]

Guillaume

Guillaume smiles at each of Lu Xian, Samantha and Nimaat.

"Thanks, all of you. I'd certainly appreciate your support. Lu Xian, I'd appreciate your assistance in locating a spirit to try this out on.

He follows Lu Xian to the spirit or spirits of his choice.

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Once Lu Xian points him in the direction of a spirit, he will cast detect thoughts, focusing on it. Will save DC 18 or I get the surface thoughts, if there are any.

[Xanos]

Toliudar

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You've used this spell before, many times. You know, that if the target resists, you'd feel you've hit a mental blockade. The spirits do not yield any results, other than a strange feeling of.. Void. You're certain you're reading their thoughts, but it appears to be nothing but emptiness. Normally, un-sentinal things do not respond like this.

[Vox Clamantis]

Lu Xian

Sitting down perhaps 10 feet away from the sweeping spirit, Lu Xian slows his breathing and pulls air in through his nose, forces it out through his mouth. All the while he stares at the spirit fixedly. Anyone looking closely might notice the air around his body shimmering as though there were a great heat rolling off him in waves.

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Lu Xian activates Detect Magic as a supernatural ability. He will maintain concentration for several minutes or until the spirit moves away.

[Toliudar]

Guillaume

After staring intently at the point in space Lu Xian pointed out, for quite some time, Guillaume's brow furrows further and further. After a few minutes, he sighs, and shakes his head slightly.

Curious. There is clearly a mind there, but it is without thought. The duality that that seems to imply will keep the philosophers at the seminary busy for several months, I assure you.

While there may be a great deal to be done in teasing out this puzzle, and possibly changing this inn's status quo considerably, I feel that that must be decidedly secondary to our larger task at hand. I thank you all for your patience in this. If permitted, I will return here at the conclusion of our travels, and attempt to do more for these spirits, but for now, I am at something of a loss.

Unless there is something else that others would like to essay in this, I would recommend that we settle up and saddle up, as it were.

[Vox Clamantis]

Lu Xian

After little more than a minute, Lu Xian leaps to his feet. Looking around for Guillaume, as though disoriented, he begins to talk quickly and heatedly.

It is not natural, nor is it a ghost. I was wrong. I would recognize your magic if I saw it; I saw enough of it while I was working with the Circle. I believe the agency of some God has called them here, whether acting at the behest of a mortal or at some whim of its own.

This is by far the most agitated you've seen the mystic. He seems almost...angry. Small wisps of steam rise from his clenched fists.

I am tempted to blast the thing into oblivion simply to bring out whatever or whoever created it.

[MistressBaerne]

"Why would they have been called, do you suppose? They seem harmless enough."

[Innis Cabal]

Ahuhi

Ahuhi smirk's

"Why do people hire servants?"

[Fishy]

Dejectedly, Adar leaves the mattress for the inn's staff, corporeal and otherwise, to take care of- and arrives back in the foyer just to catch sight of Lu Xian's smoldering fists.
"Comerade," he warns the mystic quietly, "We are guests here, in a land that is not our own."

[Toliudar]

Guillaume

Guillaume does not presume to touch the agitated Lu Xian, but adds his voice to Adar's.

"I'm afraid that he's right, sir. I would happily work with you to release...whatever those things are, but after we are finished, and after we've spoken with the innkeeper. Not before.

[Vox Clamantis]

Lu Xian

No less angry, Lu Xian looks down at his hands as though just noticing them. When he opens them, the steam dissipates.

Yes, the innkeeper.

Shaking his head slightly, he turns to Samantha.

Mindless servants. Your gods work strange miracles for a simple inkeeper.

[Xanos]

((So erh, going to confront the innkeeper about it, or just move along?))

[Tyrael]

Shepard

A smoke ring floats outside the door where Xian and Guillaume are, followed shortly by Captain Shepard poking his head outside and frowning grumpily at them. "Are we all finished here?" he demands. "We've got miles to cover before dark and we haven't even hit the road yet."