[IC] Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia laughed and answered Pylia, "You have no idea, Pylia. I mean, breastplates and leather armor are practically ancient back home, nobody wears them anymore. Only people in law enforcement and the military wear anything close to armor. And then there are fashion choices that some people make...!"

When Pylia tended to her arm that was affected by the ooze cube, she at first let out a hiss of pain, but relaxed as the sensation became a little more soothing. When she mentioned that she was going to go out and get supplies for healing. She answered her, "Alright," She then asked Pylia, "Want me to go with you? Never hurts to have someone around in case trouble comes up again,"

[Lucius Cypher]

"I should be fine. I'm not much of a fan of the city, so I'll be quick." Hearing these words, you get the feeling that something isn't adding up. Firstly, you remember quite clearly that Pylia wanted to wash up. Why would she mention wanting to do that, and yet maintain being rather filthy and smelly? Not to mention if she wanted to buy medical supplies, she should've done so while they were at the kobold's market. While it wasn't something you were paying much mind to, you do remember that among the food vendors, there were a few selling herbs and healing equipment, things that Pylia herself did look over. Surely someone as cautious as her wouldn't be so careless as to let her supply run low. And of course, there was still the matter of the conversation you said you wanted to have with her. Now would've been a good time to speak since Shortfang was in the water closet and Buddy doesn't seem to be listening (granted he doesn't seem to be doing anything).

She didn't even bother tending to your tattered outfit, which still laid in shambles on the bed. Sure, it might've not been the fancy dress you got from Cassari, but surely she would've tried to mend it. She could easily do so quickly thanks to her magic. As Pylia went to open the door you knew that she was just stalling for time, trying to avoid you. Avoid your conversation. Ever since you spoke to her in the wagon about that night she's been rather distant from you. There's a knock at the door just as she opened it and it was one of the tavern maids with the basin. "Oh, thank you. You could just leave that inside, we'll get to it soon." Pylia says quickly as she slips pass the maid, not even waiting a moment to step aside and let the lady in. Pylia was in a hurry.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia watched Pylia leave intently and in concern. Nothing was adding up. If anything, Pylia's been acting weirder and much more distant. She was in a hurry too, and suddenly wasn't interested in bathing and getting the smell of the sewers off of her. Once Pylia was out of the door, and the wood elf maiden was gone, Sylvia looked to Buddy and she told him, "Something's not right here,"

As she put on the fancy dress from Cassari and grabbed her tonfas, she told him, "I asked the doll about her encounter that night. It didn't give me much, but what it did give me was concerning. It said she met 'an old friend, a new enemy,' I'm gonna follow her and see what I can find out. I'm worried about her,"

She just hoped Pylia didn't get too far ahead.

[Lucius Cypher]

Buddy nods, and quickly writes a note. "I'll watch here. Find her." It takes you a few minutes to get dressed, but soon you go out and try and find her. Pylia was walking quickly but not quite running so you could see her, however she was about to go through a large crowd of people in the marketplace. You could try and catch up to her, or just try and keep track of her and see if you can't tail her from afar. Either way you'd need to make your decision fast as Pylia walks into the crowd.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia nodded to Buddy, and she quickly told him, "Thanks Buddy! Hopefully, we'll be back soon," She then hurried off after Pylia. When she is about to go through a large crowd of people, Sylvia decides to hang back and try to keep an eye on her from afar, still tailing after her from a distance. She had a feeling that if she were to try and approach Pylia now, she would probably run or deviate from her intended path and purpose. Sylvia needed to know what Pylia is doing and thinking.

[Lucius Cypher]

You’re easily able to keep track of Pylia. Her unusual look, such as her strawberry blond hair, makes her stand out even among a crowd, so you could easily keep your distance as she wanders around. She ignores most merchants calling out to her, only stopping by one shop to buy a healer’s kit at a medicine stand, but even so she continues to wander around instead of heading to the Silver Stag. You find your opportunity to catch her as she stops by what smells like an aromatic shop called “Delusions of Grandeur”. There was hardly anyone in there aside from a young shopkeeper and Pylia herself, who seemed to be browsing the shelves.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia kept her eyes on Pylia and kept her distance. Soon Pylia entered an aromatic shop. "Delusions of Grandeur"...That was an interesting name for an aromatic shop. She kept her eyes on Pylia from outside and remaining hidden. If there was a window or if the door was open, then she would watch through them. However, she wasn't about to enter the store while it was only Pylia and the shopkeeper. What on earth was Pylia up to? For now, she would keep watching.

[Lucius Cypher]

There were two large windows you could easily see Pylia through, and as long as you kept your head down and stayed in the crowd, Pylia might not notice you, especially since she isn’t expecting you. Watching her Pylia doesn’t seem to be doing anything except buying soap, which she does, two bars worth for a few silver coins. Putting the soap in her bag Pylia would soon leave the shop and the market place itself, heading towards the docks. You trail her easily enough, though with less people around you have to resort of hiding behind walls and corners instead of just following her from a distance.

Pylia finally comes to a stop near a pier where the water looked relatively clean. There was a small rocky beach here which she went down towards, picking up rocks and skipping the stones across the water. Her best was five skips. Now it just looked like she was goofing off.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia guessed that buying soap wasn't too unusual. How else were they supposed to bathe if they didn't have soap? She followed Pylia to the pier, and waited, keeping her eyes on her. It seemed like Pylia was goofing off at this point. But it still didn't explain her behavior since that night...
As she waited and kept her eyes on Pylia, she wondered if mind control was possible. After all, magic did exist here, who's to say that magic can't be used to affect minds.

She wondered if Pylia was at the beach merely because she wasn't thinking and was just calming herself down, or if she was waiting for someone or something...

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia continued to ship rocks until she was bored, and then she just sat by the beach watching the sun set. She seemed to just be sitting there thinking. No praying, no more rock throwing, and only occasionally taking out that bar of soap to smell it. Eventually however she stood up and continued to wander off again, back towards the market place area. However she didn’t stay or stop by the Silver Stag. She continued onwards, away from the market area and towards an area where there were temples and churches.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia watched Pylia and her surroundings quietly. She followed Pylia when she headed for the temple area. Was Pylia going to a temple dedicated to the Defiance? That was her guess, but there was only one way to find out. She kept following and kept her distance.

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia didn’t stop by any temples. She seemed to ignore all of them, and headed straight to a graveyard. It was very well kept; you wouldn’t even have realized it was a graveyard until you look at some of the plaques which told of those who died here, their seeds and accomplishments, and when they passed. This place looked more like a garden. Pylia stopped here and seemed to just walk along the graves. There was a slight whisper in the air, or perhaps it was something else?

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia thought it was a little odd that she would come to a garden, until she realized that the garden was a graveyard. Was she here to mourn someone who passed away? Who was that person? Then she heard a whisper in the air. She didn’t like it. It seemed to give the garden a creepy air. Sylvia mentally prepared herself to cover her ears if the whisper had any magic to it, like the harpy’s song. She kept following Pylia through the graveyard, making sure to keep her distance.

[Lucius Cypher]

As you follow Pylia and listen closely, the whispers become a bit clearer; it’s humming. From Pylia. She seemed to be humming some tune as she stops by a few grave stones. She mostly just wipes away dirt or moss, or uses her magic to mend cracks in the stones or plaques. Once more it seems like she wasn’t really doing anything and just wandering around. However in the middle of her walk a red mist began to form near her. Pylia stopped and glared. She did not have her weapons and armor, though she still kept her holy symbol on hand. From this red smoke came a floating blacken skeleton.

However it doesn’t seem like Pylia was particularly bothered or threaten. The creature spoke to her in the strange divine language Pylia uses when she casts her spells, like they’re having a conversation. Pylia remains stone faced as she seems to be giving short and curt responses. Soon she touches her holy symbol, which makes the black skeleton retreat back into the red smoke before it vanishes. Sighing, Pyli heads in your direction, her eyes looking downwards as if in deep thought.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia blinked at Pylia’s behavior. It kind of bothered her....Pylia was giving off that horror movie vibe with that casual humming and mending of grave markers. Then she stopped and glared, and a red mist appeared! Red mist! That had to be what Buddy saw, this is what Pylia met that night!

She quickly and quietly brought out her tonfas in case she needed to help Pylia. But she didn’t appear scared or bothered in the slightest. This skeleton was...an old friend of hers? They were having a conversation about something. But what? She couldn’t understand what she was saying...

It wasn’t long before she touched the holy symbol and caused the skeleton to retreat and vanish. As soon as Pylia started walking towards Sylvia, she would quietly and quickly head away from her, and once again, keep herself out of Pylia’s sight. It was time to head back to the Silver Stag. She got her answer, and Pylia might be heading back to the inn as well.

[Lucius Cypher]

Sure enough as you continue to trail Pylia, it seemed like she was heading back to the Silver Stag. Roughly an hour had passed since Pylia had left, and business at the market place was starting to wind down, though there were more patrons over at the Silver Stag itself. Pylia stopped by the elf at the front desk to order some dinner for herself, giving you a chance to try and sneak back to the room or continue to follow after Pylia.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

At the Silver Stag when Pylia stopped to talk to the Wood Elf and order some dinner, Sylvia decided to take her chance to sneak past Pylia and quickly head for the room before Pylia reached it. She could feel herself sweating slightly as she snuck past.

[Lucius Cypher]

You just reached the hall when you hear a voice call out to you. "Sylvia? Did you come somewhere?" Naturally, it was Pylia. You were too slow and Pylia was able to spot you right after she finished speaking to the elf receptionist. "Sorry it took me so long, I while I was out I was busy browsing for soap. It's a small luxury, but I think we've earned it. Ugh... And no offense, but you certainly need it. Why haven't you washed up yet? And in your good outfit too! Now we're going to need to wash both of them... Oh well, I need to wash this outfit too now that I think on it. But anywhere, where did you go? Weren't looking for me were you?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Dammit! Sylvia swore mentally to herself when she heard Pylia's voice. She turned to face her friend, and she straightened herself up while trying to tell herself to calm down and act normal. She answered Pylia's question while doing so, "Yes! Yes, I did," At the mention of soap, Sylvia smiled happily and she commented "It'll be good to use soap again! Thank you Pylia!" When Pylia asked her questions, Sylvia once again started to sweat a bit.

What was she going to say? She didn't like lying and she was pretty sure she wasn't good at it. But...what if talking about the skeleton thing and mentioning that she followed Pylia causes some problems here? Sylvia knew that she didn't have much time to think over her answers, and she answered Pylia, her heart beating rapidly and her inner voice panicking inside while she tried to remain calm on the outside, "I was just looking around Gransys, and I was just heading back to bathe and rest. I was in such a hurry, I forgot to bathe and I put this dress on without thinking about it! Silly me!"

There we go. It was kind of honest, after all she did see some interesting parts of Gransys while following Pylia. She just left out the fact that she was following Pylia and saw what happened in the graveyard. She wasn't sure if she could have that discussion she had in mind with Pylia now...

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia just smiles politely as she flicks your forehead. "Geez Sylvia, you really do have your heads in the clouds don't you? I'm sure you're mature enough to take care of yourself but... You really need to be careful around here. This world isn't like your own and... Well as I said before, it's likely more dangerous. Especially for a young woman like yourself. I don't think I need to explain to you what I mean by that." Pylia looked very sternly at you like a mother who was about to give you a lecture. "It might be hypocritical for me to say, since I'm a woman too, but you're kind sometimes. Think with your head, not with your heart. If you don't you'll be easily tricked by bad people, who'll know what you'll do because you're too nice. I would hate for someone to take advantage of your innocence." There was a certain air of menace when Pylia said that. Not quite a threat, but more a warning... Pylia still seem suspicious of you.

With nothing else to say Pylia would go inside the room. Shortfang and Buddy were here, and there was a new stack of food near Shortfang. He was eating what looked like toasted bread with bacon and eggs, as well as drinking a large mug of ale and had a couple of apples nearby. His mouth was full as he was waving at you. Buddy was standing nearby and apparently the two were playing some sort of dice game. Pylia just waved at them back and went to go fill up the metal basin with some water. "Sylvia, bring your clothes over here, including your dress right now. I think I have a spare robe in my bag you can wear. Once this water is warm enough you can wash up fist, I'll need to spend some time cleaning and mending our outfits. Swallowing his food, Shortfang looked over to you. "Hey boss! Hungry? Shortfang have big meal coming! Something call 'mar-in-ate-ted sir-loin', with potato and carrot! Very yummy!" Shortfang had to carefully say the syllables as if he was trying to read it in his mind. Buddy was looking at you this entire time, taking a small note out that simple said "Okay?" as if to ask if everything was alright.

Rolls and Info

Pylia's Insight = 16