Stone Man Pass

[Graybeard]

[OOC: I'm assuming that Drusia has gone "overt" again now that everybody is back at the inn, or at the minimum, that Rose can sense her invisible presence; if that's wrong, we can retcon. /OOC:]

"What is it with you?" Lillith asked Sister Rose through teeth barely short of clenched. Brad's arm was (very politely) around her shoulders, and she wasn't objecting -- the situation definitely did call for some comforting, after all -- but her body language didn't particularly suggest that the comforting was working. "You're one of the nicest, most compassionate people I've ever met ... and yet, every time you turn around, something blows up, or somebody dies."

Rose smiled ruefully. "I'm beginning to wonder that myself. Still, you're safe here, or at least safer here than outside. Maybe Argus and Maduin can stay with you while Drusia and I check out what happened. Are you okay with that?" The question was intended for Drusia as much as for Lillith; the elf was looking restless, and Rose wasn't sure she'd recovered her ability for mind-speech yet.

The maid had left the sitting room, muttering under her breath in a way that made it clear she was still badly frightened by the bang, so only the fellow travelers remained. Rose thought for a moment, made a decision. "Drusia, if you'd be so kind as to cast a quick heal on my sore shoulder, there's something else I want to spend some magic on." Her green eyes glowed ...

... And the nun's robes were replaced by something quite different. Rose's physical form hadn't changed except in some purely cosmetic ways (the healing that Argus had done earlier left no trace now), but it was encased in a uniform of the Veracian military -- and not just any uniform, but camouflage gear, of the kind one might want to wear to move unobtrusively through a verdant area, like say the garden around the inn. (She'd omitted any indications of unit or rank; no point in reliving that part of her life.)

"Just to be on the safe side," she told Drusia. "You can go invisible again if there's still something out there. I can't. Let's go see what's going on."

[Drusia]

"Are you okay with that?"

I pause, waiting for Rose to join me. I didn't really think she'd be up for this after that head injury, but apparently she is.

"Drusia, if you'd be so kind as to cast a quick heal on my sore shoulder, there's something else I want to spend some magic on."

Why does everyone here assume that, because I'm an elf, I'm some sort of magical savant? I have very specialized skills, and healing isn't generally among them.

Which is why I carry all sorts of helpful tools. While Rose changes, I remove a piece of quartz from my pack and hold it over Rose's shoulder. It glows for a minute, sending waves of slow but deep healing into her injuries. A nifty little elven knickknack for those of us less gifted in the healing arts. It isn't very good verses bleeding wounds or anything messy like that, but it's great for broken bones, bruises, and concussion. After a minute he stone goes dark - I'll have to recharge it before it'll work again, but it's done its job for now.

"Just to be on the safe side," she told Drusia. "You can go invisible again if there's still something out there. I can't. Let's go see what's going on."

"Let's go," I agree, turning invisible again.

-- Drusia

OOC: Actually, it might be better if you described the scene they find. ^^;;

[Caoimhe Faelan]

Suriah cursed lightly under her breath, reaching up to catch the dangling lead of the russet mare she had been combing only moments earlier. The loud boom from the interior of the inn had given all of the four legged animals in the stables a scare, some rearing and pawing at the doors, others neighing shrilly. She had to duck under the mare and grab the lead quickly to avoid being pummeled in the head by frightened hooves.

"There, it's all right, shh..." She murmured senseless babble to the frightened horse, pulling her back down and resuming brushing her. Her full grooming would have to wait, now; Suriah had to check on the other animals, and then on the source of the noise.

One by one, she went to the stalls, emitting the calming aura that made her naturally so good with animals. The only place she had trouble was with the single stallion at the end of the stables, closest to the inn where some rubble had fallen in, scaring the large dun quadruped. Whatever had happened was enough to shake this fearless beast to the bone, reducing him to a quivering mass behind the door. Working with him took a little longer, but she managed.

Pushing her hair behind her ears, Suriah closed the stable door and made for the inn, eyes widening slightly at the sight of glass from the broken windows. Lot bigger than I thought. Some nagged at the back of her head. This isn't just a spell gone wrong. Something smells funny.

And she was right. Something did smell funny - burnt flesh and bone, and the smell of cooling crystal.

[Graybeard]

[OOC: Welcome! I don't normally post from work, but between the site's down time and the need to keep momentum, a brief thing, more this evening...]

This doesn't look good, Sister Rose thought as she moved carefully in the direction of the explosion. There was plenty of debris on the way, and one thing that looked alarmingly like a human bone...

A few spectators were gathering out on the road, although nobody official-looking had shown up yet. Rose speculated on the absence for a moment, decided not to worry about it. Almost all of the kibitzers were keeping their distance ...

... But a young woman was heading their way from a stable behind the property. A little bolder than the others? Or was this one of those "fools rush in" things? (In which case, might Rose and Drusia, who were at least creeping toward the site if not "rushing," also be at least a little foolish?)

"Hello," Rose hailed the girl. "Did you see what happened here?"

Hey ... isn't that a half elf? Errants being what they were, and with the Albigenish Incident once more fresh in her memory, her mind set instantly changed to defense.

[Drusia]

One dead, maybe two, considering the body parts scattered about. And that scent - some sort of bomb? So not a mage then. So, was the victim the bomber? What was the point? Fear? Or was one of us the intended target?

And who is that?

"Hello," Rose hailed the girl. "Did you see what happened here?"

A pretty half elf. Well that's... ominous. The bomb scent makes me think that her involvement is less likely - an Errant would generally use magic to blow something up - but not out of the question. After all, some half-elves aren't talented in battle magic (Luna wasn't) and it might be possible that a non-magically inclined Errant might resort to bomb-making for a homicidal rampage.

Alternatively, that could have been a targeted attempt on my life. A perfectly sane half-elf might want to assassinate a Peregin, after all.

Of course, she looks rather like helpful bystander. That could be an act... so I'll just stay invisible for the moment and watch Rose's back.

-- Drusia

[Drannin]

Argus sighed and looked around at the damage. Maybe he could covertly do some repairs later. Fayna, sadly would have to wait. Perhaps Maduin could explain the situation to her. He was deeply frustrated at having to put off his reunion with his daughter, but first he had to make sure the area was secure, and that everyone was alright.

Speaking of which, Argus made a bee-line for his until-recently-unknown firstborn. "Lillith, are you alright?"

[Graybeard]

"I -- think so," Lillith answered her father, disentangling herself from her protector and giving him a wan smile (which, of course, sent him into raptures). "Brad shielded me from the flying glass. He was -- gallant." Another shy smile, and Brad's joy knew no bounds. "Do you think it's safe out there now? If it is, I'd like to go meditate."

------------

Sister Rose was wondering the same thing, although her reasons had little to do with meditation.

<"I don't think that girl is a problem, but if you don't mind, cover me just in case,"> she thought to Drusia, hoping that the mind-speech wouldn't be as blurred as Argus' had been earlier. Actually, come to think of it, her head didn't hurt any more, nor did her shoulder. As a matter of fact, some of the minor aches and pains of advancing age (her 38th birthday would be coming up in a week, she realized) had gone away too. Whatever was in that elven crystal was good stuff. She'd have to keep it in mind.

Back to business. "Do you work at that stable?" she asked as Suriah came near. "I'd like to know what you saw when that explosion happened, if you -- Luminosita have mercy!"

Rose had been continuing to walk carefully forward as the girl approached, and she'd just turned a corner in the hedge -- to be confronted with what remained at the shattered gazebo. There wasn't much left that was recognizable as human remains, and for that matter, little that looked like the ornamental structure itself. But a wide board had been blown into the side of the hedge and was still standing upright ... and embedded in it was what could only be a human spine. [OOC: This mirrors a grisly real-life accident many years ago where I work, and please don't press me for details. /OOC:]

Spots swam before Rose's eyes as she tried to remain detached and dispassionate, no easy thing considering what had just happened here. However, she was able to notice one thing in her highly disturbed state: there were clear splinters embedded in the bones. Whatever bomb had gone off here appeared to be made of glass -- or crystal.

Just like at Centoriel, she thought, successfully fighting down a wave of nausea.

[EDIT: Incredibly delayed tweak to keep Rose's bio consistent. It's fun to go back and read this stuff years later ...]

[Caoimhe Faelan]

Suriah's nose wrinkled at the smell and the sight of the mess. In response to Rose, she answered, "I do. I was in the stables and let me tell you, the horses didn't like whatever it was."

Her extra-sensory perception prickled, making her afraid to touch anything left of the explosion. Seeing the spine sticking out of the board made her head swim, her eyes glued to it like to a train wreck. She had seen many disgusting things in her life - birthing foals was not a pretty business - but this far surpassed disgusting and wasn't bothering to make a pitstop in gruesome, either.

When she spoke again, it was like her voice came from far away and from someone other than herself. "I think I'd like to sit down now." And with a solid thud, she did, right where she was standing.

[Graybeard]

Well, that's pretty hard to fake, Sister Rose thought as she turned to the girl who'd passed out. If there'd been any doubt as to her involvement, it was dispelled now. (Mostly.) Her reaction was reasonable enough, actually. The first time Rose had seen bodies messily dismembered in combat, she'd...

Stop it. "I don't think this one had anything to do with what happened here," she said to Drusia as she tried to bring the girl around. "She's just as shocked by it as we are, and doesn't have the emotional armor against it that comes with experience. And I guess I'm reassured that there's only the -- remains -- of one person, from the looks of it. This could have been worse."

But who was that person? With so little remaining of him or her, they might never know ... and somehow the question seemed important.

[Drusia]

"I don't think this one had anything to do with what happened here," she said to Drusia as she tried to bring the girl around. "She's just as shocked by it as we are, and doesn't have the emotional armor against it that comes with experience. And I guess I'm reassured that there's only the -- remains -- of one person, from the looks of it. This could have been worse."

I take one last, long look around, then drop my invisibility.

"I think you're right," I tell Rose. "On all counts. My concern now is who was the bomber and who was the intended target." I nod to the remains. "Suicide bombers usually want to take out large groups of people with them. If that's the case, then why set it off with so few around?" I know a thing or two about bombers, suicide and otherwise. This doesn't feel like terrorism to me - more like an assassination.

I shake my head and walk over to Rose's side. "How's she doing?" I ask. And what is she doing here, I wonder?

-- Drusia