Arc 2 - Heart of a Monster (Completed)

[AlphabetFish]

Twyla listened hard as people speculated on what was inside the building. There seemed to be a lot of things that could turn someone to stone... Nonetheless, Twyla was sure that the expertise of the group would be more than enough to handle... whatever it was. It should be incredibly interesting, in any case!

Twyla clutched Tinsel and said to the goliath, "Okay, let's go! Um... whenever you're ready, that is."  

[Rain Yupa]

Revenge would forcibly smile upon Abby's Halima's initial reaction. "'Friend' is kind of stretching it, to be honest." Then he went back to a neutral expression.

"I'm a paladin of Sehanine. There were Arian soldiers tracking Corsica and Ying. I... tried to stay neutral in the encounter, wanting anything but senseless violence. It was unavoidable, though. Adventurers were involved." He would make an open-handed gesture as he indicated this.

"There was a time in my life where I suffered a great loss. My wife had gone missing, and a lot of innocent people were killed, an entire town razed. Ultimately, I know I wouldn't have made a difference, but not being there to protect her drove me to the brink of madness and anguish. I lost everything in that time of my life, and started a new life, one as a paladin instead. My oath is to protect those who are unable to protect themselves, so no one has to suffer what I suffered. I took up the name Revenge though, to be the hand of justice for everyone who was lost that day, and right the wrongs that were committed."

Watching Abby's Halima's reaction for signs of recognition, he would briefly pause before continuing. "During my encounter with Corsica and Ying, I learned that Aria was responsible." He paused, looking away. "No, that's not accurate; that certain Arians were responsible. I can't hold a grudge against a whole country of people that happened to be born under a certain flag, where only a select few are responsible for atrocities unbeknownst to the public. But... I think you know what I mean. So I'm more of an ally to Corsica and Ying than a friend."

His tail would flick back and forth twice. "I'm here because of this." He would take out the wanted picture of Abby Halima, and hand it to her. "You're not safe here. I want to make sure you're safe, protected. From my understanding, Corsica and Ying are going off the grid and will never be found, but you were unaware of the danger facing you."  

[Kowsauni]

Gladesdale

A place to rest for the weary.

Image by stephengarrett1019

Kuori is pretty confident that this area of the surface world has no native creatures with petrification powers, which might explain why the guards were caught so unprepared to deal with the situation. The evidence in Kuori's mind would point to the creature being a basilisk, but they are large cumbersome creatures. Perhaps it could be a medusa but it would be incredibly odd and unlikely to find one here--even more so than a basilisk.

The guards talk to each other for a moment before one of them produces a mirror from his pocket and gives it to Kuori. "Here, if you think it will help. Though I would kind of like it back when you are done, please. It belongs to my wife. "

The head guard clears his throat and answer Kuori's question. "Yes, it was downstairs when it was last seen. We haven't observed any movement since then, but I have forbidden anyone from going into the house. Whatever it is, we believe it originally came from that house over there at the end of the street. In there you will find the stone statue of Frank Lowell, a known thief and pickpocket. We imagine he broke into the house to rob it and found more then he was bargaining for. We are still trying to determine the resident of the house. Anyways, one of Franky's accomplices came to us all frantic with the news of his buddy before making himself scarce. We came to investigate and began searching the houses on the street and well, this is how we arrived here now."

 

[Kowsauni]

Abigail (Abby) Morgan

Abby would smile sadly at Revenge. "I see... I am sorry for your loss. I too lost everything at hands of Aria. Yet there still might be a chance for me to reclaim just a bit of what was taken from me, so I cannot leave. It appears we share a common enemy though."

Abby would look down at the picture Revenge handed her and scoff. "Hehe, perhaps I am being a bit reckless, but I have taken precautions. No agent of Aria currently resides in this town. I have made sure of it."

Abby looks back up at Revenge once more with an inquisitive look. She begins to speak to him but she almost sounds embarrassed "So... you didn't really answer my question. When you talked with Corrsica and Ying, did they, uh... talk about what Aria did to us or... um... show you something special about themselves?"
 

[Mongooseh]

Valac getting the feel that his 'followers' were ready or near enough ran up to the door, threw it open and charged inside.  

[Rain Yupa]

"... I know. I saw," Revenge would say, closing his eyes.

About what Aria did to 'us'.

His wife not recognizing him, not even with subtle prompting to ease her through any amnesia, was hard enough. But to learn that she had been changed so, against her will. When the girls spoke of their metamorphosis before, they seemed to do so with a memory of anguish. And now, it seems the same happened to Halima.

"Halima, it's me," Revenge would say suddenly, his voice cracking, as he reached out to grab her shoulders. He looked into her eyes, unwavering, despite the pain reflected in his own. "Don't you recognize me at all? Your own husband?"  

[Kowsauni]

Abigail (Abby) Morgan

Abby would freeze at Revenge's words. The cheerful expression on her face drains away. "My... husband?"

Abby stood there and looked up at Revenge for what seemed like an eternity, her face frozen in a look of shock and confusion. Again her eyes had that searching look that seemed to drill directly into Revenge's consciousness. She was desperately searching for answers in the paladin's painful gaze. Eventually she found what she was looking for. "You're... not lying... It's the truth..."

Tears began to well up in Abby's large crystal blue eyes. "I can't believe it. How could this happen? How could I forget such a thing? I don't even remember your name. How we met... our wedding... it's all gone." Abby looks away from Revenge, unable to bear his gaze any further. Sobs began to ring out as she loses further control over her emotions. "They took everything from me. I can't believe it. They took everything, even my memories. My whole life... it was all lost. I knew there had to be someone out there who knew something. But this... this..." Abby breaks down completely. She buries her face in Revenge's chest and begins to cry uncontrollably. Through her sobbing, Revenge can make out but a few more lines. "Corsica... Why didn't you tell me? You must have known. Why..."  

[Kowsauni]

As Valac throws open the front door all the soldiers take a step back and advert their gaze. Yet nothing happens as the tiefling charges into the house and he is greeted only by an empty room. The inside of the small house simply adorned. To Valac's left is the the staircase leading to the second floor. In the upper left corner of the L shaped room is another room which must contain the kitchen. From his position near the front door Valac could not see what laid inside. However, Valac could distinctly see the statutes of three men peering into the back room. Their faces were all frozen in looks of surprise.  

[PupSage]

So much for subtlety. Kuori followed in, throwing the hunk of meat at the statues (throwing from K9 to F10), then ducking in behind the wall J7. Lupa had taught her that not everything is what it seems. And so, Kuori did something that made here feel really stupid. "Hey! We arn't here to hurt you. We just want to know what is going on." Maybe they could talk it out if it was intelligent.  

[Rain Yupa]

Revenge would hold Halima to him, remaining silent for a while as the shock of the moment has passed for her.

"You haven't lost your memories," he explained softly to her. "You came back here, didn't you? Some part of you must have known, deep down, the answers lie here."

After her sobbing waned, he would step back from her. "I'm... not the same as I was before, either. I'm..." He closed his eyes and averted his gaze. "I'm not Naeem anymore. I'm not the same man you had married. I think Corsica couldn't grasp Tiefling pride, Tiefling honor... nor Tiefling love, either. I've become cold, jaded to the world. I've changed a lot since that fateful day years ago, which is why that name is gone... just as your name has changed as well." He would once more look to Abby ... Halima Abby, a sadness still in his eyes.

He would crack an awkward, forced smile. "You... used to get on my case about having a sword in the house in case of burglars, but I... had refused, saying that they were too dangerous." He would gesture to the sheathed weapon at his side. But he once more frowned sadly when the impact that using that memory to make a point was a lost cause. "... I'm sorry, I-"

He would look once more to her with pleading eyes. "What do we do now?"  

[Lavander42]

Lavander will move to I8 and put her back to the wall. She also readies an action to cast Oath of enmity on the first hostile target that she sees.  

[Mongooseh]

Valac watched as Kuori and Lavander moved into the room, Kuori in particular tried to reason with a statue creating beast which made Valac raise an eyebrow at her. Since those two were covering the right hand side and what might be the kitchen Valac decided to go clear the top floor to make sure there weren't any surprises lurking up there.

(Double move to top of the stairs. If door minor to open(?))  

[AlphabetFish]

Twyla creeps into the room behind the others, her eyes rapidly taking stock of the still surroundings, and she froze when she saw the statues of the men. So it was true! She heard the goliath woman making an appeal to whatever had done it, and she shook her head. What did she expect, a response from the creature?

Twyla kept her sword out and her eyes low, ready to turn away if she saw any sudden movements. She sure didn't want to add a tiny gnome statue to the room.

((Move to M10))  

[Kowsauni]

Abigail (Abby) Morgan

Abby would smile weakly through her sobs at Revenge's first comment. "As we escaped, I got access to their papers on me. It mentioned this is where I was taken from and had a picture of how I once looked. Otherwise I wouldn't have even known."

Abby cries for a while. It takes some time to get back a hold of her emotions. It is as if years of anguish have been released all at once, but the storm does eventually subside. Abby would remove herself from Revenge's chest and wipe her eyes. Her eyes are puffy and her cheeks still shine wet with tears, but she smiles genuinely. "There is no need to apologize. I want you to tell me everything. Everything you can remember. What our lives were once like. Who my family is. Everything. I have a past once again. I have... a husband. I think... I think this is the first time I can remember feeling joy."

A shadow then suddenly comes across Abby's face. "But this body you see before you... it is a lie. It is an illusion I cast on myself to hide the truth." Revenge's pleading eyes are met with Abby's own wishful gaze. "I can keep up the disguise indefinitely but... do you think you could still love me... after seeing what I have become?"  

[Kowsauni]

As Valac reaches the top of the stairs, he sees that there is no door. The stairs just open up into a hallway the runs to the opposite wall. On either side of the hallway, there are two doors for a total of four rooms. All the doors are shut.

Back on the first floor, there is initially no response to Kuori's words. However, after a minute or so Lavander and Kuori would hear a sound akin to a cabinet being opened and the sounds of soft footsteps approaching the opening to the room. Then, from around the corner everyone on the first floor would hear the soft, quiet voice of a girl. It sounded shaky and terrified. "Y-you promise? I... I won't be hurt?"