Getsemiel

[Alberich]

As Rose emerged, she caught the tail end of a conversation, where a local priest was telling Brother Timothy a tale of the Holy Jester - known in his lifetime as the Prophet Joseph, or Holy Joe -

"So, like, he comes to this village, and it was like all women, and they look like they need some consolatin'. Well he was married already, so he wasn't gonna harvest the crops himself, so he asks them, whazzup? And they say, this evangelist came through, preaching about material things and such, and they've all gone out barefoot in the wilderness, to seek Lord Luminosita.

"And Holy Joe says, like, okay, lend me a donkey. And they lend him a donkey. And he rides out where the men are, and he starts yelling 'Dudes! Where's my donkey? I can't find my donkey! Anybody seen my donkey?' And they say, whoah, dude, take it easy on the Blessed Sacrament, your donkey's right there with you.

"And he looks down and he says, 'Hey, you're right! Now go back to your wives, grok?' And they do."

Tim nodded in polite interest, but was glad to see Rose return. There was a mission to be done that he couldn't do alone - what she described was too powerful for him - and she was key to getting things moving.

[OOC: Yes, I completely ripped it off from a traditional Sufi story about Nasruddin.]

[Jack Rothwell]

Eli, now dry and dressed, took a look towards the town proper with a glint in his eye and a plan in his mind. He turned to the rest of the group and tipped a hand.

"If it's all the same with you, I think I'm going to take a stroll around town for a while. I think it's only proper that I take the time to learn some more about human culture for the benefit of Sn.. of my hometown." He continued, catching Desiree's eye. "Could you fill me in on any important developments when I get back? I won't be long."

[Drusia]

"Could you fill me in on any important developments when I get back? I won't be long."

"I'll keep you updated," I promise. Eli nods and heads off.

Of course, I'm not sure how good I'll be at that. No one ever wants to talk to me. Lillith used to, but I doubt that's still true.

Dried and dressed, I... have no idea what to do now. Eli's out exploring. Rose, Brad, and Tim probably have business. And I'm not sure... what Maudin and Bryce plan to do, but I'm not really sure how to talk to them. I mean, Maudin seems nice and all, but he's all mysterious and... and it's like he doesn't want you to get to know anything about him.

So... um... I'll just go stand near Rose and hope I figure out what I should be doing.

-- Desiree

[Graybeard]

"Back to work," Sister Rose sighed, not altogether happy with the prospect; the soak with Argus had been ... enjoyable. Unfortunately, it wasn't what they were here for.

"I suppose we should start by talking to that merchant that Brother Tyler, I think his name was, talked to, the one where Blaise got his supplies. We could probably use some provisions ourselves." She, Argus, Desiree [OOC: Oops... /OOC:] and Tim headed into town; Brad and Lillith were still extracting themselves from the pool (just what happened there? Rose asked herself, then decided she didn't want to know), Bryce and Maduin hadn't emerged from the indoor bath house arrangement yet, and Eli -- well, just where was he going? It probably didn't matter, Getsemiel had a reputation as a fairly "safe" little town.

In most ways.

The merchant was entirely agreeable, noting the flowers in the women's hair and making the connection to the Calfornican temple. [OOC: I think I remember Desiree getting a floral arrangement like Rose's; if I misremember, it's easy to retcon. /OOC:] "Yes, ma'am," he smiled. "I, like, totally remember the man, bought out about half of my provisions. He looked like he was totally preparing for a sea voyage or something."

"Awesome," replied Rose, not sure whether she was being ironic or not. In any event, the man retained his somewhat vacant smile. "Did he happen to say where he was going from here?" she probed.

The man scrunched up his brow in what passed for deep thought. "Let me, like, think ... Yes'm, I think he did. No, wait, he didn't say, but he did ask for directions. Wanted to know if the road out front goes to Frobish Bay..."

And Rose's mellow, comfortable mood vanished like the dew before the sun.

Kenny!

[Alberich]

At first, Tim had a low opinion of the way Rose had deployed her forcess. The way he'd learned it, you were supposed to split the enemy troops and concentrate your own. Instead, she'd let the hostiles concentrate by leading Maduin's enemy into Getsemiel, where Blaise was. And she'd split her own force, by leaving Maduin and Bryce to bathe-or-whatever, and letting Eli wander off alone. Turning into quite the little grumbler, aren't we?

As they walked, he remembered that he himself had failed to stop Maduin's enemy yesterday - and when he remembered how, it occurred to him that Rose might be in the same position he'd been in yesterday. If even Corporal Bryce was more interested in getting back to his lover than protecting the mission, what must the rest of them be like? Perhaps Rose had to herd along a whole mission full of people who, when push came to shove, wouldn't obey her orders, yet she was still responsible for the outcome. That would be a wretched position to be in.

Perhaps that was why she'd been so emphatic in reminding him of his own rank - lieutenant! - he might, in reality, be the only troop she had. The rest being just bystanders that she had to persuade to go where she wanted, and fight together on the right side. Even if her current tactical dispositions were unwise, this might not be a fair test of her leadership at all. Now she seemed to be having some kind of crisis of confidence. He'd support her, anyway, unless she fell apart completely.

He kept his eyes open for every kind of ambush, especially by cardinals and unattractive women. He hoped Desiree's clothes would stay on and Eli's temper would stay down.

[Drusia]

The man scrunched up his brow in what passed for deep thought. "Let me, like, think ... Yes'm, I think he did. No, wait, he didn't say, but he did ask for directions. Wanted to know if the road out front goes to Frobish Bay..."
And Rose's mellow, comfortable mood vanished like the dew before the sun.

I'm still trying to get used to the strange dialact they speak here when I feel my stomach tighten in a wave of nausia. Frobish Bay. I knew that Rose was supposed to be taking me there, but - so soon? And isn't this guy who went there the same one who Rose thinks is into death magic?

"Why would he want to go to Frobish Bay?" I ask, too shocked to keep the thought to myself. The merchant looks at me blankly - after all, how would he know - but my question was mostly directed at Rose. Why would the death magic guy go to the site of an old battlefield? Why would he go to that specific battlefield?

It suddenly occurs to me that we only have Rose's word on what happened to Kenny. What if she lied? What if she held something back. Death magic? Could Kenny have stumbled on something? Is Rose hiding it? And what does this researcher have to do with it?

My eyes widen. Rose reports to the Church. What if they sent him? Maybe they're trying to recover some sort of weapon. The weapon that killed the man I loved.

I take a step back, staring at Rose. Can I trust her? Can I afford not to? She seems as shocked as I am. Did she not place the connection before? Or am I wrong?

I turn back to the merchant. "Does it?" I ask him. He seems confused, so I rephrase. "Does the road out front lead to Frobish Bay?"

-- Desiree

OOC: Hope this is okay. I assume Rose mentioned Frobish Bay when she told the family what happened.

She, Argus, Drusia and Tim headed into town;

The flowers in the hair were fine - I don't remember specifically, but it's the kind of thing Desiree would like, so that's fine. However, you might want to retcon Desiree transforming into her mother. :p

[Graybeard]

[OOC: I'm at work and can't take the time for a lengthy response, but to help move the ball, a quick comment. Mega-dump coming this evening...]

"Does the road out front lead to Frobish Bay?"

Uncharacteristically, Sister Rose interrupted, not waiting for the rather dim shopkeeper's answer. "It does," she answered tightly. "I've been there." She turned to the shopkeeper again and produced a handful of coins. "Thank you. We'll be on our way."

As soon as they were out of earshot of the general store, she spoke again, her voice sounding strained to the breaking point. "As for why Blaise would be going there, I wish to high heaven I knew. It's a little, out-of-the-way cove down the coast, not useful for much, the harbor here in town is a much better anchorage. But I ... was there once." She took three deep breaths. "Let me tell you what I know of the place..."

[OOC: So go ahead and react, and wall-o'-text follows when I get home from work. Also: retcon done, so that Desiree gets her due. ]

[Drannin]

Argus stepped closer to Rose. He had an idea of what she was about to say, and this was the best way he could lend his support.

[Graybeard]

[OOC: As warned, wall o' text coming on this one, or at least the first half. With the second part yet to be written, this will be long, but it kinda has to get done ...]

Sister Rose detected Argus' movement, and her heart went out to him ... but she fought back the overpowering urge to meet him in a hug. By the Hairs of Luminosita's Beard, I am not going to dissolve into weeping, quivering mush here! She took another deep breath to steady herself, and another few seconds to organize what she was going to say, and then she started on what she knew, as the party walked back toward the temple.

"Frobish Bay is about two hours' ride south of here," she said. "It's just a little inlet where some stream whose name I forget enters the ocean. It's not nearly big enough to serve as a real harbor, although you can run a small boat in there. Fishermen do it all the time, which -- was important. I heard the fishing was fairly good. Otherwise it has no particular distinguishing features. If you're wondering if there's some hideous death god lurking, there's not. In fact, there's not the slightest evidence of any abnormal magic at all." The smile that formed on her face was utterly devoid of humor. "Believe me, I'd know; Luminosita knows, we spent enough hours and days looking for some."

She took another deep breath and continued. "About five years ago --" five years, three months, and twenty-seven days, to be precise -- "one of the fishermen who'd been working the bay reported that something very unusual had washed up on shore. He had no idea what it was, he'd never seen anything like it, and all he knew was that it looked very, very scary to him." Another bitter smile, although this one did have just the tiniest bit of humor in it; she looked around to make sure no townsfolk were in listening range before continuing. "By now you've probably figured out that not much scares the people in Getsemiel, largely because they're so spaced out most of the time that they barely notice the world beyond town. So whatever it was, the Powers That Be decided they'd better take it seriously."

[Porcelain Fish]

[OOC] Maybe not the wall of text you're looking for, but a substitute until the real one arrives? Lol.[/OOC]

Maduin held in a sigh as Bryce stepped ahead of him at the door and glanced around alertly over the assorted clergy and lay worshippers outside, probably scanning for the mysterious woman. His hand didn't go the long saber belted at his hip, but it might as well have. The soldier was ready for a fight, and it showed. Apparently he still wasn't inclined to sit down and have a chat with her, which really was a shame.

Something had set Bryce on edge, and while Maduin’s experience in his company had been admittedly short, it didn’t seem characteristic. With all that nonsense when he’d been unjustly accused of murder he’d been cool as a cucumber, and even during that business in (What had the name been? Ah, yes) Umbertiel with the zealous locals. Sure, he hadn’t been all that happy that Maduin couldn’t fix the town’s combustion problems with a handy spell or three, but that had been simple frustration (and one assassination attempt that might or might not have been aimed at them).

Part of him was thinking that might be a warning sign, since the big redhead was genuinely pretty intuitive. The other part was thinking all of it could be resolved with the appropriate application of glamourie and a nice sit-down chat with all conflicted parties. The rest pointed out that he’d had an extended break and he really was supposed to be keeping an eye on Argus for his various patrons.

Rose and the others weren't in evidence. Likely they'd gone in search of Father Blaise.

Well, there was no telling what sort of trouble they'd get themselves into without him around. The good brother Tim in particular seemed to be in need of some subtle yet expert assistance in maintaining amicable relations with his current traveling companions, and Brad was a walking cataclysm waiting to occur regardless of location and circumstance. Lillith could cope, but someone had to keep her fashionably attired and showing well or she’d never be truly visually appreciated.

Eli and Desiree were obviously just as much in need of someone to keep a knowing eye on them to ensure they didn’t get into trouble. (Eli especially seemed to have a bit of a temper, but it was forgivable in light of how easy he was on the eyes and his earnest attitude.)

And then there was the issue of Rose and Argus. Rose really was a dear woman, and Maduin didn’t particularly want to see her get on Fayna’s bad side, because Fayna’s bad side had a great deal in common with a twenty-thousand foot sheer cliff, with about the same end result. Argus was really quite the likeable gentleman as well, and Maduin would happily admit that they made a cute couple (just not in company where word would reach Fayna’s ears) but the associated dangers really made that sort of connection imprudent (if only the two of them knew it!).

Yes, it was a lot of work, but it was fulfilling to be needed, and if there was one thing that Maduin was quite certain of, it was that this group was very much in need of his assistance.

“Let’s find the others, shall we?” he said jovially to Bryce.

Bryce smiled at him, but there was tension concealed in his expression. Maduin held in another sigh and rested his fingertips lightly on one delightfully muscular arm in reassurance. Bryce would see. Everything would turn out fine in the end.