[IC] Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia nodded in response to Pylia's words. It was inspiring to see that Pylia was going to go in despite what fears and hesitations make her want to run away. She followed her friend inside and listened to her talk to the shopkeeper. As she listened, she could see that Pylia was giving up too easily. The shopkeeper was being honest, but he clearly wasn't going to give out information if he wasn't asked. So, when Pylia was close enough, Sylvia laid a gentle hand on Pylia's shoulder, as a subtle way to keep her from leaving the store, and thus keeping her from running away.

With her hand still on Pylia's shoulder, she turned her attention to the shopkeeper, and she asked him politely, "Sir. I don't suppose you know where Johnathan likes to spend his time when he's not working? Or maybe who his friends are? Maybe they can point us in the right direction,"

She then commented, "If you don't know, that's fine. We can always come back during his work hours here. But, I'd rather not impose like that,"

[Lucius Cypher]

The shop keeper eyed you closely, but let out a small breath. "If I had to guess, he's probably with some of his friends by the castle gardens. I don't know what your exact relationship with him is, but don't cause him any trouble." The man seemed gruff, but also protective of John. Pylia was quiet and nodded her head. "Of course sir. I wouldn't want to do anything to harm him. Thank you very much." Soon some other people arrived to the shop and began to speak to the old man about a delivery, so Pylia left the shop so he could return to his business. Outside she looked at you and smiled a little. "Thank you. I know I know, I said I needed to just go but... It's funny isn't it? I'm willing to do things like leave my home and follow you to take you back to your home, even fighting bandits, monsters, and ghosts, but I can't even deal with normal people from my past. Maybe I'm just better at fighting than I am with people..."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia was glad that he answered her questions, and she could understand his inclination to be protective. After Pylia answered his request, she left the shop with her friends. She smiled at Pylia and answered her words of gratitude, "It's not a problem," After Pylia talked a bit about not being able to deal with people from the past, Sylvia answered her, "I think that's normal. I think anybody would be really nervous about meeting someone they haven't seen in a long time. The fact that you're facing this head on and not running away...that says a lot,"

After saying that, Sylvia recognized that she held some anxiety about going home and meeting her grandfather and friends as well. What would he say? How would she answer him if he asked her where she had been? She couldn't exactly tell him the truth, he probably wouldn't believe her! ...Would her grandfather even be alive when she got back home...?

Shoving those pensive and anxious thoughts aside, she focused her attention back onto Pylia. She asked her, "So, with that said, off to the gardens then?"

[Lucius Cypher]

"Yeah. Though... I can't say I've ever been there. Let's hope it's not too hard to find." Leaving the shop, the party would go look for the gardens. Asking around, you'd be pointed back towards the Maker's Temple. Pylia is visibly annoyed at having to go back there, but sure enough once you're within sight of the Maker's Temple, there were a few signs pointing towards a place simply called "The Community Gardens", which is likely where John is at. As they walked Pylia tries to make some small talk to calm her nerves. "Everything is so different here. Growing up I the castle town ever seemed so... Big. Even as a child everything looked so much simpler. But now everything's changed it's... It's jarring. Gods, how long have I been gone? It's only felt like a few years but this..."

Walking into the gardens, the place looked suitably impressive. There seems to be various spots where flowers and trees were being grown, plenty of benches and tables to sit at, it was more or less like what you might expect a park to be. There was even a rather large grassy field where there was children playing. And it was there that Pylia pointed out their target. "There he is. John." Over at the hill were many children, seemingly running down while shouting about something. John was not one of those children; he was a massive, almost deformed looking man who was also running down the hill with them. Even from this distance he appeared to be bigger and bulkier than Buddy, but his proportions and general shape gave him an entirely uncanny appearance since unlike Buddy, John was a human. "I... Don't know what they're doing. Maybe we should wait a little while longer, I don't want to approach the children and scare them..."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia headed off with her friends and found that the park is by the Maker's Temple. She could see that Pylia was visibly annoyed but she didn't say anything about it. As she walked with her friends, she would participate in making small talk with Pylia in an attempt to help ease Pylia's nerves, "I can't really answer your question, since you know, I just got here. But Gransys is certainly impressive! I'm pretty sure that giant sword is bigger than any skyscraper I've seen..."

When they got to the park, she looked around and it reminded her of Central Park. She then looked to see the children running down the hill, and among them was...a giant of a man. She wasn't sure what she expected when she heard the name of Pylia's friend, but it certainly wasn't this. He was bulkier than Buddy! He could probably stand toe to toe against her robot friend!

She watched and tried to read the situation. Was John just playing with the children, or was there some kind of bullying going on? She wasn't sure, and she couldn't get a read on the situation. She then heard Pylia's words.

She slowly turned her head to look at her friend with a look that read "Really?"

She chuckled a bit and answered Pylia, trying to reassure her as well as make a point, "If kobold children take a shining to you, I don't think you'll end up scaring these kids, unless you're trying to scare them off," She then asked Pylia, "Do you want us to come with you, or do you want to approach John by yourself?"

OOC

Insight on John and the Kids: Natural 1 and out of luck points. ^^"

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia bit her lip. "I... I don't know Sylvia. This... I haven't actually spoken to people since you showed up... I don't want to come off as some strange woman talking to a bunch of children, but at the same time I don't know if John would even recognize me if I started talking to him..." It was then that Shortfang's snout popped out from Buddy's bag and gave his two-cents. "If there be humie kiddies, Buddy should go. Bet kids don't see knight like Buddy before! Then Shortfang talk for Buddy, be real mysterious! Make kids interested."

Pylia's worries turned to dulled doubt as Shortfang offered up his idea. "Shortfang that sounds ridiculous. If I'm worried that I might scare off those children, don't you think Buddy would be even worse? I mean... No offense to him, but I don't imagine they would like a fully armored knight just walking up to them."

Shortfang poked his head out, squinting at the children in the distance. "They humie boys yeah? They like Buddy. Buddy is a knight! Cool weapons and armor. They hang out with him, trust Shortfang." He then popped back into the bag to hide from others. Buddy didn't really move or have much of an opinion and was simply looking at the two of you.

Pylia sighed and looked over to you. "I... I think for now, I should just try and... No no, I can't do this on my own. I know I'll screw up. Let's just go together and not be too weird about this."

Rolls and Info

They don't seem to be in any actual distress, but they are moving down that hill pretty fast.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia listened to Pylia's doubts and she listened as Shortfang pitched the idea of having Buddy approach the kids. She remembered how Andrews reacted to Buddy when they first met, and she figured that's where Shortfang was coming from. It was a good suggestion, but Sylvia knew that this was ultimately Pylia's decision. After Pylia gave her answer, Sylvia answered genty, "Alright. Let's meet him together then," She then moved, staying by Pylia's side, to approach John.

[Lucius Cypher]

The group once more approached the group of children plus John. Upon closer examination, they appeared to be playing some sort of game. You could see small marbles being rolled down the hill in a narrow channel that looks like it was dug by hand. They were basically racing marbles. There were seven young boys, two girls, and than John himself. As the group approached the children took notice and seemed a bit apprehensive. They stopped playing and crowded around John who looked at the group. Now that you were closer you could tell that he was genuinely rather ugly; his proportions were odd, he had a thick neck to the point that it looked like his head was attached to his shoulders, and his hair seemed wild; curly on one side but stringy on the other. He also had scars on his hands and some rather suspect looking boils and acne on his face too. "Who you?" His voice was surprisingly light though, like a child.

Pylia gulped. "Johnathan. Do you remember me? I'm Pylia. From the orphanage." You could hear it in Pylia's voice; doubt was creeping up her throat. John just looked confused and shook his head. "Don't know..." The children seemed scared. However that's when Buddy stepped forward, and for some reason started dancing. He... Actually was really good. The sight of such a bulky looking robot knight dancing and playing music from his body (You could safely assume that it was thanks to Shortfang in his backpack), amazed the children. The children were in awe and seemed to visibly be less stressed. More importantly, Pylia herself seemed less tense as well. She looked to John and spoke again. She held her hair together with her hands, emulating pigtails. "Remember Piggy Pylia? That was me!" John looked at her dumbly before smiling and nodding. "Oh. Oh! Okay! Piggy Pylia!"

Buddy would entertain the children with his dancing, getting the kids to join him. This would allow you and Pylia to speak to John who seemed to vaguely remember Pylia. She looked to you and spoke quietly. "John has... He was born like this. Strange in the head, but bigger than any of us children. He was as strong as a man even as a boy, but his mind never matured. As kids my friends and I would try and take care of him back at the orphanage. We were surprised though when he was adopted before we were. All I knew was that he was adopted by a stone mason, and at the time, I thought they just wanted John to use him for his strength. We thought he was was too naive to know better but... He seems happy, right?"

Rolls and Info

Buddy's Performance (Dance) = Nat 20

Shortfang's Performance (Dulcimer) = 18

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia made note of John's appearance but took care to not react. She grew concerned when the children became apprehensive as they approached. She let Pylia answer John's question, however, it only seemed to make the children scared and John confused. Before Sylvia was able to think of something to say or do to calm them down, Buddy stepped up. She was quite surprised to see that he could dance, and Shortfang was definitely playing an instrument to help him out. They were good! To Sylvia's relief, the children, Pylia, and John seemed less stressed. Sylvia smiled as she saw Pylia pull up her short hair into pigtails, which seemed to be successful in jogging John's memory.

She listened to Pylia as she talked a bit about John. She nodded in response and answered, "Yeah. He definitely seems happy. The stonemason also seemed to really care about him too," She then looked to John and she greeted him with a kind smile, "Hi John. I'm Sylvia. It's nice to meet you," She then nodded to Buddy and she introduced him, "And he's Buddy! We're friends of Pylia as well,"

She figured introducing herself and Buddy to John would help ease tensions.

[Lucius Cypher]

John smiled wide seeing you. "You pretty!" He said rather loudly. Buddy would dance by, apparently leading the kids in some sort of conga line like dance. Pylia continued to talk to John. Their conversation was rather one-sided as John gave very short or simple answers, but he seemed fully engaged. You could tell that Pylia seemed more comfortable talking to him now that you were here with her. The topic was mostly just about how he was doing and his he's been, which again his answers were fairly basic. Almost vague even, but when pressed for clarification he seemed to only confuse himself. But overall he seems to be doing pretty well for himself as a mason. Apparently the game he was playing with the children involved racing down various colorful marbles of different designs down the hill. Each child has their own marble and roots for who wins. So far the red marble with a black three written on it has the most wins.

It wasn't long before a bell rang. It came from the temple of the Maker, likely from a clock tower. Many of the children grabbed their marbles and ran out from the park saying how they needed to go home. John himself had to leave too since his break over. "Okay! Goodbye John! Take care!" Pylia would say as he big man grabs his marble and leaves. Once the park was clear of the others, leaving only you and your group, Pylia feel to her knees. "Thank the gods... He's okay. After all of these years he's doing fine. That's... That's great." Pylia seemed to have a small tear in her eye that she wiped away. "I was worried that maybe since I was gone, he would've been abused by that mason, or something would've happened that would force John to turn to crime to survive. But seeing him as a simple mason it... It's good. You know, for some things to not have changed."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia laughed a bit at John's innocent compliment, and she answered, "Aw! Thank you, John," She let Pylia continue her discussion with John and Buddy continue dancing, leading a conga line. She was mostly silent for the most part, knowing that she shouldn't interrupt their time to catch up. She listened to the conversation until the bell tolled in the distance. She looked towards the temple of the Maker before watching the children run off in that direction. She waved goodbye to them and John as they left.

She looked to Pylia when she spoke in relief. She smiled softly and she answered Pylia "Yeah...That's great. John seems like a kind-hearted person," She then looked to Buddy and she complimented him, "You have some great moves, Buddy. Didn't know you could dance like that!" She then looked to the backpack, quietly telling Shortfang "Good job with the music, Shortfang!"

She then asked Pylia, "Is there anybody else you want to visit today?"

[Lucius Cypher]

Buddy looked at you and gave you a thumb's up. Shortfang peeked out of the bag and looked at you. "Not easy, but Shortfang do it! Shortfang super good!" Pylia smiled and laughed at their antics. "I honestly did not expect that to work out as well as it did. You two are just..." Pylia trailed off laughing, but hearing her question she seemed nervous. "Um... Yeah. Yeah I guess there is. You already saw it before but... I'll show you." Pylia would guide the group out from the Castle Ward and back to the Market Streets. However she than took the party to the graveyard that you remember seeing her speak to when Pylia was suppose to be buying soap. "This is the Temple of the Lady Grace. She's a saint who believed in the Maker. A powerful priestess who gave her life to craft a spell that purged the spirits from an army of undead thousands of years ago. She's the patron saint of the dead and watches over their graves."

Soon Pylia would lead the party to a tombstone. It was a very small one, with only a simple headstone that was barely Pylia's height. On the stone was the following: Seraph Riovas. "This is the grave of my... Dearest friend. Seraph Riovas. I never knew my parents. My father died before I was born and my mother was killed by the plague when I was still an infant. Seraph was a fellow orphan, and only a little bit older than me. We grew up like sisters, her taking care of me and I helping her. She grew up to become a rebellious, spirited perosn, while I was more interested in study and research. But we both shared the same passion: we wanted to help people, heal them, and even bring them back from the dead. That way no one child had to suffer the life we did." Pylia knelt down by the grave, picking off the moss off the headstone and pulling out the weeds over the grave.

"But you know what happened to her. When we got older, we made the mistake of meeting with a necromancer cult and... And they killed her. They would've done the same to me too. But I ran away... Fled while Seraph was killed. I... I can still remember her screaming my name. Every night when I was alone I sometimes hear her screams and I freeze. I don't know if I should run or seek her out." After she finished cleaning the grave site Pylia just looked at the grave. "I... I want to see her again. I want to tell her I'm sorry. I want to save her life. But..."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia was surprised to hear Pylia laugh, but it faded in favor of smiling and laughing a little as well. Now that Sylvia thought about it, this was probably the first time she heard Pylia actually laugh. She followed her friend as she led them to the graveyard that she was in before. She figured Buddy would recognize this place just as much as she had. She followed Pylia to the grave of her friend. As Pylia spoke, she recalled Pylia's story from before. How her best friend was killed and turned into an undead monster by the necromancers.

"I... I want to see her again. I want to tell her I'm sorry. I want to save her life. But..."

But she's gone...

Sylvia quietly finished Pylia's words in her thoughts. She felt that pang of grief and sadness once more as she stood in front of the grave. She honestly wished she had brought a bouquet of flowers to place in front of the grave. She would have to find flowers and place them at the grave herself.

She answered Pylia, hoping to console her, "I think...she would have wanted you to live,"

My grandparents are better at consoling people than I am...

Sylvia thought to herself. She wasn't sure if her words would help Pylia, but she was sincere.

[Lucius Cypher]

"It's so easy to say that, isn't it? When you never know the answer." Pylia says quietly. She gripped the grave dirt tightly. "I... I'm just not sure. About any of this. That's why I... I had tried doing it myself, but always couldn't do it. What if she does hate me? What if... All of the people I left behind as a child... Never forgive me for abandoning them?" Pylia let out a sad laugh. She leaned against the grave to hide her face. "But listen to me. How selfish I must sound like, more worried about how they feel about me, rather than how they actually feel." Pylia's sad chuckle faded as she stood up. She looked to you wipe hiding her eyes. "Sorry. We should go. I... I wasn't really sure what I'd do here. But it's good to... To let you all know." Buddy and Shortfang looked at Pylia, quiet and solemn. Buddy simply held his hands together behind his back while Shortfang seemed to think deeply.

"Pylia... Not give up on old dream, right?" Pylia looked to Shortfang, who climbed down Buddy to stand next to Pylia. "Before friend die, you wanna help people, yeah? And you still help people! You help Boss way back when yeah? And help Shortfang at camp, and at sewer. Just like what you and Seraph want! So not selfish. Okay to be sad. But you still do right thing. Yeah?" Shortfang looks to Sylvia for her back up.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia was silent at Pylia's comment about how easy it was to say it. Pylia did have a point, but still...
She was quiet as she listened to Pylia voice her feelings. She figured it would be best to just listen and let Pylia vent. She waved off Pylia's apology, "It's alright, Pylia. Please don't worry about it," She then looked to Shortfang as he spoke up. Sylvia smiled and she agreed, "He's right, Pylia. Back then, you could have easily ignored me when we first met. But you didn't. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be wandering around that forest with no clue," She then continued, "And you have helped so many people on the way here! Dirk, Ferric, Mica, Shortfang, Buddy, Andras, Andrews, Elena, and the Sewer Dragons! And you're still trying to do the right thing. That is amazing to me,"

She then finished, "It's ok to be sad and to talk about your feelings. We'll always be there to listen,"

She then looked to the graves around her, and she suggested to Pylia and her friends, "I think there is something we can do for Seraph, before we head back to turn in for the night. Pylia, do you know of any flower shops nearby?"

[Lucius Cypher]

Pylia looked at the group with a mix of a smile and a pout. "Seriously you guys... You're just... Too nice!" Pylia said with a sad looking smile. "You're all just... It just feels like you're all giving me so much... Unconditional support despite my mistakes. I just feel even more terrible now that you're all so kind and understanding." Pylia's chuckles turned to light sobbing. Her sobbing turned to groaning, and groaning into a frustrated shouting. Pylia just let herself cry again, once more releasing pent up frustration. Shortfang stood next to Pylia, giving her a hug as she wailed and let herself cry her heart out. Eventually she'd recover, and Buddy gave her a cloth from his pack to clean her face with. Now that she's mostly done venting her sadness, she looks to you with red eyes. "Um... Yeah, I think. Saw a flower shop in the market, I think they're still open... You going to buy flowers for Seraph?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia moved closer when Pylia started crying. She wanted to hug her as well, but she remembered the last time she tried to hug Pylia and how well that went. So, instead, she settled for placing a comforting hand on Pylia's shoulder. After Pylia finished crying and asked her question, Sylvia nodded and she answered, "Of course. I'll pay for them, but they'll be from all of us," She then suggested, "Why don't we hurry to the shop? Wouldn't want them to close before we get there,"

[Lucius Cypher]

“Right. Of course.” Pylia said as she tries to put herself back together. She stands up on her feet a bit wobbly, surprised at how numb her legs were. The group gathered together and head to the nearest flower shop. Or rather, flower cart: it was simply an old woman manning a little wheelbarrow with pots of flowers in them. She was on her way home when the group found her. “Well hello, how can I help you? Might I interest you in a Moonglow flowers? Or perhaps some Jasperblossom?”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia waited patiently for Pylia to stand, helping her out a bit if she stumbled from how numb her legs are. She walked with her friends to the flower shop, thinking about what kind of flowers to buy. She remembered hearing that flowers had certain meanings back home...would the same hold true here? She also remembered the vision when Pylia smoked...weren't both Pylia and Seraph in a field of white flowers in that vision?

Soon enough they reached the flower cart. After they were greeted by the elderly woman, Sylvia answered politely, "Hello Ma'am. Yes, we would be interested in buying a bouquet. Moonglow flowers, and some of those flowers," She would gesture to any white flowers Sylvia could see. She then asked Pylia, "Is that okay with you Pylia?"

[Lucius Cypher]

The old woman nodded. "Ah yes, white orchids. Very rare, but very important. In Gransys, White Orchids are symbolic of youth and purity." The old woman snips off a few flowers of both, creating a bouquet of Moonglow and White Orchid. And sure enough as the night winded down, even after being cut the moonglow started to glow rather luminously. Pylia took the flowers quietly, simply nodding when you had asked her about your suggestion. The total would be 2 silver coins, which you could cover easily. "These flowers... It reminds me of a field we used to visit outside of Gransys." Pylia said quietly.