OOC: By the end of this post, some of you might be thinking: "naaah... he couldn't possibly". To which I reply: Yes, he could. Quite possibly in fact.

A somewhat cleaner, somewhat saner, somewhat less tired Akane leads the party to the bridge to Carp... To find Uldus waiting for them, wringing his hands, burdened by two heavy metal bracelets around his wrists. A metal collar is secured acround his neck, and even though he is not wearing any chains, it's pretty obvious that the new accessories are actually restraints of some kind.

Akane approaches the harried Vanara with a frown; "Uldus. What's wrong?"

The simian shudders lightly as he replies: "Grand Marshall Naranjer. He's at the Manor."

Akane pales and shakes her head: "You're joking... Tell me you're joking."

"You can't get in like that Akane."

"No... I suppose not." Akane sighs, and a moment later her form changes to that of a furry humanoid with a fox head.

She removes her weapons and her catsuit, which turns into a silvery chainshirt the moment she slips it off, and gives them to Uldus. She doesn't seem to mind the fact that her modesty is now covered only by her fur, but then again, it's a pretty thick fur, and it provides a very thorough coverage.

From her backpack, she removes a silvery metal collar, lighter and shinier than the one around the Vanara's neck, which he proceeds to snap on, followed by two silvery bracelets which she puts on her wrists. They imediately adjust so that they can no longer be removed, confirming their nature as a set of restraints.

With a deep shuddering sigh, she turns around to face the party: "Listen. Aneri zo Naranjer is in town. He's a Grand Marshall of Asmodean. Think of him as a traveling magistrate... Except he can also be jury and executioner if he so decides. Normally, a Grand Marshall knows the law like the palm of his hand. This is devil country, however: he doesn't just know the law, he is the law. Please be careful what you do and say around him. He killed men for looking at him the wrong way, then sold their families into slavery as a fine."

An idea strikes her and she turns back to Uldus: "Did he say if he would be in town for long? Maybe we can just come back after he leaves."

Uldus looks apologetic: "That wouldn't help. He's looking for you."

A quiet whine escapes Akane's lips. "Did he say why?"

"I think he wants to... Deputize you."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:52, Fri 20 July 2018.

After summoning the manor's servants to lead everybody else back to their rooms, Akane follows the corridor to the Black Room, the one where Zhorr meets those guests that have clearly shown their allegiance to Asmodean.

The decorations are obviously set to match, and the small shring behind Zhorr's large desk is dedicated to the Lord of Hell.

Naranker is sitting comfortable opposite Zhorr, room, making small talk. His outfit is as simple as it is unusual: black leather pants, and a black duster; a high-crowned, wide-brimmed black hat is sitting on the desk in front of him. Just above his heart, a silvery unholy symbol of Asmodean, his badge of office shines in the light of the magic torches.

Akane's eyes are attracted by the smoking holster resting on his hip, which she knows to contain Naranjer's gun, the Big Iyrn, said to have been forged in Hell and blessed by Asmodean himself. Eternally spouting the smoke from the fires of Hell, says the legend.

Since Iyrn is the gnomish word for a firearm, however, Akane has a strong suspicion that it was actually forged by the gnomes in Bristlewerk, not that she would ever challenge the legend of the Big Iyrn within earshot of the Grand Marshall.

Naranjer turns when she knocks, and Akane finds herself thinking that he's a surprisingly handsome man - for a human at least. His hair is a light brown with a slight reddish undertone that wouldn't be out of place in a member of her own race, and his piercing grey eyes seemed to look straight into her soul... Which they might, for all she knew: he was, after all, a grand Marshall of Asmodean. ""Ah, your fox is here... Well, I see you finally learned how to dress properly in the presence of your betters. It seems there's hope for your pet yet, van Lyre."

"As you say, Grand Marshall." Zhorr replies noncommittally, carefully maintaining a blank expression.

Sensing Zhorr's anger, Akane speaks up: "Lord Marshall... You required my presence?"

Naranjer sighs in mild irritation: "Still talking out of turn, I see. Well, I suppose animals can't be expected to know any better. I came to deliver a message to your master: the Right Honorable Count of Brastlewerk has seen fit to offer van Lyre the title of Baron of Carp. The count simply requires a minor service to be performed first, to confirm that the newly-appointed Baron is conscious of his duties and capable of performing them.".

A few seconds later, he nods approvingly noting that aAkane has remained silent. "You train your animals well, van Lyre. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to have slaves flogged for not being able to retain simple concepts in their tiny minds. Tell me, pet, Have you heard of a half-beast outlaw named Terk 's Harksred?"

"Terk... 's Harksred, my Lord? Are you certain?"

Naranjer inclines his head: "You heard of him, then?"

"Ah, no My Lord, it's just... 'Terk of the Great Harring' seems like a really bizarre name, even for an Orc, my Lord. Are you sure it's not 's Harksradu, 'of the Great Mountain'? Or perhaps 's Harksråd, 'of the Great River'?"

Naranjer sighs - in a bizarre, slightly effeminate way that doesn't quite seem to fit him: "It could be 'of the great steaming pile of excrement', for all I care, fox. If it will set your mind at ease, I'd say they named his clan ironically. He is, after all, only a half-beast. It doesn't matter: he's an outlaw, and your task is to bring him to jutice, not write his biography. Alive or dead is of little import. Your master vouched for your cunning. See that you don't disappoint him."

"Y-Yes, my Lord. Ah..."

Naranker quirks an eyebrow: "Yes?"

"Is he also an iyrn wielder, my Lord?"

The Marshall's small laughter also really doesn't seem to fit him: "My, my... I'm impressed, van Lyre, your pet might truly be as intelligent as you made her out to be. Yes, the 'red, or 'rade, or whatever he's called, does in fact possess an iyrn. Two, in fact. Though you needn't worry about meeting the Big Iyrn's match: it would take decades for the gnomes to make another like her, not that they would dare, of course. No, his weapons are common pieces of metal. You should have no problems at all dealing with him. I wouldn't send an animal to do the job of a man, after all."

Only the slightest twitch on Zhorr's face betrays his feelings as he again considers, and is forced to discard, the many possible ways that he could make Naranjer suffer an unfortunate accident.

He stands and approaches Akane: "By the power beswoted upon me by the Lord and the Crown, I hereby name you Deputy Marshall of Hell and Land. May you perform your duties with the blessing of the Lord, or suffer His ire."

He looks around for a moment: "Now, where did the boy go?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:36, Mon 23 July 2018.

"I'm here Lord Marshal..." says a reluctant voice from a corner of the room that isn't quite as well lit as the others.  As he speaks up, Artus finds himself wondering for perhaps the dozenth time just why he'd accepted this job from Naranjer in the first place.  For the dozenth time, he is forced to remind himself of the harsh reality that he has learned over the last few months since leaving home with a dream of avenging his father's reputation as an honorable man... namely that no-one wanted to give the son of a man viewed as a betrayer and breaker of contracts a chance to redeem their family name.

Naranjer had been the only one willing to consider hiring Artrus, and even that had only happened after Naranjer had heard about an... incident in one of the local watering holes that had come near enough to getting Artrus imprisoned... or worse.  Unfortunately, the circumstances had left Artrus very much on the weaker side of the negotiations, so while the job would still pay decently enough and would hopefully be a stepping stone to further work, Artrus had not been in any position to turn it down either.

Stepping forward, Artrus is revealed to be a young adult in the prime of his youth.  Garbed in a breastplate that appears to be well cared for, if relatively unblemished or showing any signs of use, Artrus' most defining feature is easily the short, red hair that sets him apart from most of the humans in the area.  His green eyes look at Akane with a small measure of curiosity mixed with annoyance.  On his back hang a steel shield and a bastard sword in a scabbard.  Though Artrus is certainly young and likely inexperienced in actual combat, the way he moves demonstrates that he has at the least been VERY well-trained and likely knows how to utilize his arms and armor very effectively.

Naranker raises an eyebrow in his direction: "Hm... Yes, very well. VanLyre, this is Junior Deputy Inquisitor Artrus Genald, Provisional. He was supposed to accompany you, but since you have been so... Insistent... That your pet can take care of the situation in your stead... I suppose he can supervise her instead." He pats Akane's head patronizingly.

"I'll admit, when you told me your pet was out on an errand, I was afraid I'd have to stay in this... Village... Much longer." He grabs his hat and sets it on his head with a fluid move: "Nonetheless, I will spend the night at that inn you spoke so fondly about. Come find me if you have any doubts."

Akane watches the Grand Marshall leave, closing the door behind himm at which point she relaxes fractionally, looking at the newcomer warily.

Artrus rolls his eyes at the obvious suspicion radiating off of the kitsune.  "No need to be trying to kill me with glares Foxy Lady.  I'm about as thrilled with this assignment as you are, but I'm getting paid to make sure you don't get killed and while I may not particularly care one way or another, the money coming my way does... and I take money very seriously."  Crossing his arms, the kid seems to be a mix of contradictions, the stance and bearing of a professional soldier with the attitude and mouth of a teenager with a very large chip on his shoulder.

"So since I'm not particularly into the whole 'pet' ruse, and based on the glares you're shooting me, you're not either; why don't you see about getting us out of here so you can get more comfortable and I can learn about just what sort of mess I've gotten myself into here."

Akane relaxes a little more: "Well then... If we help each other, I'm sure we can get things done without stepping on each other paws... Toes... Too much. And you're right, I should get more comfortable."

With that, Akane shapeshifts back to her usual human shape (a petite girl with dark hair and black almond-shaped eyes) - and Zhorr facepalms. Akane eyes him curiously: "What? What? He knows I'm a shapeshifter!"

"Akane..." He gestures vaguely at her, and she looks down, realizing that she forgot an important detail - namely, her clothes.

Shapeshifting back to her fox form, she chuckles, slightly embarrassed: "Ah! Sorry about that. Let me show you to your room, and then I'll grab some clothes. They tell me it's not polite to run around in the nude."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:20, Thu 26 July 2018.

A bright flush suffuses Artrus' face as Akane shifts back into her (nude) human form.  He quickly glances away out of embarrassment as Zhorr reminds Akane.  It seems that in spite of the chip on his shoulder, there is still some small amount of innocence left in the boy after all.

When Akane shifts back, Artrus cautiously checks that she is 'decent' again before returning his gaze towards her, though it takes some time for his skin to stop competing with the redness of his hair as to which is brighter.

Following along with Akane as she starts to direct him towards his room, Artrus asks, "So the Lord Marshal has told me a little bit about your crew, but he didn't seem to care to know much in the way of details... where are the rest of them at this point?  What sort of resources are they?  I learned some small measure of tactics during my combat training and would prefer to have some idea of the capabilities that we have available to us if I am to be... assisting you..." His last words seem to drip with distaste.  It's hard to tell whether the distaste is directed at Akane herself, the assignment, or some other factor that Artrus has yet to voice.

Lia seems a little worried at that: "Well... The Grand Mrshall's information was probably a bit out of date. Gods I hope it was out of date... Anyway, Lia is the only one of the old guard who's still around: I haven't seen Stella in a while, and everybody else tended to be around on an 'as needed' basis." She considers for a moment: "My current... Companions... Well, there's Aran, our resident hothead. He's charming, opinionated, and is a strong believer in equality. No, I don't know what he's doing in Cheliash, I suspect a divine punishment of some sort."

She opens a door to a small antechamber, and guides Aran through a living area into a small but nicely furnished bedroom: "Your rooms. Feel free to make yourself at home."

She points to a silver bell on the nightstand. "This will summon an Unseen Servant to take care of your immediate needs. Make sure to state your orders clearly, they aren't very smart... In fact, technically, they have no intelligence at all."

She rings the bell, then proceeds to continue her description of her companions as she waits for the servant: "Leonia, the wizard, obviously very smart. I think she wants to bend the world over her knee and give it a much-needed spanking. I know Zhorr has already set aside a selection of spells to help her with the task. Zhorr has lots of useful spells, money, and arcane knowledge. She has the potential to become a great troubleshooter, and Zhorr is willing to share a lot of his knowledge to keep her interested."

The Unseen Servant taps on the floor to announce its presence, and she orders: "Fill the bath tub, hot water."

She turns to Artrus and grins - the human way, thus showing a lot more teeth than she normally would had she not spent so long in human form: "Yes, we do have hot baths on command. And yes, I am looking forward to taking one myself, so I'll be nrief."

"The last member of our team... Dakash. He is a proper nice guy, I'd even call him a divine servant of good. Doesn't mean you should get on his bad side, though, he can be downright scary when he's mad. He also seems to be the only one who can... Well, it's a long story."

After a moment, she continues: "Listen, I know Naranjer wants us to catch this Terk Herring guy, but we really need some time to prepare. I'm sure Zhorr will be happy to make it worth your while."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:40, Fri 27 July 2018.

Artrus still feels a little unsure about Akane and whatever role she seems to play in relation to Naranjer, but he mentally shrugs.  Whatever the drama involved there, he had a simple job to do... keep an eye on her and her group and make sure they didn't die.  Artrus just hoped that this job would do what he was hoping and make him able to be marketable in the mercenary field again.  The one thing he was sure about is that at some point he'd run across the bastard that had destroyed his father's reputation and make the man pay.

"Not going to turn down the opportunity for a hot bath and R&R before a job... know better than that given that we may not have another chance for some time.  I'll take some time to refresh myself then... when and where should I find you?"  As he speaks Artrus begins removing some of his armor, though he does balk at removing any of his clothes until after Arkane leaves, looking a bit awkward as he pauses.

"You can ask the servats to deliver a message if you need something, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast in the main dining room." Akane quickly explains to Artrus how to reach the key areas of the manor, and takes her leave with a small bow.

Artrus takes advantage of the accommodations made available for him that Akane informs him of.  He hadn't been lying when he said he was well aware of the need to do so when opportunity made it possible.  Though his personal experience in the mercenary lifestyle was limited, his father had made such lessons very clear for Artrus as he'd been growing up.  Though his father had always intended such lessons to be more about bonding moments between the two of them... Artrus had taken them to heart for a much different reason.  He'd never truly known the man his father had been before having his reputation destroyed, Artrus had seen how his father's eyes had shone with nostalgia at remembering the life he'd left behind.  He'd grown to hate the man responsible for diminishing his father so and had vowed while still young that he would restore his family's honor.

The next day, Artrus heads down for breakfast fully armored and armed.  Though he knew that he should be able to feel safe after sleeping in this place, he still wasn't sure about these people he was supposed to work with.  Though his own prejudices weren't as extreme as the Lord Marshal's, he didn't fully trust Akane as he'd heard too many stories about Kitsune and their kind making use of their shapeshifting abilities to make fools of men.  In addition, these other people were still wild-cards in his mind in spite of Akane vouching for them... or perhaps it was BECAUSE of Akane vouching for them that he preferred to remain careful.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Let me know if something occurs to change matters, otherwise, I'll assume that we can skip to morning so that we can get everyone else involved in the posting again.

---

Since leaving the swamp, Aran has been uncharacteristically quiet and contemplative. Not long after... whatever happened, Aran cast cantrip after cantrip until he couldn't any more. Every now and then, a look of hope would come across his face and he'd belt out a magical phrase and snap his fingers, but it would only resort to disappointment. Eventually he was able to determine the limits of his magic.

He spent a good portion of the night contemplating whether or not to bug Dakash and Leonia about this turn of events, but he instead chose to rest himself to face whatever nonsense there was to face in the morning.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:15, Mon 30 July 2018.

The tall, wooden door carries upon it a buckler in the shape of a downward leaf. Its black-pitted silver is tarnished from age. As the party approaches, the oaken door opens, seemingly on its own. The air spilling out of the room beyond is warm and moist, though much more pleasant than the recent wetland weekend.

The chamber is large and octagonal, light spilling in from a trapezoid of glass windows that make up the opposite three walls. The room goes up all three storeys of the manor before a pattern of hanging, perforated tarps block the open sky.

A series of wells rise from the floor around the room’s perimeter and its center. Their contents are a rainbow of bushy flowering plants, often spilling leafy tendrils to the ground. Where there aren’t plant pots there are scattered benches of polished wood. The benches’ backs are shaped and angled for comfort. A pastoral affair, all told.

A short woman with long and curly brown hair stands by the window with her back to you. Her attire is a cascade of several silken colours atop a dress skirt ending at her calves. However, sturdy boots implies some practicality to her. The woman is presumably staring out the windows into the green. As she waits, she fidgets with a bracelet of wooden beads in the sepia hands behind her back.

Back in her human form (this time with clothes), Akane leads the party into the room. "...so I thought we could debrief in Lia' atrium. I find it's very relaxing, plus she likes showing it off when she can, even though the drought has made it difficult to-" Akane's train of thought derails completely as she sees the woman staring out the window. "Kame? Kame!"

With a squeal, she pounces across the room at the other woman, her form shimmering slightly as she switches from her normal human shape (which looks a lot like a younger Lia) to another, slightly darker skinned one.

Somehow, the newcomer manages not to be bowled over by Akane's tackle-hug, and the moment Akane's feet touch the ground again she starts literally bouncing around happily. "You're here! You're here!! When did you arrive? Why didn't Dee tell me? Oh I'm so happy!"

She hugs the other girl for all she's worth, then proudly announces to the group: "Everybody, this is my twin sister Kamea."

Understandably, the party is slightly puzzled at the announcement, since, while there is a vague family resemblance between the two, Akane's skin tone is several shades ligher than her sister's, and the two aren't very much alike.

Perhaps sensing the uncertainty, she amends: "We're half-twins."


...


...


"On our mother's side." She adds helpfully.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:16, Mon 30 July 2018.

She always does this. Kamea goes limp in her sister's arms. Struggling would be taken as a sign of continuing the hug, and she'd never stop. But it's been too long. Kamea squirms an arm free to partly return the gesture somewhere on the taller sister's lower back. She closes her eyes for just the moment. Imprint this memory deep in her mind for later. "Good to see you too."

With the untangled hand, the newcomer waves at the strangers in the doorway. "I'm Kamemmph." Her introduction was muffled by her sister's shoulder. Kay. Enough. Kamea ducks down and out of Akane's clutches. A lungful of air. Composure.

"I'm Kamea." Kamea's somewhere in her late teens. Standing straight and regal, she's still small. Dwarves might be taller than her. A couple small scars fleck her round face.  A reading gaze meets each of the strangers. "I only just arrived. Pleased to meet you." Kamea shoots an exasperated look at Akane. "And I'm Akane's sister, yes."

Akane nods sagely: "My baby twin half-sister. Who never visits." She adds with a pout.

Then a moment later she brightens as she spots somebody coming in: "Lia! Lia! Lia! My baby sister's here! See? See?" She

With a tiny smile Lia replies: "Yes, Akane, I think the whole village heard you. Also, you have to decide whether you want to call her your twin sister, your half sister, or your baby sister. People might think you are trying to be confusing on purpose-"

"Well, she's all three! It's not it's my fault. Then she promptly interrupts Lia: "Nope. Not my fault. Not in any way, shape, or form. Nope, nope, nope. Mkay?"

"As you say, dear." Lia acquiesces with a small nod.

Then, Akane seems to remember why she had come here in the first place: "Right... Okay. So, uh... The mission."

Akane recounts the events of the mission to the best of her recollection, explains the strange thing with their magic, and how Dakash insists that things used to be different, with a mysterious missing party member and strange enemies that nobody else remembers.

He asks Dakash a few questions, and seems especially interested in the memory of the memory of a memory related to the "big magic event" that had apparently spawned the ghost butterflies, since there seem to be similarities between the memory of a memory of that distant event and the way Dakash remembers the events of the mission itself.

Finally, she checks the party's magic, and indeed finds that something is odd with their cantrips; after cross-checking with the party's ioun stones he says: "How... Peculiar. Normally, when you cast such underpowered spells, your magic regenerates as you cast. From what I can see, however, something is draining that regeneration."

He paces in thought for a few seconds, then adds: "I can probably return your ioun stones to their normal ability, but doing the same with your natural spells is going to be... Complicated."

Leonia theorizes "perhaps what we need is a temporary fix. Some sort of minor mana generator, possibly utilizing certain types of crystals?"