They look like they've been living on the streets for a while. None of their clothing is new or in the best of repair and they look a too thin.

The half-orc boy steps in front of the other two, "We or-fins, an' are good at lookin' out fer each `uder. I called Agot, that is Sakka" he points to the tielfing, "and dat is Findelye." Pausing the half-orc makes a few gestures at Findelye who does a series of gestures and finger wiggles before nodding.  [Private to Filimena the Gentle: words _without SOUND]

"So who are you?"

---

Filimina makes her way into the manor proper and up to the turret. From this lonesome spire she can see the whole of the alley which has suffered as much as the rest of the city. Few residences are out and about, most have gone to their homes it seems as the doors and windows are all closed and any shutters have been pulled over their respective windows.

Filimina does spy Fala outside the greenhouse at the back of their shop. It seems they are moving barrels inside.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:17, Thu 01 July 2021.

Filimena pauses briefly on the stairs, winces, and takes a moment to steady herself against the bannister. She glances back at the children, frowns curiously, then shakes her head and continues her way up.

It doesn't take her long to spot Fala. Taking note of the approaching clouds, she slips back down to where Marik and Rani and the children are.

"I think Fala and the rest are packing things from the storm," she says to Marik. "The manor is shabby enough as it is. A few more holes won't make much of a difference. I'm not sure there's  a lot we can do anyway, aside from boarding up a few windows. I'm going over to help them salvage what they can of their wares. What do you think?"

Then, turning to the children. "I suppose you're looking for shelter? Very well. How about making yourselves useful while you're here?"

ooc: wanna throw some sorta charisma roll in? persuasion perhaps

OOC: Oh right. Makes sense.

That's a 13. Not the best, but there you go.

21:21, Today: Filimena the Gentle rolled 13 using 1d20+5, rerolling ones with rolls of {1}8.  Persuasion.

Marik doesn't even let Filimena finish before signalling Rani to run in direction of the greenhouse.

[Language unknown: "Paant men ut to il ckwiun!"] he says to the halfling, as the panther run.

[Language unknown: "Into! Ortul redti ha thithutin t sawil resadi. Ee pro ev acad?"]

OOC: Sorry, short time so short one this time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:11, Tue 06 July 2021.

Fala gazes up from the barrel they're moving into their greenhouse with slightly confused look about them, [Language unknown: "T isati?"]   After spying Marik, who is shouting at them, they smile and give a wave, [Language unknown: "O, Ai urrom. Les ne butdermentio llaion checun llutfo ardek paatncek. M ceanss pefo ughur thapreame nd artrathou ica me strallort, e atng atioulmen i ulsese eve ativerhis."]

[Language unknown: ""Are usmahe ughil etanme, ri weusni eveverwit wil rool, er itsawh ustr be ck wibe not."]

A wave of confusion also passes on Marik face

[Language unknown: "Anlepr....Menmanant p are sanandund? K meelut a comun notsomman ronath! Ect osnait nilencro andta allate'waswer ne acheni o ers esnc ha tic hasallrom?"]
This message was last edited by the player at 00:42, Wed 07 July 2021.

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Filimena blinks in surprise. "Ooookay?" she says, watching Marik and Rani prance off in the general direction of Fala.

Turning back towards the children, she rolls her eyes. "Elves, amirite? Forget it, let's head in and board up what we can. Quickly, now." She motions them towards the door, keeping her eyes on the half-elf especially, not entirely sure if she understands what she is saying.

Location: Snake Skull Manor Porch

A grin passes over the young half-elf's face at Filimena's words, then she makes a few strange hand gestures to the others before they all head inside.

---

Location: Snake Skull Alley

[Language unknown: "K antthaomehas ie! Wit arroli habe stast waalio se ar an, fo Day mian ul andhasman eterhamo olncno urearelat ivlat u virineder tha p ac t lo nivor undundallear ousromear ac eiith fiinwa,"] Fala says then glances back at the barrel.

[Language unknown: "Reswilnte wa ressonion al cebe nt ingwheate liith laic oreareout som strillhouestble atarul."]

Once inside, Filimena begins to look around. It's a big house. There's no way they're going to be able to board even a third of the windows in the place, let alone all of them. Luckily, not many windows have glass left in them anyway, and she would rather have the children do something than nothing. Isn't there a quote about keeping children busy? Something something something idle minds something?

She frowns as a thought occurs to her that, to board up a window, you need not only boards of some kind, but also a hammer and nails. She begins pacing around the room. Surely there must be some lying around somewhere from when they were cleaning up the place.

OOC: Ok, not sure how to handle this roll-wise, but this is what I'm suggesting.

Two rolls, the first a Perception check, to see if Filimena can spot a hammer and nails to begin with.

Assuming she doesn't, or even if she does and she wants to find something for the orphans as well, that's where the second roll comes in. We associate the Survival skill with surviving in nature, but for someone like Filimena, who has spent most of her life in urban environment, could it be argued that the equivalent for her would be knowing how to improvise with the urban environment, and with the things that can be found in an urban environment? Anyway if that doesn't make sense, it could also be a second perception check to search for things. The modifier is the same.

That's a 21 for the Perception check
08:15, Today: Filimena the Gentle rolled 21 using 1d20+3, rerolling ones with rolls of 18.  Perception check. Looking for a hammer.

And an 11 for the Perception/Survival check. Ah well.
08:16, Today: Filimena the Gentle rolled 11 using 1d20+3, rerolling ones with rolls of 8.  Perception/Survival. Improvising a hammer.

OOC: At this point, I think my confusion is just matching Marik's XD


Marik opens his mouth to respond, then refrains from it reminding himself he shouldn't question a member of the court, then reminding himself Fala said to address them as equal.

"You...You never saw this?"..... Marik turns to see the clouds advancing. he sees Filimena ushering kids inside and thinks he should go help, for what little time they have left. He thinks about telling Fala to get cover, then thinks they probably don't need it.

"You know these much better than me, but please stay safe...You are free to join in the manor if you wish." And signals Rani to run back toward the manor.

OOC: Could I estimate how low the clouds are in the sky if it's a magical storm? Do they pass very low atop the buildings or are they high like normal stormclouds? 

[Private to GM: Basically, I have an idea and I'm trying to see if it could work. If the clouds appears low, I'm thinking about using Detect Magic to try to see if the clouds have a magic core or if there is a source of magic guiding them. I'm willing to try to scale the manor to get closer if needed. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:36, Fri 09 July 2021.

Filimena finds a large stone, probably thrown through a window in past years, which will work as a hammer. Between Filimena and the trio of urchins, the windows on the ground level of the manor start to be boarded up. Lif helps out buy moving boards and holding nails.

OOC Roll a Charisma check -- just to see how you're leadership goes.

---

Marik quite sure the clouds are at the same height as a normal storm would be at just over a mile (2 km), unfortunately this beyond the effective range of most weapons and magics. He does believe the other side of the typhoon will be upon the alley in about a half-hour.

OOC: Here we go. A 19.

13:32, Today: Filimena the Gentle rolled 19 using 1d20+5, rerolling ones with rolls of 14.  Charisma Check.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 05:33, Sat 10 July 2021.

Whether thru charm, wit, or perhaps intimidation -- Filimena has the group working well to secure the manor.

After looking at the sky, Marik joins the other in the interior. He tries to find tools or something of use, but the manor is largely in disrepair and empty of construction materials.

OOC: Marik attempts a Investigation check to find construction materials like nails and planks


Instead, Marik decides to make a quick check of the manor, trying to find a place that would be suitably protected against the elements for what is to come.

OOC: Should I roll something for this?

Marik is sure that the basement would be a good place to hide from the winds and heavy rain.

Filimena glances around her, satisfied at a job well done - as well as the circumstances allow anyway. Calmly but swiftly, she walks towards the door to take a peek at the sky outside. "Alright, I think we've done the best we can," she says, turning back towards the children. "We'd better head down and seek shelter in the basement. Er, you too, Lif, if you want, although reckon you'll be fine up here too." She motions towards the old stairs.

The basement has been cleaned since you left, with all the broken bits of bottles, barrels, and furniture are piled up neatly, waiting to be removed. What few bottles and barrels which managed to survived are nicely arranged in their proper place proper place. You can only guess that Lif has taken a liking to you and continued getting the place ready for whatever it is the Finders of Jzadirune wish to do with a tavern.

Each of the trio shivers as they clear the stairs and make hand signs back and forth among themselves as they look about. The tiefling, Sakka, looks at Filimena, "This place isn't right."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:42, Mon 19 July 2021.

Filimena chuckles. "Come now, it isn't that bad. It even looks a bit better than yesterday!" Then she turns to see the children, and realises they're being quite serious. "Um. How so?"

The half-orc boy, Agot, pipes up, "Ever get the shivers from a place? It's like that. We stay away from those sorts of places, too many buildings in the city with that feeling ..." Agot pauses as the half-elf girl, Findelye, taps him on the shoulder and then makes a few finger movements to which he nods and seems to reply in similar gestures.

Looking back to Filimina, he says "It's like when you hit with cold water - even after the initial shock, you still feel cold till you do something to get off the wet."


OOC: For us "the audience" it is obvious these children have some sort of sign language they speak to each other in. I'm not sure Filimena or Marik would know of such things, though I leave that for you to think about.

As Marik and Rani get back downstairs from their little tour, he sees Filimena and the children and see the halfling had the same idea as him. He nods approvingly as she signals the children to take shelter in the basement. He can't help but have a flash of memories wash over him. The face of Kamon, the girl he couldn't save in the Illithid lair flash in the back of his mind, like a searing light. The face of Maple and the memories of the orphans they couldn't prevent being bought in the Malachite fortress follows, making Marik closes his eyes, tense and clench his teeth for a moment. Why...Why do he care? He didn't knew any of them well and children of every ancestry die each day. Monsters, tempest, magic, battles, pestilence, misplaced anger...it's a dangerous world....So why does he now feels responsible for their demise? The world didn't care for him or his kind. They didn't care for the fire that stretched as far as the eye can see and the screams...Nobody came to their aid or destroy the monsters that set their home alight, nor did they cared for the elven progeny that now roams the forest as ghosts.....

So why does he? Why does he now carry the weight of those he couldn't save with him? And why is he now feeling so driven to do his utmost to protect these three from this magical tempest?

Marik dismisses these thoughts as the half-orc express feeling shivers. Marik looks at him trying to ascertain what's wrong. The boy appears to be feeling cold. His first idea is that they are probably wet from the rain, which he feels like confirmation as he hears the other mentioning being wet.

"Oh cold....Wait." he responds, as he goes into his bags and gets out an elven-made (and patched up as best he could many times) light blanket he uses for sleeping in the wilds, which he unrolls and hands out to the child trio.


He turns to Filimena.

[Language unknown: "O acthe hielmi om ha lo libe. Nanace al ons" ]

And he makes his way with Rani to a quieter corner of the basement, in front of the wall of runes.


OOC: Marik rolled a 13 for gaining insight into the children's discomfort as they mentioned shivers and probably miss the subtler subtext since he was lost in thought


OOC: With his perception, I feel Marik could have a sense the children are communicating but wouldn't pay it any mind. It would probably remind him of the sign language he had with his own sisters many years back when she learned him to hunt. All children communicate this way for him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:06, Wed 21 July 2021.

Filimena nods slowly. She wonders if the children have any inkling at all about what happened here in this manor. Or maybe this has nothing to do with that at all, and instead, it's whatever is lying behind that rune-inscribed wall. She glances furtively in its direction, then looks back at the children.

"Well, we're here now, and there's nowhere else to go, at least until this storm blows over," she says quietly. She gestures around her, inviting them to settle down, careful to steer them away from where she sees Marik out of the corner of her eye, but also from the portal.

She watches them for a while, she herself standing still at the bottom of the stairs. "You said there were other places in the city like this, that give you... the shivers. What sort of places?" She wants to speak to them like equals, not like children. They have probably seen more in their few years than some - like her parents perhaps - have seen their whole lives. And yet they are children. She glances over at the half-elven girl. If she speaks to her, will she be able to hear?

OOC: Filimena would definitely be interested in the the sign language, although up till now she's been focused on getting to safety, so I've been waiting for just such a lull to bring it up narratively. I  rolled a history check to see if she knows enough about sign languages to tell whether this is a standard language, or more of a pidgin cobbled together by the children out of need. I got a 9, which I guess isn't enough, but I think with her Sage background Filimena would at least have some awareness of such things.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:29, Thu 22 July 2021.

Moving away from the others, Marik finds the poorly carved series of dwarven runes on a incomplete wall, exactly where they were previously.

---

Agot thinks for a moment and makes gestures to the others who reply in kind before saying, "All over the place. A few taverns by the docks, there's a locksmith shop off Middle Tome, the busted warehouse on Candle Lane, a several churches, and this place till recently ... we avoid all of 'em as much as possible. Always seems to be trouble in those places."

Filimina recognizes the locksmith shop as Ghelves Locks and the warehouse as where you fought The Hawk and found Renaer Buchanan.

Marik disembarks from Rani and sits in a meditation pose in front of the runes. Rani lay just behind him, close enough that he can feel the warmth from her large body.

Marik takes a deep breath and looks at the runes, not really to study them, but to use them as a point of focus. He tries to empty his mind, recalling images of the moments he managed to contact the spirits.

He thinks for a moment which he should contact. The Warden of the Wildwoods? The skies would be more the domain of Zephyr, Herald of the Storm. But Marik never contacted them and a basement doesn't seem like the best place to start. He also thinks of the magical nature of the storm. Yes, that's it. It's not the storm itself he wants to understand or influence, it's seeing hints of what sent it. He needs a hunter, something that preys on the supernatural. Cihnhenal, it is. He tries to think beyond the stars where the great beast dwells.

[Language unknown: "Moreti Encntewas k Erahisate, Prerattic ha as Amedayardiou shemo Itiepe k Manearentenc. Nechossi orewerhas ontr ul ustrpa verth N si alave ameca o hat in. "]

Feeling no response, Marik feels a bit anxious and attempts

[Language unknown:
"T Illrutund Samawh. Ndpa ndelinfor n k ouevri theousred il ithal ev pr alsi ch ernte tr" ]


OOC: Marik rolls a 7 in Religion and a 8 in Persuasion, if any was applicable to contact and attempt to sway the spirit to help him find .

Filimena narrows her eyes and frowns slightly. Had there been any walls bearing runes at the warehouse on Candle Lane? She doesn't recall seeing any, but then again, they hadn't exactly been looking one specifically, and it's always possible it's another busted warehouse the children are referring too, although the coincidence is intriguing to ignore. She considers showing the children the wall after all - they'll spot it themselves sooner or later anyway, if they haven't already - but notices that Marik is still meditating before it, and decides to do the next best thing.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" she asks, calmly, reaching into her backpack and once again retrieving the pair of strange clay tablets they'd found at the warehouse. "Do these mean anything to you? Give you the shivers as well?"