Nemnosti session 16

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Session

Session date: October 28, 2024

Negili Reckoning date: IE 768, Fult

Prologue

[NemnostiGM] Welcome, acolytes!
[NemnostiGM] At the ulajeta, the Ancestors are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups: the stoneguards, who protect the dead, and the Voices, who communicate with them. Here is one of their stories.
[NemnostiGM] chung-chung

Izu and Kuspir attend the internment of the Ancestor, Ghevra Gorga, but Izu is struck by a strange blast when he tries to speak with her

[NemnostiGM] Izu and Kuspir, you are at the mouth of the Outer Caves, the complex of tunnels and chambers along the north-facing wall of the Pardopasu a short distance to the west of the West Gate of the ulajeta.
[NemnostiGM] ( https://rocksfall.org/wiki/Outer_Caves )
[NemnostiGM] These caves are part natural, part the result of years of quarrying here. Despite being outside the walls proper, they are still part of Nemnosti, and treated as inviolate by the stoneguards who protect them.
[NemnostiGM] Today you come to lay to rest Ghevra Gorga, who served her jugoras as a bubun for four years, until meeting an unfortunate end at the hands of the Unkind Stone, and then was unpetrified back at the ulajeta.
[NemnostiGM] Neither of you knew her well, but Kuspir, you know she was a cousin of your friend Legonosh and his sister Jonte, who are here at the ulajeta. Never an acolyte, and coming from a poor lineage from Hertu, she died in childbirth, according to the temple records, with the infant given to the corpseborn.
[NemnostiGM] But still she is worthy of dignity, and her lineage ensured her eternal protection as an Ancestor in Nemnosti in return for her jugoras, as well as some money. Her service done, she is no longer rendered bubun, but is a consecrated corpse, her ibu and lemu reunited.
[NemnostiGM] Now, her simple funeral having been conducted earlier today, it falls to the two of you to bear her to her sepulchre where she, and others like her, wait eternally as Ancestors. Izu, you will have the privilege of being the first to speak to her since her death, to ask her questions.
[NemnostiGM] Typically one might ask about those still living who may need to be informed, if there are any reasons why someone should be denied access, or how they are to be laid out. But the three questions are ultimately up to you.
[NemnostiGM] You enter the locked Outer Caves and head inside.
* Izu is suitably somber in his voice robes.
[NemnostiGM] You bear the body within, into a small, tightly-packed room full of Ancestors.
[NemnostiGM] (all right, over to you)
* Izu will set about getting the body set in place and performing any necessary rituals.
* Kuspir is, I assume, here to do the heavy lifting :p
[NemnostiGM] (yes, and to guard against invaders, but you know, mainly to be the beef)
* Kuspir considers where to put her, in the crowded room
[NemnostiGM] Izu, the body is of course already consecrated - that would have taken place when she first died, before she was rendered bubun. But you reconsecrate her anyway, out of common courtesy and respect.
* Izu will then use speak with dead when everything is ready.
[NemnostiGM] (All right, go ahead)
[Izu] Ghevra Gorga, do you have any final wishes for the interment of your remains?
[NemnostiGM] Izu, please make a Will save.
[Izu] !roll 1d20+4
* Lan-werk rolls for Izu: [ 1d20+4 ] getting [ 4 ] which, after the modifier [ 4 ] totals [ 8 ].
* Jevai rolls for Izu: [ 1d20+4 ] getting [ 6 ] which, after the modifier [ 4 ] totals [ 10 ].
[NemnostiGM] As you call out to Ghevra's spirit, you feel a powerful backlash strike against you, like a staggering wave of deep resonant sound to your chest. Kuspir, you feel nothing, but see your brother-in-law step back involuntarily.
[NemnostiGM] !roll 3d8
* Lan-werk rolls for NemnostiGM: [ 3d8 ] getting [ 5 4 2 ] for a total of [ 11 ].
* Jevai rolls for NemnostiGM: [ 3d8 ] getting [ 4 4 5 ] for a total of [ 13 ].
[Izu] AAhhhhhh...
* Kuspir will catch you if possible
[Kuspir] What happened? Are you all right?
[Izu] Thst's... different...
[NemnostiGM] You take 11 points of damage from the wave of force and you are staggered
[NemnostiGM] There is no other response from Ghevra.
[Izu] Something hit me. Something from the remains.
[Izu] I'm not sure...
[Kuspir] (have I ever heard of anything like that?)
* Izu will get back on his feet.
[NemnostiGM] (either of you can make a K:religion)
[Izu] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Izu: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 3 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 15 ].
[Kuspir] !roll 1d20+6
* Lan-werk rolls for Kuspir: [ 1d20+6 ] getting [ 14 ] which, after the modifier [ 6 ] totals [ 20 ].
[NemnostiGM] Neither of you are familiar with anything like this.
[Izu] (Can I detect haunt?)
[NemnostiGM] (sure, go ahead and make a Perception)
[Izu] !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Izu: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 21 ].
[NemnostiGM] Izu, you think you see just a hint of grey smoky tendrils around the body. But that is not a sign of a haunt, certainly.
[Izu] Can you see that?
[Kuspir] (can I?)
[NemnostiGM] Kuspir, you don't see anything.
[Kuspir] I don't see anything.
[Kuspir] What do you see?
[Izu] I'm not sure... some kind of smoke maybe. We need to inform The Lady about this. Immediately.
[Kuspir] Smoke?
* Kuspir sniffs the air in case there's a fire somewhere
[NemnostiGM] Kuspir, you don't sense anything amiss whatsoever.
* Kuspir is nevertheless concerned, but mostly about Izu
[Kuspir] Would it make sense to talk to another Voice, just in case? I haven't heard of something like this happening before, but maybe it is a rare occurrence.
[Izu] Maybe...
[NemnostiGM] Izu, you figure that either Voice Kailas or Voice Ingo might be available back at the temple.
[Kuspir] And at least, warn them so no one else goes and tries to talk to her while she's... not accepting visitors.
[Izu] Yeah. Let's see if voice Ingo knows anything about it.
* Kuspir will accompany you

Kuspir and Izu go to talk to Ingo about whatever happened to Ghevra

[NemnostiGM] You can head back to the temple and find Voice Ingo. You're keenly aware that whatever this is is a sensitive issue so Ingo is probably a good choice for anything that might need to be kept in confidence.
[NemnostiGM] You can find him in a classroom with a group of acolytes, teaching them about Ancestors. Ingo is a compelling lecturer with a booming bass voice, although the words are exactly the same as the lectures you yourselves attended, years ago.
* Izu will approach him during a pause.
[Izu] Master, may we speak to you in private? Something has come up.
[NemnostiGM] (you mean a pause like, when he stops lecturing, or at the end of a sentence?)
[Izu] (When it seems like there's a natural place to interrupt)
* Ingo looks over at you in mild annoyance.
* Izu looks apologetic at the intrusion.
[Ingo] All right, acolytes, that will be all for now. Your readings for tonight are the Prayers of Alatun.
* Ingo closes the book he was reading from and comes over.
[Izu] I apologize for the interruption but... this may be important.
[Ingo] I assume it is, otherwise you would not have interrupted.
* Izu will relate what happened, including the force that hit him and the possible smoky tendrils.
[Ingo] That is very strange.
[Izu] It does not seem like any haunt I know of.
[Ingo] No, I agree. And if Ghevra had burgeoned, we would have seen signs before this.
[Izu] Should I inform Her?
[Ingo] Give me a moment to think, man!
[Ingo] This will become, quickly, a matter of concern. I know that Legonosh was planning to speak to her very soon, and many other Gorgas too, should be expected in the days to come.
* Izu nods.
[Ingo] After a bubun's jugoras is done, it is common, of course, for many relatives to wish to speak to the Ancestor, since they will not have had an opportunity previously.
[Izu] We will need to figure this out quickly.
[Ingo] Could this be a problem with you, rather than with her?
[Izu] I... I don't know? I hadn't considered that.
[Ingo] Well, perhaps you should speak to another Ancestor, just in case.
[Ingo] And perhaps I should attempt to speak to Ghevra.
* Izu does not seem to relish the idea of getting hit like that again.
[Izu] I... can try.
[Ingo] Kuspir, you sensed nothing from any of this?
[Kuspir] I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, apart from Izu's reaction.
[Ingo] All right, let's go. And no one is to know about this, save by Her leave.
[Izu] Of course.
* Ingo leads you out of the temple.
* Izu will lead them back down to the outer caves
* Kuspir will accompany them.
[NemnostiGM] As you reach the courtyard, you are approached by Legonosh Gorga.
* NPC2 is now known as Legonosh
[Legonosh] Kuspir! Hold up!
* Kuspir will pause
[Kuspir] What is it?
[Legonosh] You back from the caves, then?
[Kuspir] There was a slight delay, we're just going back there now.
[NemnostiGM] Kuspir, make a Bluff check.
[Kuspir] (sure I'll get on that with my -1 Bluff)
[Kuspir] !roll 1d20-1
* Lan-werk rolls for Kuspir: [ 1d20-1 ] getting [ 16 ] which, after the modifier [ -1 ] totals [ 15 ].
[NemnostiGM] !roll 1d20+3
* Lan-werk rolls for NemnostiGM: [ 1d20+3 ] getting [ 16 ] which, after the modifier [ 3 ] totals [ 19 ].
[Legonosh] Oh. All right.
* Legonosh says, but of course you remember that in his role as disciplinarian, he listens to all kinds of lies from acolytes all the time. Fortunately you didn't actually lie.
* Ingo raises his hand towards Legonosh.
[Ingo] You have waited long. Impatience is natural. It will not be much longer.
* Legonosh shrugs, then nods.
[Legonosh] All right.
[Legonosh] Talk soon, eh Kuspir?
* Kuspir nods
[Kuspir] Of course, we can talk later.
* Legonosh heads off, though clearly a little dissatisfied.
[NemnostiGM] You head back to the Outer Caves, accompanied by Ingo, and quickly reach the chamber where you laid Ghevra down.
[Ingo] So this is where it happened?
[Izu] Yes. Right here.
[Ingo] Well, let me try it, then.
* Izu will stand behind him, just in case.
* Ingo attempts to speak with Ghevra.
[Ingo] !roll 1d20+15
* Lan-werk rolls for Ingo: [ 1d20+15 ] getting [ 2 ] which, after the modifier [ 15 ] totals [ 17 ].
* Ingo staggers backwards, stunned.
* Izu will attempt to catch him
[Izu] Yeah, that's... that's about what happened.
* Ingo goes over to the corner and tries not to retch.
[Kuspir] :|
* Izu will hold back his robes in case he does.
[Ingo] I'm ... fine ...
* Ingo says, clearly not totally fine.
[Kuspir] Do you need to sit down?
* Ingo brings himself upright, placing one hand against the cave wall to stabilize himself.
[Ingo] I'll be all right.
[Ingo] Izu, perhaps you should speak to another Ancestor, just anyone here, just to confirm?
* Izu nods.
* Izu will find a nearby ancestor and attempt it, although with some trepidation and bracing himself just in case.
[NemnostiGM] You ask a few questions of a nearby Ancestor, who turns out to be a sort of dickish Dendorfi noblewoman who paid her way into her eternal rest here at the ulajeta. But you have no difficulties in speaking to her.
[Izu] No... it is definitely just Ghevra.
[Ingo] Well.
[Kuspir] We should move her somewhere for safekeeping, while we go and talk to the Lady.
[Izu] What do we tell her family?
[Kuspir] So that if anyone else comes, they can't try to talk to her as well.
* Ingo considers the matter.
[Ingo] Whatever delaying excuse we give, will not last long.
[Ingo] It's not like we can just close the Outer Caves to take inventory.
[Ingo] They were all at the funeral, the Gorgas, I mean. They have seen the body. The bustul has been returned.
[Izu] What if we say the caves are unsafe? Loose rocks falling? Something along those lines?
[Ingo] That would cause much more general alarm.
[Izu] Mmmm
[Kuspir] I think we should tell them the truth, as much as we can.
[Kuspir] That there is a problem with her remains, and we are trying to resolve it, and in the meantime no one can consult her.
* Ingo nods.
[Ingo] If something needs to be done to fix this, or if ... well if there is no solution ... better that we have told as few mistruths as possible.
[Ingo] Let me make the appropriate excuses.
[Kuspir] Ask for their patience and calm, and hopefully we can fix it, but if we cannot, then at least they will know we didn't lie to them.
* Izu nods.
[Izu] You are correct, of course.
[Ingo] But I urge you both haste. You wish to speak to Her, then?
[Kuspir] Yes, I think we must.
[Izu] I believe we must in this instance.
[Ingo] You did the right thing in coming to me, Izu.
* Izu smiles.
[Ingo] I had been meaning to invite you to dinner. Junu is eager for some company other than me.
[Ingo] To talk about matters less weighty than these, I hope.
[Izu] Thank you for being willing to listen. I would be delighted to join you both sometime soon.
* Kuspir will head off to go inform the Lady of this development, then
* Izu as well.
* Ingo stays behind to try to figure out this mess.

Izu and Kuspir tell Nemnu what has happened with Ghevra and they confirm that it likely relates to the Unkind Stone

[NemnostiGM] All right, Izu, it's not hard for you to exercise your privilege as the Lady's attendant and get a private meeting with Her for you and Kuspir.
* Ingo is now known as Nemnu
[Nemnu] My dear acolytes, I sense your urgency. What is it?
* Nemnu is dressed in whatever you have had time to put Her in, Izu, which is surely nothing fancy.
[NemnostiGM] (you'll be meeting in her chambers, for maximum privacy)
[Kuspir] Something is wrong with the remains of Ghevra Gorga.
[Izu] I apologize for the interruption, My Lady, but we thought it urgent.
[Nemnu] What do you mean?
[Kuspir] Voice Izu as well as Voice Ingo tried to contact her and were harmed by some unknown force.
[Izu] When I tried to communicate with her something... hit me. It did the same to Voice Ingo
* Kuspir will let Izu try to explain what it was like, since he was the one who experienced it
[Izu] It was hard to describe... like a great wave of sound. It was extremely painful.
[Nemnu] Fascinating. Upsetting ... but fascinating.
[Izu] I don't believe it to be a haunt.
[Izu] Is this possibly related to the Unkind Stone?
[Nemnu] It is surely so, I believe.
* Izu frowns at that.
[Izu] I was afraid so.
[Nemnu] The Unkind Stone deprives Kinds of their Kindness, as you know.
[Nemnu] When you restored Ghevra and Azolte from their stony material condition, we assumed that that restored their Kind.
[Nemnu] But perhaps we are learning that the situation is more complex.
[Kuspir] So this damage to her being, whatever it is, might also affect Azolte?
[Nemnu] It could be.
[Izu] But if they had no kind, if they were merely an inert body... why would it have that reaction?
[Nemnu] I am not saying that Ghevra has no Kind. But perhaps ... an imperfection, a flaw, a crack.
[Izu] I didn't know such a thing was possible.
[Kuspir] Ifa is going to be so upset...
* Kuspir says under his breath
[Nemnu] Azolte, she is still recovering from her injury here at the ulajeta, as I understand it.
[Kuspir] Yes, that is so.
[Nemnu] Has she spoken to any of her people yet? The ... Rumnoska.
[Kuspir] (has she?)
[NemnostiGM] (you don't think so, although they have been informed that she's here. It hasn't been that long since last time)
[Kuspir] I don't belive she has.
[Kuspir] (believe)
[Nemnu] Her injury is fortunate, in a sense, keeping her here. But I do not know of any obvious test that would determine whether she remains affected.
[Kuspir] That may be for someone more skilled than me to discover.
[Nemnu] I am going to set Ozel on this issue immediately, along with some related ones. She has a great interest in the Unkind Stone, understandably.
[Izu] Ghevra's family will be wanting to speak to her.
[Nemnu] Yes, that is a problem.
[Nemnu] Have you told any others about this?
[Izu] Only Voice Ingo.
[Izu] He can be counted on for discretion.
[Nemnu] Indeed he can.
[Nemnu] Your sister - do you think she could see this?
[Kuspir] We should tell her, in any case, but I think once she knows she will want to come see for herself.
[Izu] I don't know. Possibly.
[Izu] I agree we should tell her.
[Nemnu] You can tell your team, Medimur, if you desire.
[Kuspir] Yes, Lady, I will do so.
[Izu] Voice Ingo and I will try to stall the family. Not lie, but just tell them there is an issue that we are investigating.
[Nemnu] The only one that gives me pause is young Ivis ... not for her own sake, but because she has become close with the Naznaz boy.
[Nemnu] I trust you to guide her appropriately.
[Kuspir] I would also want to look in the Register of Patrols, to see that there is no similar case known, unless You think that would be a misuse of time?
[Izu] I can look in the library for other similar past events as well.
[Nemnu] Yes, Medimur, that would be wise.
[Nemnu] Thank you for your service, both of you. Report to me once you know more.
[Izu] Of course, My Lady. Thank you.
[Kuspir] Yes, Lady, we will do so.

Izu and Kuspir tell Ifa what has gone on with Ghevra, and they all go check out the body again

[NemnostiGM] All right, after leaving Her, what next?
* Izu will head off to get Ifa, then.
* Kuspir will also go to talk to Ifa
* Ifa can be easily found, I'm sure.
[Izu] Sister, we need your assistance.
* Ifa stops what she's doing to regard the pair.
[Ifa] What's going on?
* Izu will look around to make sure we are in private.
[Kuspir] There's a problem with Ghevra Gorga's remains.
[Izu] There is something wrong with Ghevra's remains. We believe it may be related to the effects of the Unkind Stone.
[Kuspir] They can't seem to be contacted, and those who try to do so, are struck with pain.
* Ifa looks deeply concerned at that.
[Izu] We have spoken with Voice Ingo and The Lady. We thought you should know as well.
[Ifa] (to Izu) Are you all right?
* Izu nods.
[Izu] I'm ok now. It was not pleasant, though.
[Ifa] (to Kuspir) Is he all right?
* Izu rolls his eyes.
[Kuspir] He seems so, but it could be that there are effects we can't see.
* Ifa nods.
[Kuspir] But... maybe you can see them.
[Izu] I'm fine.
[Kuspir] You said you saw smoke from her body.
[Kuspir] When I could see nothing there.
[Izu] I think so. It was very faint. Like small wisps of it.
[Ifa] You saw smoke?
[Ifa] I need to see.
* Izu nods.
* Izu will lead them back down to the caves.
* Ifa follows along.
* Izu will show her the body.
* Kuspir keeps an eye on Ifa in case anything strange happens
[Izu] (Can I still see the smoke?)
[NemnostiGM] All right, you're back by Ghevra's body.
[NemnostiGM] You can't still see the smoke - you only saw it when you were trying to perceive whether she was a haunt. You can do that again though, if you wish.
[Ifa] (What am I seeing?)
* Izu will try again to investigate haunt.
[NemnostiGM] All right, you can both make a perception check
[Izu] !1d20+16
[Izu] !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Izu: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 11 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 27 ].
[Ifa] !roll 1d20+10
* Lan-werk rolls for Ifa: [ 1d20+10 ] getting [ 13 ] which, after the modifier [ 10 ] totals [ 23 ].
[NemnostiGM] You can both see it, a lattice or network of tendrils made of smoke or mist surrounding the body.
* Ifa frowns and approaches.
[Ifa] (Similar to the stuff I've been seeing?)
[NemnostiGM] Ifa, it looks remarkably similar, yes.
[Ifa] (to Izu) Can you see this?
[Izu] Can you see it?
[Izu] Yes.
* Ifa nods. She'll run her hand near the smoke, but be careful not to touch it.
[NemnostiGM] All right, doing so has no effect.
[Kuspir] Be careful...
[Izu] The Lady believes there may be some kind of crack or flaw in her kindness.
[Izu] Because of the stone
* Ifa 's frown turns to a scowl.
[Ifa] Of course.
[Izu] I'm not even sure of the implications of that.
[Kuspir] And that it could also affect Azolte, though she is living so it might be in a different way.
* Ifa blows on the smoke, just to see if it dissipates or has any effect.
* Ifa nods.
[Izu] I don't think touching it would have any effect. Kuspir carried her here without any problem.
[NemnostiGM] No, it doesn't appear to be actual physical smoke.
* Izu will cautiously reach out to touch the smoke.
[NemnostiGM] No effect, Izu.
[Izu] Mmm... nothing.
[Ifa] (Does it feel like a haunt at all?)
[NemnostiGM] (maybe? not really though)
[NemnostiGM] (it's definitely not a haunt)
* Ifa will expend a Hallow to try to neutralize it.
[Ifa] (Not really, but it's the only way I know how to try to poke it spiritually. ;) )
[Izu] (Also, is Ingo still here?)
[NemnostiGM] (Ingo is not here anymore, no.)
[NemnostiGM] All right, Ifa, roll for damage.
[Ifa] !roll 3d6
* Lan-werk rolls for Ifa: [ 3d6 ] getting [ 5 3 3 ] for a total of [ 11 ].
[NemnostiGM] OK, now make a Will save
[Ifa] !roll 1d20+5
* Lan-werk rolls for Ifa: [ 1d20+5 ] getting [ 11 ] which, after the modifier [ 5 ] totals [ 16 ].
[NemnostiGM] All right, you feel a wave of force and pain shoot out towards you from the lattice, and you take 11 points of damage and are staggered.
* Kuspir will catch you
* Ifa does indeed stagger back a step.
* Izu sighs.
[Izu] I do wish people would stop doing that.
[Kuspir] Are you okay?
[Ifa] Didn't you already do it?
[Izu] Yes, but I didn't know it would happen.
[Ifa] (to Kuspir) I am, thanks.
* Ifa does not immediately remember to step back up.
[Izu] What do you think?
* Ifa realizes she needs to stand back under her own power and does so.
* Kuspir also holds on to you a moment longer than is probably necessary, but will let go once you pull away.
[Ifa] (to Izu) What did you do that triggered the same response?
[Izu] I tried to talk to her.
[Ifa] So it is two different pieces of information.
[Ifa] I tried to neutralize her.
[Ifa] A violent response seems more appropriate to what I did, but not what you did.
[Izu] It seems to be any attempt to interact with her.
[Ifa] (In sensing like for haunts and stuff, is there a sense of a person there?)
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] !roll 1d20+9
* Lan-werk rolls for Ifa: [ 1d20+9 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 9 ] totals [ 10 ].
[Izu] !roll 1d20+16
* Lan-werk rolls for Izu: [ 1d20+16 ] getting [ 9 ] which, after the modifier [ 16 ] totals [ 25 ].
[Ifa] (Bluff check, amazing)
[Izu] (Sense motive)
[NemnostiGM] (you mean normally? Normally, yes, there's a definite sense of a presence. But you'd say that you also have that feeling now. There's something/someone here, even though not a haunt)
[NemnostiGM] Izu, definitely something is off with Ifa, her face gives away that something else is going on here.
* Izu will file that away for a less urgent time.
[Kuspir] I will just go check that... everything is all right.
* Kuspir says, and will go off to walk around somewhere until he can compose himself.
[Ifa] Oh! Uh, okay...
* Ifa watches Kuspir walk off for a moment with concern.
* Izu will wait until Kuspir is out of earshot.
[Izu] Ifa... is everything ok?
[Izu] I mean... other than the obvious.
[Ifa] Hmm? I mean...oh, I was going to say.
[Ifa] Uh...yeah, I think things are...okay.
* Izu raises an eyebrow.
* Ifa clearly looks uncomfortable.
[Ifa] It's not important right this moment.
* Ifa turns demonstratively back to the body.
[Izu] Are you sure?
[Ifa] If you're concerned, ask me later, but we have more pressing concerns, I think.
[Izu] Ok, that's fair. You know you can always come to me, yes?
[Ifa] I do, but some things are not typically sibling things, hmm?
[Ifa] (regarding the body) I'm curious as to whether the force response is voluntary, or active in some way.
* Izu will drop the issue for now.
[Izu] It seems very quick, and only in response to certain stimuli. I would think involuntary.
[Izu] But I see no way to be sure.

Ingo returns and announces that Ghevra’s body will be moved to the Inner Caves where he will give the impression of speaking to her to any family

* Ingo returns to the chamber.
[Ifa] Then the question is, is it a reflex response, striking out in response to stimuli, or is it more like...the UnKind Stone broke her in some way, and we're feeling the jagged edges?
* Ifa turns and nods her head respectfully to Ingo.
[Ingo] Ah, Ifa, you are here too now. Good.
[Izu] The Lady has been informed.
[Ingo] Kuspir, we will be moving the body.
[Ingo] To the Inner Caves.
[Ifa] He, ah, he stepped out a moment ago, but he should be nearby.
* Kuspir steps back in to this instruction
[Kuspir] Ah, yes, of course. I will do that.
[Ingo] We will be handling all communication with Ghevra only through me.
* Ifa definitely looks at him and then immediately away.
[Ingo] I will serve the family's needs to speak to her.
[Ifa] We you able to do so?
[Ifa] (were*)
[Ingo] No, I was not.
[Ifa] So how will you handle their communication needs, sir?
* Ingo sighs heavily.
[Ingo] Evidently, I will give the appearance of speaking to her.
[Ingo] It is regrettable.
[Izu] That seems... unwise.
* Kuspir frowns slightly at that
[Ingo] It is most definitely unwise.
[Ifa] Sir? Why not just explain there is a problem with communication currently?
[Kuspir] On whose instructions?
[Ifa] They don't necessarily need more detail, do they?
[Ingo] A problem with communication is not a thing that is supposed to happen.
[Ingo] It is the sort of thing that draws a lot of attention.
[Ifa] (mumbles under her breath) Neither is your priest lying to you...
[Ifa] What if they ask something specific only she would know?
[Izu] Are these Her orders?
[Ingo] They are not, although I will be speaking to Her today.
* Izu frowns at that.
[Ingo] After we move Ghevra to the Inner Caves.
[Ifa] It does seem wise to keep her out of most people's way.
[Ifa] Just for safety.
[Izu] Yes
[Ingo] But it is what I will recommend to Her. And I have wide authority over the Ancestors here. She does not give specific direction about their care.
[Ingo] I acknowledge that this case is special.
* Ifa nods.
[Izu] I will do as you say, Master, though I acknowledge I have doubts about this course of action.
[Ifa] Forgive me, sir, I just have concerns when our immediate responses to problems seem to default to obfuscation.
[Ingo] But I also will convey to her that the security of Ancestors here at Nemnosti is a matter of all of our concern.
[Ifa] We exist to illuminate truth, not the opposite.
[Kuspir] It doesn't seem like you're happy with this plan any more than we are.
[Ingo] We obfuscate all the time, when an answer an Ancestor gives cannot be shared without risk of harm. Your brother understands this.
[Ingo] And no, I am not happy with this plan. It irks me to have to do it.
* Ifa continues to frown.
[Ingo] But if it became known, or believed, that Nemnosti is not a safe place for Ancestors, just as it is not a safe place for revenants ... the august and serene nature of the ulajeta would come into question.
[Kuspir] So who is the one who decided this was the course to take?
[Ingo] It is my decision.
[Ingo] Of course if the Lady feels strongly otherwise, I will defer.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] Then I suppose we'll await Her word.
[Izu] You may be right. There are things that are best left unsaid. I just wonder if this is one of them.
[Ifa] And move the body in the meantime.
* Kuspir will take the body to move it as directed.
[Ingo] If we can determine a way to restore her, then I think a brief and temporary evasion is well worth the risk.
[Kuspir] Can't you evade without lying to them? :/
[Ingo] I can evade, briefly. But I have made the decision that only I will be permitted to speak for Ghevra.
[Ingo] At the very least, that ensures that no other Voice will accidentally be subject to what happened to Izu and me.
* Kuspir nods
* Izu nods.
* Ifa nods.
[Izu] Very well.
[Ingo] Did you have more work to do here, or can we move the Ancestor now?
* Ifa considers.
[Ifa] I think we'll probably need to consult some things before we attempt further investigation.
* Ingo nods.
[Izu] Let's move her for now.
[NemnostiGM] All right, you can move the body to the Inner Caves without too much difficulty. You leave Ghevra in the care of Ingo, uneasily.
* Izu will go down to the library afterwards to research similar occurences.
[NemnostiGM] All right, Izu can go to the library and Kuspir can check the Register of Patrols, as previously indicated.

Rechegoko takes Marga to visit his new camp / love shack near the ruins of Lurusiru where they found themselves after their dream

[NemnostiGM] Marga, you are not an expert on Unkind Stones and petrified people or any of that nonsense. You know there's a lot going on and you're sure that Jevai or Ifa or someone will tell you what is important about that.
[Marga] (darn right)
[NemnostiGM] But you do know a lot of things, about vultures and about the land. Lately your dreams have been not just dreams of flight - the kind they get you to remember when you're just a fledgling - but of scavenging as a wake, under the watchful eye of your Mother Ushukuna.
[Marga] (scavenging what :x)
[NemnostiGM] (well you know, you can't be too picky. At least it was nobody you knew, in the dream.)
[Marga] (but not like, a big battlefield full of corpses or anything like that)
[NemnostiGM] (not yet ...)
[NemnostiGM] One morning you wake up and are just doing your morning stretches and getting ready for your day when there is a gentle knock on your door, like with two knuckles.
[Marga] Yah?
* NPC1 is now known as Rechegoko
[Rechegoko] It's me.
[Marga] Oh! Come in! :D
* Marga kicks some clothes under her bed
* Rechegoko enters.
[Rechegoko] Hi.
* Marga will go over and give him a smooch :D
[Rechegoko] I, uh ... I have something to show you.
[Marga] WHat is it?
* Marga asks excitedly
[Marga] Show me!
[Rechegoko] You need to get ready for travel.
[Rechegoko] It's not here.
[Marga] Oh, okay! I'm pretty much always ready for that.
[Rechegoko] All right, let's go. It's ... important.
* Marga nods, a little bit more worried
[Marga] Flying?
* Rechegoko nods.
[Rechegoko] It'll be faster
* Rechegoko takes your hand and you head out to the courtyard together.
* Marga follows along.
* Rechegoko turns into a vulture and flies up and out of the ulajeta.
* Marga takes off after him. (flap flap)
[NemnostiGM] Rechegoko leads you east and a bit north. Soon, you see the ruins of Lurusiru below, and then, just to the east of that, some kind of structure that looks new.
* Rechegoko circles and heads down towards it.
[Marga] . o O (who is building out here?)
* Marga loops downward as well.
* Rechegoko turns back to human form.
* Marga changes as she lands.
[Rechegoko] So ... here we are.
* Rechegoko extends his hand to take yours.
[Rechegoko] Do you recognize this place?
* Marga takes it.
[Marga] I do but... what's that?
* Marga nods toward the building.
[Rechegoko] That is ... mine.
* Marga tilts her head to the side slightly, not quite following.
[Marga] Is it your house?
[NemnostiGM] The structure is made of rough stones packed with mud, perhaps waist-high, and a heavy canvas covering held in place by a great timber pole that surely must be from miles away.
[Rechegoko] It's something I've been thinking about for a while.
[Marga] No more just wandering around the hills?
[Rechegoko] I can't just stay at Nemnosti all the time, from now on. I'm not an acolyte, I don't really belong there. It makes me feel like, I don't know, my wings are clipped.
[Rechegoko] But I can't go back into the high hills, not with so much going on, and not with you down here.
[Marga] That's fair... sometimes even I do.
[Rechegoko] So I was thinking ... that really happened, didn't it? We really were both sent a dream by Ushukuna, and found ourselves here? That wasn't just a thing we made up?
[Marga] It did happen.
* Marga says with certainty.
[Marga] That's why you chose this place?
[Rechegoko] And we were sitting here, right here, thinking, why this place? Like it was supposed to have some meaning that we were supposed to figure out.
[Rechegoko] But what if the meaning wasn't from the past, but from the future?
[Rechegoko] Like, a place for us to make meaning out of?
[Marga] I never thought of that... It could be.
* Marga looks around the ruins.
[Rechegoko] The ruins are from the past. I didn't take stones from there. Those people, that place, deserves to sleep.
[Marga] WHere then?
[Rechegoko] Right here. At the edge, but new. And not for everyone. Just for me - and for you.
[Marga] Me? :3
[Rechegoko] Marga I would very much like to make love with you now, here in this new place, if you will.
* Rechegoko gets out the words one-at-a-time-but-quite-fast.
[Marga] O_O Um. Definitely
* Marga basically throws herself at him.
* Rechegoko takes you into the building, where he has laid out a Rechegoko-sized mattress made of heavy cloth filled with mosses and straw.
* Rechegoko kisses you.
* Marga is into it

Marga and Rechegoko are found by Rupun Lurusiri, who questions them about their purpose and intentions at the site

[NemnostiGM] Later ...
[NemnostiGM] You are resting nestled together when you hear a noise outside the structure.
[Voice] Ahem.
[Marga] (I assume we don't recognize this voice)
* Rechegoko shoots upright, still fully unclothed.
[NemnostiGM] (not at all)
[NemnostiGM] (although it's only said 'Ahem' so far)
[Marga] WHat the-- WHO'S THERE
[NemnostiGM] A figure sticks his head through the door-flap. It's an elderly man.
[Voice] Ahh ... pardon.
[Marga] Hey you can't just-- who even are you??
[NemnostiGM] A moment later, you do realize that you recognize this man. It is Rupun Lurusiri, the Voice who takes care of Lurusiru and Lurusiru Osti, and who sometimes comes to Nemnosti.
* Voice is now known as Rupun
[Rupun] Perhaps you could compose yourselves, and then we could speak.
* Rupun ducks back out of the structure.
[Marga] Ah beans.
[Rechegoko] [w] What do we do?
[Marga] [w] see what he wants I guess ... D:
* Rechegoko quickly gets some clothes on.
* Marga struggles back into her leather pants and top XD
[Rechegoko] [w] All right ...
* Rechegoko exits the structure tentatively.
* Marga is right there with him
[Rupun] I am Rupun Lurusiri. You ... you I have seen at Nemnosti before, I think. And you ... big fellow ... I do not know.
[Rechegoko] My name is Rechegoko.
[Rupun] I have been observing your work. Well-built, if a little crude. I wondered how the big central beam got here, but now, seeing you, I do not wonder quite so much.
[Rupun] And you, slightly smaller but still quite impressive young woman, who are you?
[Marga] Marga Gago.
[Rupun] Well, far be it from me to critique your choice of ... mating locale ... but it seems like a lot of effort.
* Rechegoko seems frozen in place, unsure what to say.
[Marga] Why?
[Marga] He likes it here.
[Rupun] You make a point, Marga.
[Rupun] These lands, on this side of the Pardopasu all around this plateau, are my charge, as their guardian. This town was once Lurusiru, and the temple down there, Lurusiru Osti. You learned that from Amasa and Jorota and the others, did you not?
[Rupun] There are some who say it is haunted by the spirits of those who died here.
[Marga] I've heard that yeah
[Rupun] That is just what they tell the acolytes so that they don't come up here to hide away and ... well, do what you were just doing.
[Rupun] But it is a holy place, still. A place of memories.
[Rupun] And so I am hoping that you will tell me why you have chosen this place.
* Rechegoko looks anxiously over to you.
[Marga] Maybe it's an important place for us too. Or maybe it's none of your business?
[Rupun] Is it? Important, I mean?
[Rechegoko] Yes.
* Rechegoko manages to squeak out.
[Rupun] Well.
[Rupun] I can well imagine that even for a big fellow like you, you would not casually carry a beam of that size, for a purpose that was not important.
[Rupun] I need you to understand that here, in this town, at this temple, many people died.
* Rechegoko nods.
[Rechegoko] I know.
[Marga] They also lived here
[Marga] They had families and babies and did fun things...
[Marga] They probably even had SEX
[Rupun] They did.
[Rupun] I am not so old that I do not remember the lusts of youth.
[Marga] Why do so many people think the only part worth remembering is the dying?
* Rupun looks at you curiously, as if assessing you.
[Rupun] A good question. A fair one.
[Rupun] The ancestors who lived here could tell you many stories. Many of them lie here still, or at Nemnosti.
[Rupun] It is wrong to make a fetish of death. And there are those, young, mainly, who would come to a place like this because it is forbidden.
[Rupun] But that is not, I think, why you are here, is it? You are here out of some positive reason, some reason still your own.
* Rechegoko nods.
[Rechegoko] That's right.
* Rupun considers.
[Rupun] Then it is not my place to tell you not to be here.
[Rupun] Only to always have respect for the lives lived here.
* Marga doesn't really know what to say to that, so just nods
[Rupun] And, ahh ... well, I will try to not intrude on your happiness.
[Rupun] Perhaps someday, we can share our stories of how this place matters to one another.
[Rechegoko] Yes.
[Marga] Thanks...
[Rupun] I will leave you to your place, then.
* Rupun turns and walks away.
[Marga] Well, I guess that means we've met the neighbours.
[Rechegoko] I'm sorry. I couldn't speak.
[Marga] You don't have to be sorry :)
* Marga squeezes his hand.
[Rechegoko] You know I'm not good with new people.
[Marga] It's fine.
[Rechegoko] You, ah ... want to go back, or ... go again?
* Marga grins ]:D
[NemnostiGM] Much later ... you can return to the ulajeta. Rechegoko will come with you at least for now, until he packs up his things to move out here.

Alai meets Dadim Nemni and they discuss what it would entail if they were to get married

[NemnostiGM] Alai, you have been engaged in some heavy research into the Unkind Stone and its nature, at Nemnu's request. It feels good to be engaged in research that you and She both care about, and that obviously matters to present concerns. Still, it is exhausting to spend so much time in the library.
[NemnostiGM] This evening, though, you have a different task. Dadim Nemni has come to the ulajeta from his home in Naftusa, for the purpose of meeting you for effectively the first time. It's strange that Ifa and Izu's brother should at the same time be essentially a stranger to you, and also a serious marriage prospect.
* Dadim has invited you to a small, quiet chamber in the Nemni iftibal at the east wing of the ulajeta. You are rarely here, since you are not a Nemni.
* Alai will have her hair up, in a brass ring with laquored bone pins, a navy Altala with silver scrollwork, snug at the bodice and hips, but loose otherwise, her bone choker, and an assortments of rings and bracelets.
* Alai glances around the unfamilar room, absorbing the details when she arrives.
* Dadim is well-dressed, in a sort of urbane style that would be rare here. You remember when you were training in Ardukh, some of the young men at the Academy were styled in such a manner.
* Dadim stands as you arrive. He's a small man, and thin.
[Dadim] Good evening, Alai. I am Dadim of the Nemni.
[Alai] Evening Dadim of Nemni. I wasn't aware you were a traveled individual.
* Alai comments eyeing his outfit up and down
[Dadim] A little bit. I live in Naftusa, and run a tavern there, the Coathook, where you may have visited. It is valuable to be able to present oneself to guests in a fashionable way.
[Dadim] But I grew up here in the iftibal, with Ifa and Izu.
[Alai] and you didn't stay. I suppose there are worse vocations than owning a tavern. I... am not one to frequent them.
[Dadim] My siblings were all much more suited to this place, to its occupations and roles, than I was ever going to be.
[Dadim] I never possessed any religious calling, nor any gift with Source.
[Dadim] Naftusa is hardly a large city, but it has the amenities and joys of a place numbered in thousands.
[Alai] Religous callings are not for everyone, is true. Pity on the gift with the Source. Are you certain about it?
[Dadim] Well, it might be better to say that I never had the patience for it.
[Alai] Patience is important in many things. If you lack, what do you possess to compensate?
[Dadim] Well ... I'm a good conversationalist. I am good with change, and dealing with the unexpected. People say I make them laugh.
[Alai] I supose this arrangement with a wild Leutka would could count as both unexpected and change. Is that why you were picked?
* Dadim laughs.
[Dadim] I think I was picked because there aren't enough Nemni men to go around, at least not eligible ones.
[Alai] It's the Nemni's own fault for being too religious.
[Dadim] And because my parents think it is 'past time', and Hojon apparently agrees.
[Dadim] I understand that your parents want you to marry a Nemni and do not particularly care which one - or so I've been told.
[Alai] They want connection to the name and the weight it brings around here. I'm sure many do. Which makes me wonder how you have escaped for so long.
[Alai] Care to explain]?
[Dadim] Partly, I think, because my branch of the family is not a senior one. Some call us the "Little Nemni". Which as a small person, I find offensive. But it is what it is.
[Dadim] We are only distantly related to Hojon and his family.
[Dadim] But also, I've worked pretty hard to avoid making myself seem too appealing a candidate.
[Dadim] Not by, say, growing a pot belly. But by making it clear that I was not interested in settling down.
[Alai] What changed? Has the weight of obligation broken your spirit?
* Dadim laughs.
[Dadim] Not at all! But my parents have become much more insistent that they would like some more grandchildren.
[Alai] Can't you point a few out for them, since you avoid settling down? Or do they want Nemni grandchildren?
[Dadim] Look, I'll be honest, it's not that I don't want a wife. It's that I don't want a wife who is going to be too ... attached.
[Dadim] I like my freedom. I like my independence.
[Dadim] Anyone who is going to marry me needs to respect that.
[Alai] What does that mean, your independence? To run your tavern, to carouse with your drinking buddies? Sound like you would rather marry Nikata than me. You two would be great mates.
[Dadim] I've met your brother.
[Alai] Unsurprising
[Dadim] He likes to drink. And I like to serve those who like to drink.
[Dadim] But I don't serve drinks for people like him. That's not why I do it, really.
[Dadim] I just didn't want to be ... constrained ... by the ulajeta. By the kind of life that is possible here, if you're not a priest or a mystic.
[Dadim] Because I wasn't for either of those paths, nor was I ever going to be a warrior, it was hard for me to see what I could build that would be my own.
[Dadim] So that is why I moved to Naftusa and started the Coathook.
[Dadim] To give pleasure to those who would come for good company.
[Alai] You found way to make your own path... is commendable. Would be better if you raised voice more when fighting back. Shows more passion.
* Alai gives a sly smile
[Dadim] I've been loud about my desires for a while now. Which maybe partly why I've managed to keep my parents at bay. My mother, especially, is not a meek person.
* Jevai (~Lan-homelns5-pool7-088.adsl.user.start.ca) Quit (Ping timeout: 190 seconds )
[Dadim] I understand that your work is very important to you, and your life here. I would never want to get in the way of that, through a marriage.
[Dadim] I'm not looking for a docile innkeeper's wife to tend bar and smile at the pretty boys.
[Dadim] In fact, let me be very clear, I wouldn't want you to have anything at all to do with the Coathook.
[Dadim] It's mine, and I like it that way.
[Alai] I'm more likely to turn them into cod than smile at them... I joke.
[Dadim] Could I cook and sell the cod? If the answer is yes, then there may be business to be done.
* Dadim smiles.
[Alai] I have no interest in messing with your tavern... as long as it is not a drain on my resources.
[Alai] and you can have your life as you want, as long as you don't interfere with mine.
* Dadim smiles.
[Dadim] But they are going to want children. And not in the far future.
[Dadim] What do you think of that?
* Lan-home is now known as Jevai
[Alai] I'm sure I could find one is short order... I jest again
* Dadim laughs.
[Alai] If a child happens, then it happens.
[Alai] We should at least endevour to make the first legitimate, correct?
* Dadim laughs.
[Dadim] Ifa was right, you do have a sharp sense of humour. I like that.
[Alai] Ifa doesn't know the half of it
[Alai] but she is sister so best not tell her all things
[Dadim] Naturally.
* Alai steps closer to him
[Alai] I am much to handle... you have chance to back out now
[Dadim] I'm not worried about that.
[Alai] There will be fights, screaming, some slapping, I am sure.
[Dadim] Some guys like that kind of thing.
[Alai] Some girls too
* Dadim nods.
[Alai] I am curious to see if years of "indepenence" have taught you anything
[Dadim] Taught me about what?
[Alai] Is good you are pretty
* Alai taps him with her hand on his cheek
[Alai] I come visit you, in less formal setting... away from ulajeta
[Dadim] Absolutely. I'd like that.
[Alai] very well, until then. I let you know when.
* Alai turns and slowly walks away
[Dadim] I look forward to it.
[Alai] Is good start then.

Jevai is awakened by Bem who takes her to meet with Dijur Nadenigh, who explains that there is a strange crack in the Nadenigh iftibal cave wall, near the Fingerprint

[NemnostiGM] Jevai, you are having the most pleasant dream in which you finally got Giri's office completely clean, only to find a hidden sigil lodged on the floor that, when dislodged, produces sweet loza berry candies.
[NemnostiGM] You put one of the candies in your mouth, and it makes a deep thumping sound as it breaks into a thousand little pieces.
[NemnostiGM] BANGBANGBANG!
[NemnostiGM] BANGBANGBANG!
[Jevai] ahh!
[NemnostiGM] You awake to a groggy alertness to hear an insistent and firm knocking at your door.
* Jevai sits up, alarmed
[Jevai] what?
[NemnostiGM] It's the middle of the night.
* Jevai calls after a moment, moving to grab some clothes
* Ingo is now known as Bem
[Bem] Apologies for the disturbance. It's urgent.
[Jevai] coming!
* Jevai will open her door looking unkemot but at least dressed\
[Jevai] what is the matter?
* Bem is in her full armor and has clearly come up here from being on watch, where she typically serves a late-night shift.
[Bem] You have a visitor. It is Dijur Nadenigh. He insists it cannot wait, despite the hour.
[Jevai] :|
[Jevai] alright
* Jevai tries to smooth out her hair weith her fingers as she follows Bem
[Jevai] I suppose he gave no details?
[Bem] Not to me, no.
* Bem leads you down to the West Gate, where the stoneguards greet visitors. Of course, this late in the evening, they don't just let people in, even a hengi.
[Jevai] Thank you
[Jevai] Hello Dijur... what's wrong?
* Bem leaves you in one of the small rooms where Dijur is sitting.
* Bem is now known as Dijur
* Dijur looks very weary, and his deep brown juskai is disheveled, as if thrown on in haste.
[Jevai] Hello Dijur... what's wrong?
[Dijur] Jevai. There has been an incident in the caves.
[Jevai] what kind of incident?
[Dijur] A ... crack has emerged in the Fingerprint.
* Dijur seems unsure of his description.
[Jevai] In the fingerprint?
[Dijur] At it, or next to it.
[Dijur] I'm not sure exactly how to describe it.
[Dijur] Around three hours ago, there was a loud noise in the depths of the caves. It awoke half the iftibal. At first I thought a stalactite had fallen, even though none were loose or at risk. We couldn't find the source of it until I went deeper.
* Jevai nods\
[Jevai] YOu know... what it is, then?
[Dijur] I do not.
[Dijur] You need to see it, I don't understand it. And it is not my place to approach the Fingerprint.
[Jevai] but the fingerprint itself - do you know what it is?
[Dijur] No, no. Just as a name, and that of course it is a sigillant matter.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] okay
[Dijur] What is it?
[Jevai] I there are some things that I will need to fetch - but I will go to examine it immediately
[Jevai] please set guards at all known exits
* Dijur nods.
[Dijur] Get your things, and then we can go.
* Jevai shakes her head
[Jevai] no, some of this may take me some time - it is better that you return to deal with the guards, I will make my own way when I can
[Dijur] All right ... what does that mean? how soon?
[Dijur] What is it that the guards should be alert for?
[Jevai] strangers, any unusual activity.... anything out of the ordinary
[Dijur] All right. But it is not that you fear a collapse within the caves?
[Jevai] no, I don't think so... but it would be better to keep some sistance just in case
[Dijur] Of course, I have already instructed for no one to go down there - not that they would be likely to do so in any event.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] thank you
[Jevai] if I determine that is is unsafe, we can discuss what precautions will be needed
* Dijur nods.
[Dijur] All right. Come as soon as you can.
[Jevai] I will.
[Jevai] thank you
[NemnostiGM] All right, what preparations do you have to make?
* Jevai will emerge and find Bem
* Dijur is now known as Bem
[Bem] Yes, do you need something?
[Jevai] yes. I have to deliver an urgent message to the Lady
[Bem] Of course.
[Jevai] if I write it, can you see that it is delivered for her eyes only?
* Jevai says, aleready on the way back to her room to get her stuff
[Bem] Of course.
* Jevai will quickly scribble a note that basically just says that Dijur reported a breach in the caves near the fingerpirnt, I am investigating
[Bem] You mean that I should literally lay it before her, with no one else intervening?
[Jevai] yes if you can
[Bem] I will do so.
[Jevai] I also know that security is already tight - but please be extra cautious of anything strange that is reported tonight
[Bem] I will.
[Bem] Do you wish me to pass that caution on to the morning shift as well?
[Bem] Or is this a caution that is only for tonight?
[Jevai] The lady may have further instructions, and hopefully I will have more information soon
* Bem nods.
* Jevai will get her to hurry off, and then go see wtf is happening
[Bem] Of course. Should I tell Kuspir anything specific, when he awakes? Is this about whatever has been going on?
[Jevai] I'm not sure
[Jevai] tell him all that happened so far, at least
[Bem] I don't know what has happened at all.
* Jevai smiles
[Jevai] You know that Dijur arrived and he sent for me urgently, and all that has happened since... thats' all I mean.
* Bem nods.
[Bem] Yes, of course.
[Jevai] hopefully that will be all there is to tell

Jevai travels up through the secret path from the Viper’s Cave to the Nadenigh iftibal, and examines the crack which she determines to be related to Unkindness

[NemnostiGM] (all right, what are you doing now?)
[Jevai] (going to get some stuff, slating myself a mage armour just in case, and going to see what's what)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 19 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 31 ].
[NemnostiGM] (ok, what do you mean by stuff? just ordinary equipment?)
[Jevai] (stuff I would need for lodging and such, maybe also some basic exploration exquipment. maybe uhhh... some kind of weapon idk, just in case)
[NemnostiGM] (All right, are you going by road, or are you going to chance taking the Viper's Path?)
[Jevai] (Viper's path is quickest but dangerous yes? road I'd have to go all the way back home and then back trhough the caves, but safer?)
[Jevai] (I assume I have taken the VP by myself before generally and am familiar with its dangers but heather is not so how dangerous are we talking? what might I encounter there?)
[NemnostiGM] (yeah, the road is safe but winding and long and of course you have to go through the guards you just told Dijur to put up)
[NemnostiGM] (the Viper's Cave and through the Fingerprint is very direct and normally perfectly safe; Jevai has taken it before. But it does occur to you that if there is a crack, whatever that means ... then all bets are off)
[Jevai] (I'll take the path and try and be careful - I'll trust nemnu to decide if more people need to be told about it or what)
[NemnostiGM] All right, you navigate the Viper's Cave with care, and then use the sigillant's path to bring yourself directly through the Fingerprint into the Nadenigh iftibal.
[NemnostiGM] (Make a K:Arcana check)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+14
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+14 ] getting [ 13 ] which, after the modifier [ 14 ] totals [ 27 ].
[Jevai] (I will be doing some physical 'is this safe' inspection as well as magic investigation)
[Jevai] (possibly the physical stuff first)
[Jevai] (make sure it isn't gonna collapse on me before I get it checked out)
[NemnostiGM] You do not spot anything physically wrong. But you do get the sense of something magically amiss - as if there is a black streak across a blue sky.
[NemnostiGM] At first glance, the Fingerprint appears as always
* Jevai will look around to se if there are any signs that someone has been here on either side, other than erself and Dijur, though this isn't her specialty
[NemnostiGM] https://rocksfall.org/wiki/File:Fingerprint.jpeg
[NemnostiGM] Then you see it, the anomaly Dijur described to you. It is black and jagged, like a lightning strike against the wall. The cracks are not deep - more like impressions against the dimly lit wall. The crack lies right next to the glyphs of the Fingerprint itself, its dark straight lines unnatural against the gentle blue-green curves of your ancestors' seal.
[NemnostiGM] https://rocksfall.org/wiki/File:Cavecrack.jpeg
[NemnostiGM] The crack is perhaps as long as your arm.
[Jevai] :|
[Jevai] (Time to lodge some more arcane investigation spells)
[NemnostiGM] (ok, go ahead)
[Jevai] (GOnna start with a basic detect first since I can slate that.... then arczne wight maybe?)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 5 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 17 ].
[Jevai] (ha ha glad I started low -_-)
[NemnostiGM] (OK, fine)
[Jevai] (that succeeds for DM anyway - I assume it is itself magic?)
[NemnostiGM] You obviously detect the illusion magic of the Fingerprint itself, but there is also a transmutation and necromancy effect that should not be here.
[NemnostiGM] Definitely whatever this crack is, it is magical.
[Jevai] (I assume those are in the crack not the fingerprint?)
[NemnostiGM] (correct)
[Jevai] (Are they active or lingering?)
[NemnostiGM] (active)
[Jevai] (how strong?)
[NemnostiGM] (let's say 'powerful')
[Jevai] (okay)
* Jevai will take the 30 min to lodge See Beyond
[NemnostiGM] (all right, go ahead)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 20 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 32 ].
[NemnostiGM] Jevai, you perceive, almost, that the crack is shimmering or vibrating in resonance with the cave, expanding and contracting gradually like the pupils of a fractured eye.
[NemnostiGM] You see, from around the edges of the crack, tiny wisps of greyish smoke emerge and dance around in the still air of the deep cave.
[Jevai] (what if I look at it from the other sidde - is there anythign there?)
[NemnostiGM] Whatever the source of this crack, you are confident that it is like, if not identical to, the Unkind Stone.
[NemnostiGM] (from the other side of the Fingerprint, you mean?)
[Jevai] (yeah)
[NemnostiGM] You go through and examine it. You see that there is, perhaps, a thin seam or vein of inky blackness, heading from the cave in the direction of Nemnosti, before slipping within the cave face entirely, beyond your scrutiny. It has the same quality as the crack itself.
[Jevai] what *are* you...
* Jevai is not expecting an answer
[NemnostiGM] A voice speaks ...
* Hojon is now known as A_Voice
[A_Voice] I AM NOTHING.
[Jevai] what.... what is your intent?
[NemnostiGM] Then it is gone, and you can't be sure that you even heard it. Although you're pretty sure it was real.
* Jevai asks after a moment of being deeply freaked out
* Jevai is not sure if she feels better to get no response to that
[NemnostiGM] (OK, anything else?)
[Jevai] I'm trying to decide if I can either try and abjur it - seems i=unlikely - or like. crack fill it
[Jevai] I think I am leanign towardd crack filling just lokign at spell options)
[Jevai] (eh I'll rry a dispell and see what happens while I'm trying to remember my stone spells ;p)
[Jevai] (another half an hour)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 8 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 20 ].
[Jevai] (success)
[NemnostiGM] OK, you lodge the spell. Now you can make a dispel check.
[NemnostiGM] (1d20+caster level)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+6
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+6 ] getting [ 16 ] which, after the modifier [ 6 ] totals [ 22 ].
[Jevai] (womp womp)
[NemnostiGM] There is no effect that you can see.
* Jevai is not surprised
* Jevai will try stoneshape and see what happens (40 minutes)
[NemnostiGM] All right, go ahead on that
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 7 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 19 ].
[Jevai] (that elicits a roll on table 1 but succeeds)
[Jevai] !roll 1d100
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d100 ] getting [ 14 ].
[Jevai] (so it sounds like stone grinding against stone, say)
[NemnostiGM] (definitely not worrying to anyone who might hear it)
* A_Voice is now known as Dadim
[NemnostiGM] You can move the stone around the crack, or around the Fingerprint, but the actual crack itself seems impervious to your workings.
[Jevai] (Can I layer over it?)
[NemnostiGM] You can probably make like, a section of stone that curves out and around it, basically shielding it from immediate view, but not right overtop of it. You can still see it and probably stick a hand in and touch it if you tried hard.
[Jevai] (I can't bubble it compleyely though? it will have a crack?)
[NemnostiGM] (oh, I see, like put a bubble of stone over the whole thing? Yes, you could - but then you would not be able to see if it changes shape or goes away)
[Jevai] (t=yeha and I presume it is still goign to be leaking its weird black smoke regardless?)
[NemnostiGM] (well presumably, although no one will be able to see that without magic)
[Jevai] (yeah I'm less concerned abotu how it looks as to how it can be contained
[NemnostiGM] All right, I'll say you can do that.
[NemnostiGM] It's still there, within a small air pocket that separates it from the stone.
[Jevai] (but the blackness/smoke is still leaking out of he bubble?)
[Jevai] (i'm confusing myself ;p)
[NemnostiGM] (yeah, with the See Beyond you can still see it coming through. Whatever the smoke is, it's not physical/material and thus is not bound by a little ridge of stone)
[Jevai] (Okay well... idk what else I can do right now so time to go report in)
[Jevai] (or wait no - I di wanna see if there was evidence of a person here on either side still)
[NemnostiGM] (OK, you mean, like to see if there is evidence that a person has been here, left tracks, that kind of thing?)
[NemnostiGM] (give me a K:dungeoneering or Survival, if so)
[Jevai] (yes)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+11
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+11 ] getting [ 15 ] which, after the modifier [ 11 ] totals [ 26 ].
[Jevai] (dungeoneering)
[NemnostiGM] You are confident that no one has been here, other than presumably Dijur when he found it. But no sign of any other presence, on either side, and nothing sustained. Whatever this was doesn't appear to have been placed here by an individual.
[Jevai] (well, not physically placed anyway)
[NemnostiGM] (right)
[NemnostiGM] (if it was created by a spell, that was done at a distance)
* Jevai then has to decide who she needs to go see first - nemnu or Dijur
* Jevai opts for Dijur because that's probably easier?
[NemnostiGM] (well he's actually here)
* Bem is now known as Dijur
[Jevai] (that too)
[NemnostiGM] You can find Dijur in the iftibal, of course.
[Jevai] Hengi
[Jevai] Uncle
[Dijur] Jevai ... they told me you were here. I told them to keep their distance, don't worry. But the guards reported you didn't come through them. Did you come in invisibly?
[Jevai] Sigillant mysteries
* Jevai says with exaggerated drama
[Dijur] Very well. What can you tell me?
[Jevai] The cave's integrity, pshycally, is not compromised. But it is extremely magically dangerous
[Jevai] (physically)
[Dijur] I see.
[Jevai] I will keep looking into it, but it is strange and complex.
[Dijur] What would you like me to do then? I can keep people away from there, to an extent. But I do not control every Nadenigh at every moment.
[Jevai] do your best. there is not much to see at the moment, I have it covered, bit its just a visual shield
[Dijur] I will do so. What else should I be alert for?
* Jevai tries to think on that one becuase she doesn't really know
[Jevai] just.... anything strange. Changes to the caves, anyone who maybe be aacting strangely, especially if they have been near it...
[Jevai] I will continute to monitor it as I research
[Dijur] I feel that since the business with your brother, I have been all too aware of any people acting strangely.
[Jevai] mm.
[Dijur] But I will be vigilant.
[Jevai] thank you
[Dijur] Thank you. I know I interrupted your rest, but I think it was necessary.
[Jevai] It was.
[Jevai] thank you.
* Jevai considers stopping in to see one or another of her paernts before leaving but will stat the trek back to the ulajeta directly, knowing Nemnu is likely waiting to hear form her as well

Kuspir learns about the strange stone arm recovered by Fezef Takovenga, and then speaks to Pavavi who loans the arm to him for his investigation

[NemnostiGM] All right, Kuspir, you have spent much of the last couple of days in the Register of Patrols.
[NemnostiGM] Research was never your strength, but persistence is something you have in abundance.
[NemnostiGM] You're not even really sure what you're looking for,which makes it hard.
[NemnostiGM] (I'll let you make a K:history roll)
[Kuspir] (do I get a +1 for dealing with the nemni lineage, or not?)
[NemnostiGM] (sure, why not)
[Kuspir] !roll 1d20+8
* Lan-werk rolls for Kuspir: [ 1d20+8 ] getting [ 18 ] which, after the modifier [ 8 ] totals [ 26 ].
[NemnostiGM] But you do find a really interesting record in the material from the year 653. You recognize the handwriting: it is that of Fezef Takovenga, the captain at the time.
[NemnostiGM] He reports that in the spring of that year, along the Khujai River near Bemnes, some children found what appeared to be the arm of a statue, along the banks, left there by the snowmelt.
[NemnostiGM] It was brought to Nemnosti where it was determined to be a fragment of a petrified person. However, because it was too little to be preserved as an Ancestor, it was not restored to flesh. Fezef leaves only this note at the bottom of the record: "Furthered to storage."
* Kuspir will see if he can figure out where that would be ("storage")
[NemnostiGM] Well, you have two immediate thoughts. Pavavi is the Curator for magical things, and a petrified arm might count as such a thing. The other possibility is sometimes fragments of unidentified bodies are brought to the ulajeta just in case they belong to someone else's body, and can be reconstituted as an ancestor - so somewhere in the caves.
[Kuspir] (ok. I guess I would ask Pavavi first.)
[NemnostiGM] All right, you can go find Pavavi.
* Dijur is now known as Pavavi
[Kuspir] I have a bit of an unusual request.
[Pavavi] Oh? I like unusual requests.
[Kuspir] Do you know if, somewhere in the collection of magical artifacts, there is a stone arm? as if it fell off a statue.
[Pavavi] Oh, you must mean Man-at-arm!
[Pavavi] It's not a statue, you know.
[Kuspir] I ... what?
[Pavavi] No, it's not carved. It's an arm from a human who was turned to stone.
[Kuspir] Oh, yes, I did know that.
[Kuspir] I just meant it might look like a statue.
[Pavavi] Well, to the untrained eye, certainly. But I trained as a smith, and you can always see the marks of working being done, on metal, and on stone.
[Pavavi] Here, uhh ... grab that ladder and hold it for me.
* Kuspir will get the ladder
* Pavavi points over in the direction of the wall, where there is a ladder amidst various poles and beams.
* Pavavi hauls his ancient body up the ladder, causing you more than a little alarm.
[Pavavi] It's a ways up there, not like there's a call for it often. A call to arm, you might say.
[Kuspir] Heh.
[Pavavi] And ... there, got it!
* Pavavi leaps off the ladder and then gently floats down.
[Pavavi] There you are, sir, one arm. I actually don't know that much about it other than that.
[Kuspir] has anyone else ever even asked to see it?
[Pavavi] Not in my service here, no.
[Pavavi] But it was here before me.
* Kuspir will take a look at it
* Kuspir nods
[NemnostiGM] Yup, it's an arm, for sure.
[Kuspir] I guess it's been here for over a hundred years, if I understand correctly.
* Pavavi nods.
[Kuspir] (male? female? clothed? any jewelry or distinguishing marks or anything?)
[Pavavi] If I might ask, how did you find out about it?
[Kuspir] It was in the Register of Patrols, I was looking for something else, but this seemed interesting.
[NemnostiGM] Curiously, Kuspir, at the shoulder, it doesn't appear to be broken as if it were a statue, nor separated cleanly as if by a blade or chisel, but more like a rough, natural curve.
[Kuspir] (could it have been eroded by water or something like that?)
[NemnostiGM] (you definitely don't have the expertise to assess that)
[Kuspir] (ok)
[Pavavi] Well, you're welcome to borrow it, of course. For whatever reason.
[Kuspir] Would it be okay if I take it for Jevai to look at?
* Kuspir nods
[Kuspir] Thank you. I'll bring it back as soon as I can.
* Kuspir will go off, arm in arm(s).
[NemnostiGM] Until next we gather by the firelight, young acolytes ...

Solos

Jevai talks to Nemnu about the strange Unkind crack in the Nadenigh iftibal walls and gets Her permission to investigate Ghevra’s body

[NemnostiGM] Jevai, after your experience and investigations with the crack in the Fingerprint, you head back to Nemnosti to fill in Nemnu.
* Jevai is highly conscious that she's gonna be one of those entrance log abnormalities but she's been up and busy for hours now, back and forth to the nedeligh caves and she's tired and there's a LOT going on
[Jevai] 9Actaully i can come back via the fingerprint too that's fine.... but it is still a lot of travel and tiring work)
* Jevai will make sure nothign chaned while she was talkign to the Hengi also
* Dadim is now known as Nemnu
[NemnostiGM] (nothing seems to have changed)
* Jevai will go see the lady then
* Nemnu will see you immediately, apparently having received your note from Bem.
[Nemnu] You must be tired.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] I am, but I will rest when I can.
[Nemnu] Tell me, then.
[Jevai] there is a crack of some kind, in the wall bewside the fingerprint. Whatever it is it is related to.... unkinedness in some way
[Jevai] (unkindness)
[Nemnu] A crack. Tell me more. What do you mean?
* Jevai tried to gather her thoughts
* Jevai still has all her stuff on her though
[Jevai] I will show you.
* Jevai will just draw/paint it
[Jevai] it had powerful necromantic and transmutation magic - much stronger than I could try to dispell
[Nemnu] Just like the Unkind Stone.
[Nemnu] But how would it get there?
[Jevai] I don't know, Lady. There was a loud crackign sound in the caves. Dijur found it, and came to get me immediately
[Jevai] I used the spell, See beyond.... I could see it... resonate with the cave., contracting, like a pupil reacting to loight. and from it, grey smoke flowed, on both side of the wall....
* Nemnu pauses, and while you're not as good at it as Izu, you can tell she's thinking deeply about something.
[Jevai] It told me that it was Nothing.
[Nemnu] It ...told you?
[Jevai] I.... yes. I heard it.
[Jevai] I asked, what it as. It answered, but only that
[Nemnu] Thank you for telling me this.
[Nemnu] Have you spoken to Medimur or Farai about any of this?
[Jevai] no...
[Nemnu] All right.
[Nemnu] I know that place is sacred to you and your lineage. I do not know how much you wish to tell them of any of this.
[Nemnu] But this is definitely all connected.
[Jevai] They will trust me, Lady, but it is my job to keep them safe.
[Nemnu] Is there more I need to know?
[Nemnu] I have some very difficult decisions ahead, and I need to know whatever you can share.
[Jevai] There is more that I need to know. So that I might serve my clan.... and also you.
[Nemnu] What can I tell you?
* Jevai smiles tiredly
[Jevai] Why is the unkind stone where it is?
[Nemnu] Because the Old Folk were near there, during the last war.
[Jevai] But it too is in a cave
[Nemnu] I am worried that we have brought Unkindness upon ourselves, here.
[Jevai] how so?
[Nemnu] Yesterday Medimur and Farai took Ghevra, the Ancestor who was turned to stone while rendered bubun, to her last rest in the Outer Caves.
[Jevai] (was that a deflection on her part?)
[Nemnu] (you're really not sure, it's so hard to SM on an immobile saint who talks into your brain. Could be!)
[Jevai] (yeah okay I will assume yes ;)
[Jevai] is she.... unkind?
[Nemnu] However, it appears that, although restored to flesh, Ghevra is not truly an Ancestor, but something with some of the same properties as Unkindness.
[Nemnu] She cannot be contacted or communicated with, as an Ancestor would. And that is a problem, because her living relatives naturally wish to ask questions of her.
[Jevai] can I see her? Sometime in the next... 18 hours or so?
[Nemnu] We had her moved. Voice Ingo had the idea, and I agreed with it. To move her from the Outer Caves to the Inner Caves.
[Nemnu] To give some protection, and to ensure that he could control access to her.
[Jevai] do you think it is a matter of... proximity?
[Nemnu] Or else it is a coincidence that scant hours after she was moved there, your crack emerged.
[Nemnu] And we have also been worrying, that whatever happened to Ghevra, might also have happened to Azolte.
[Nemnu] Did Ramarima try to look at them, with whatever sight she now has?
[Jevai] at who?
[Nemnu] At Ghevra, or at Azolte?
* Jevai thinks for a moment
[Jevai] I don't know
[Jevai] but she shoudl be able to see it
[Jevai] or... no she was there when they were unpetrified
[Jevai] so....somethign else has changed?
[Nemnu] I don't know.
[Nemnu] If you wish to examine Ghevra, I will permit it.
[Jevai] thank you
[Jevai] Lady, may I say something?
[Nemnu] Of course, please! I am desperate for people to speak their minds.
[Jevai] Then.... We are here to to serve you, as we can. There is no need for you to face difficulties alone.
[Nemnu] I am grateful for your service, but even moreso, for your simple presence.
[Jevai] I feel like there is more that we could do to ease your burdens
[Nemnu] Such as?
[Jevai] What I mean is - I know there is more you have not told us. I know you value your silences. I understand. But surely there must be someone you can trust to share them?
[Nemnu] The people in whom I have entrusted too much have tended to end up victims of my enemies.
[Jevai] Your enemies now make victims of the innocent
[Jevai] Let us assess that risk for ourselves
[Nemnu] You are right, of course.
[Nemnu] I am generally reluctant to take the risk that whatever I share with you will cause you to view me differently. As weak, or broken.
[Jevai] You're flawed. That's okay. Everything has flaws.
[Jevai] I'm not afraid of that.
[Nemnu] I try to make this place perfect, but inevitably, that fails.
[Jevai] Things that are perfect can't change
[Nemnu] That sounds like something from the Courses.
[Jevai] Unfolding continues, always
* Jevai says with a smile because that probably is a quote
[Nemnu] My experience has often been that I do not know what my acolytes want or need to know. So I share little.
[Nemnu] But if you come to me with questions, I will do better to answer them.
[Jevai] thank you
[Jevai] I need to rest.... and then I will go and see Ghevra

Jevai, accompanied by Voice Ingo, investigates Ghevra’s body and discovers strange incorporeal smoke trailing out of her

[NemnostiGM] All right, after getting some rest, you head to the Inner Caves. Nemnu has let Voice Ingo know to expect you. He greets you personally at the temple. And he does not look happy.
* NPC-1 is now known as Ingo
* Ingo is wearing a formal vestment this morning, lined with silver and scarlet and with a short cloak around his shoulders, pinned with a silver brooch.
[Ingo] So, you are here.
* Jevai is dressed the way she usually is, which is decidedly un-formal, but at elast she doesn;t look as ragged as she did last night
[Jevai] Yes, thank you for meeting me here.
[Ingo] Yes, well. The Lady instructs and we obey.
* Jevai nods
[Ingo] You understand that we cannot speak to her, at all?
[Jevai] I understand that she is not responding as an ancestor, yes
[Ingo] I cannot permit you to do anything to her body that would be a desecration.
[Jevai] I have no intention to do any such thing.
[Ingo] Very well, then. Have you been within the Inner Caves before?
[Jevai] (I think the only reason I might is if Hestur is there?)
[NemnostiGM] (yes, Hestur is there, and you would certainly have visited her)
[Jevai] Only to visit with Hestur.
* Ingo nods.
[Ingo] Of course.
[Ingo] Well, come, then.
* Jevai will follow
* Ingo leads you in through the maze of hallways and cave passages. Ghevra is not too far in, and while her body is laid out appropriately, it is without any formality.
[Ingo] Here we are.
* Jevai will look at her, around her generally, to see if there's, say, any black... smoke trailign towards her ].]
[NemnostiGM] (make a Perception check then)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 12 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 24 ].
[NemnostiGM] You see it clearly, the smoke, swirling around her, almost in a vortex, and moving - not swiftly, but perceptibly - towards her head and then into a tiny crack in the rough natural wall of the cave.
[Jevai] (can I touch it? like wave my hand through it. and does it have any effect?)
[NemnostiGM] (I'll have you make a Will save)
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+10
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+10 ] getting [ 18 ] which, after the modifier [ 10 ] totals [ 28 ].
[NemnostiGM] You definitely feel something, a kind of chill or emptiness, but it passes quickly.
[Jevai] may I touch her?
* Ingo frowns.
[Ingo] It is unorthodox.
[Ingo] But I acknowledge this is all unorthodox.
[Ingo] Recall that we are sworn to secrecy in this matter, by the Lady's own word.
[Jevai] of course.
[Jevai] thakn you.
[Ingo] Go ahead.
* Ingo is definitely peeved.
* Jevai will touch her skull gently
[Jevai] (a hand on each side, say)
[NemnostiGM] It's a skull. But other than that general sense of unease nothing else apparently happens.
[Jevai] What do you want here?
* Jevai will asks because it.... kind of answered her once
[NemnostiGM] You definitely feel a pulse, as if some kind of acknowledgement of your question. It is like a thin, intangible version of what you felt from the crack in the Fingerprint.
[NemnostiGM] The smoke continues to flow out of her body and into the crack.
* Jevai frowns
* Jevai will get out her slate and try casting 'contact entity'
[Jevai] (n/m)
[Jevai] alright, thank you.
* Ingo nods.
[Ingo] Rest well, Ancestor.
[Ingo] Did you, ahhh, learn what you wanted?
[Jevai] I checked what I wanted to check, at least.
[Ingo] What did you learn?
[Jevai] Whatever it is that is preventing you from speakign with her, I can see it with the right magic. But I don't knwo what it is, or what to do about it, yet.
[Jevai] Not very helpful, I know.
* Ingo nods, seeming unsettled.
[Ingo] It is strange that Source magic would have a similar effect to the use of Voice.
[Ingo] They are not the same at all.
[Jevai] It's not anything like the use of Voice, I don't think.
[Ingo] I would talk to Voice Imas about this, ideally. But of course, I will not.
[Jevai] You think he would know anything about tbis kind of situation?
[Ingo] I am not too proud to admit that he is the smartest among us. Among Voices, that is.
[Ingo] Young Izu is excellent company, and not untalented as a scholar, though. Just not ... brilliant.
* Jevai smiles
[Jevai] not everyone needs to be brilliant
[Ingo] No indeed.

Kuspir tells Jevai about the stone arm

* Nary is now known as Kuspir
* Jevai can be found in the library
* Kuspir will bring the arm there, I guess
[Kuspir] Jevai, I have something that might be something, or it might be nothing.
* Jevai looks up.
[Jevai] pardon?
[Kuspir] I was hoping you could look at this. Tell me if it's at all useful.
* Kuspir is carrying a stone arm
* Jevai blinks as a stone arm is set on her desk
[Kuspir] This is... well, as you can see, it's an arm.
[Jevai] where is it from?
[Jevai] or who, I suppose...
[Kuspir] It was found some hundred or so years ago, washed up from the Khujai River near Bemnes. It was brought here by whoever found it, and they determined it was from a petrified person. But because it wasn't enough to do anything with - to try and revive them, or even to be an ancestor - they left it as stone and put it in storage.
[Kuspir] I thought, because of the petrification, maybe it was related to all of this somehow. But maybe it's just a coincidence.
* Jevai will look at it more closely since her spell is still going
[Jevai] !roll 1d20+12
* Lan-werk rolls for Jevai: [ 1d20+12 ] getting [ 1 ] which, after the modifier [ 12 ] totals [ 13 ].
[Jevai] (WHELP I knew it couldn't last)
[NemnostiGM] Jevai, it is definitely an arm.
[Jevai] hmm. I don't know that gehvra's remains had any particulalrly interesting properties before she was unpetrified
[Jevai] (hopefully we are a alone in here... I will presume so anhyway ;p)
[NemnostiGM] (yes, presumably you wouldn't be chatting here while heavily ... armed)
[Kuspir] should it get unpetrified?
[Jevai] (what would that do?)
[Jevai] 9Woudl it just be a rotting arm?)
[NemnostiGM] (if it was just an ordinary human who happened to be petrified, yes, that's exactly what it would be. If it is related to Unkind stuff, though: who knows?)
[Jevai] We could try....
[Kuspir] The other thing I can do if it might be useful is talk to the Stoneguard who reported it. I mean, in case he knew anything that wasn't written down in the official report.
[Jevai] are they alive, or an ancestor?
[Kuspir] oh, an ancestor. it was a century ago.
* Jevai nods
* Jevai looks back down at it
[Kuspir] well, it's probably easier for me to go talk to him.
[Kuspir] it isn't a huge rush if you want to wait to know what he said.
[Jevai] hmm, why don't you do that - can I borrow it though?
[Kuspir] Certainly. I told Pavavi I wanted to show it to you.
* Jevai nods
[Jevai] I'll see if maybe I can find someone else who could do it more easily
[Kuspir] I'd appreciate it, thank you.
[Jevai] hopefully your stoneguard will have something useful to tell
[Kuspir] I didn't expect to find something like this. I was hoping maybe there would be a record about something similar happening to an ancestor before, but this was just something I happened across.
[Jevai] was there?
* Kuspir shakes his head
[Kuspir] Not that I could find, at any rate.
[Kuspir] How about you, have you found anything?
* Kuspir looks around at the piles of library books
[Jevai] only more questions
[Kuspir] Alas.
* Jevai looks pensive an conflicted
[Kuspir] Is there anything I can help with?
[Kuspir] I've been told I'm good at reaching books down from tall shelves for instance.
[Jevai] maybe - come find me after you've had a chance to check with your stoneguard
[Kuspir] All right.
[Kuspir] Thank you.
* Kuspir will head off to do that (which I'm guessing will be my scene and therefore fuckery on Sunday?)

Ifa talks to Hojon about the planned marriage of Dadim and Alai

[NemnostiGM] Ifa, you have received a summons to come to the iftibal to meet with Hojon. Your understanding is that this meeting will be private.
* Ifa sighs and will make her way over there at the appropriate time.
* Hojon greets you at the iftibal, having set out some wine and pastries.
[Hojon] Thank you for coming, Hand Ifa.
[Ifa] Of course, hengi.
* Ifa nods respectfully and will take a seat.
[Ifa] To what do I owe the honor?
[Hojon] I want to thank you for all your assistance over the past months.
[Hojon] I do want to let you know that I will be announcing my son's betrothal imminently. Before the baby's arrival.
* Ifa nods.
* Ifa smiles slightly.
[Ifa] Thank you, sir. I was under the impression you weren't terribly happy with the assistance I've offered.
[Hojon] I had no intention of giving you that impression.
[Ifa] For instance, your son's match still seems like a mistake, but I will do my best to support all parties involved.
[Hojon] I am not unaware that this is awkward, for everyone involved.
[Ifa] All relationships are awkward. That's not my concern.
[Ifa] My concern is that it may be detrimental to many involved, and possibly do real damage to our work here.
[Hojon] Your concern is noted.
[Ifa] But you are the hengi, and I am sure you have considered all possibilities from such a broad view.
[Ifa] So I will serve as asked, and do my best for everyone.
* Hojon nods.
[Hojon] I appreciate it. Come now, have a drink. And the cakes are excellent.
* Hojon pours himself some wine and offers you some too.
* Ifa will take a cup and sip from it, and take a cake.
[Ifa] When will the wedding be?
[Hojon] The baby is due around Romokh. I would think, perhaps, just before that.
* Ifa nods.
[Hojon] I wish you to know that I respect your dissent. You are behaving as is appropriate, speaking your mind to your elders, while remaining respectful and discreet.
[Hojon] I don't wish this to cause any rift between us or your branch of the family.
[Ifa] (Sense Motive to see what he might be talking about?)
[Hojon] (sure go ahead)
[Ifa] !roll 1d20+11
* Lan-werk rolls for Ifa: [ 1d20+11 ] getting [ 6 ] which, after the modifier [ 11 ] totals [ 17 ].
[Ifa] (womp womp)
[Hojon] (you're pretty sure it's just about the Afra-Momuzai thing)
[Ifa] You are kind to say so. I feel I can best serve the ulajeta and the family by being upfront.
[Hojon] The real reason I wished to speak to you today was more about the other issue. Your brother Dadim.
[Hojon] I've invited him, with your parents' assent, to come to the ulajeta to make arrangments, and, indeed, to meet with Alai.
[Ifa] All right...
[Hojon] I wish to hear your frank view of that union.
[Ifa] I think it has the possibility of being a good one, overall.
* Hojon nods.
[Ifa] They will need to work through some things, but I think their shared desire for independence could make such a match serve them both well.
[Hojon] Your parents are very eager to see Dadim married. One does always worry that the desire for a marriage outweighs the viability of a specific union.
[Ifa] -_-
[Ifa] As you say.
[Hojon] I expect he will be here tomorrow, and I hope you will have a chance to talk to him carefully about it - without your parents present. I get the sense that he feels that they have perhaps badgered him overmuch throughout the years.
[Hojon] And you know the young woman, which they do not, really.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] Alai will be easier to convince on the base merits of the match, I think.
[Ifa] Dadim...I'm sure he'll come around.
[Hojon] There are not so many young or eligible Nemni men these days. Far more women.
[Ifa] Is that a bad thing?
[Ifa] (Is that a bad thing?)
[Hojon] Not necessarily. It does create a certain level of demand for the few there are.
[Hojon] Your nephew will be much sought after in a few years.
* Ifa chuckles.
[Ifa] I'm sure.
[Hojon] Can I ask your frank impression of Alai? I know she is your friend ... she is also a strange young woman, to my knowledge.
[Hojon] Is there some risk here that I am not perceiving?
* Ifa smiles.
[Ifa] I don't think any more than the risk with any powerful spell-worker.
[Ifa] She has her demons, I'm sure, but genius is often risky. I think she would be a fine addition to our lineage.
[Hojon] She reminds me a little of your mother. That was a good match, I think we would all agree.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] It worked out well, I think.
[Ifa] And there is parallel with drawing from other peoples, bringing community together.
[Hojon] And while I realize this is beyond your role, if there are any words that you can say about your brother, that would be appealing to Alai, speak them to her, if you would.
* Ifa smirks.
[Ifa] I'm fairly certain he'll allow her the freedom she needs, while ensuring her a continued place here.
[Ifa] As I said, I think she'll need less convincing.
[Hojon] Very well.
[Hojon] Thank you, Hand Ifa.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] I am at your service, hengi.

Ifa talks to Dadim, who has come to Nemnosti to discuss his betrothal, and to learn more about Alai

[NemnostiGM] Ifa, the next day, you are eating a midday snack when who should show up walking up to your table but your brother Dadim.
* A_Voice is now known as Dadim
[Ifa] (Took me a second to see what was wrong, but now I realize it was not just a random voice telling me my brother is there. :) )
* Dadim is wearing very fancy city clothes, the kind of thing you would have seen in Onighus a few years ago, but are still a little too fashionable for Nemnosti, but apparently what they're wearing in Naftusa today.
[Ifa] Look at you, Mr. Fancy Nazam!
* Ifa gets up to give him a hug.
[Dadim] Sister, it's been way too long!
[Ifa] Indeed it has. Come break bread with me.
* Dadim embraces you warmly.
* Ifa gestures to her snack.
[Dadim] I will. Not as good as tavern food, but it is nice to come back every once in a while.
* Ifa swats him playfully, but laughs.
[Ifa] How are you?
[Dadim] I'm well. You know, trying to stay thin is hard when you're surrounded with good food and drink every day, but I get lots of exercise.
[Ifa] That I want to hear about, or should we move on? ;)
[Dadim] Well, when you're as handsome as I am, exercise lands in your lap sometimes, if you know what I mean.
* Ifa rolls her eyes.
[Ifa] What brings you out our way?
* Ifa will specifically clock his response.
[Dadim] Don't be coy, Ifa. You know what this is all about.
[Dadim] Only one of us is allowed to be coy and it isn't you.
[Ifa] Of course I do. I wanted to see if you did.
[Ifa] Hojon has been cagier than he needs to be lately.
[Dadim] Well, Mother has no qualms in that regard.
* Ifa smiles.
[Ifa] That's good to here.
[Ifa] So, how're you feeling about the whole thing?
[Dadim] I don't know Alai, but I know her brother a little bit.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] Not exactly peas in a pod.
[Dadim] Nikata is kind of a boorish bumpkin. Alai, as I understand it, is ... not that.
* Ifa laughs.
[Ifa] That...is an understatement.
[Ifa] I'd say be prepared to be the dumb one in your relationship, but I'm sure you have practice. ;)
[Dadim] Hey! But yeah, most of my relationships don't have intelligent conversation as a high prerequisite.
[Ifa] In seriousness, though, I *do* think you two could be happy together, for certain values of together. Married, at least.
[Ifa] And I feel sure she can meet *your* 'prerquisites.'
[Ifa] And, presumably, you hers.
[Dadim] A giant hog disproportionate to my tiny size, you mean?
[Ifa] I'm choosing to ignore that.
[Dadim] Few can.
[Ifa] Hurr.
[Ifa] :P
[Dadim] I'll be good, I promise. But anyone who marries me will have to deal with the fact that I'm not a demure gentleman.
[Ifa] Oh, brother mine, just wait until you actually meet Alai.
[Ifa] She's not a demure gentleman either. ;)
[Ifa] Anyway, I don't think the marriage would necessarily need to change either of your lives that much, but you should be aware you're probably going to be more on the hook for taking care of children than she will be.
[Ifa] And children *will* be expected.
[Dadim] Believe me, Mother has made that clear. She's already prescribed me some medicine.
* Ifa chuckles.
[Ifa] How're you feeling about that.
[Ifa] ?
[Ifa] No offense, but...Alai's work here is more important than your work there, hence why I mention your responsibilities.
[Dadim] I want to keep the Coathook, I want to live my life in Naftusa. But I can be around more, for my conjugal duties. And if and when kids come, well, we'll see.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] That's...about what I figured you would say.
[Ifa] And, I think, what Alai will agree to.
[Ifa] I just wanted to make sure everyone is going into *this* union with their eyes open.
[Dadim] And I guess I do want my kids to be my kids. Like, if I'm going to do this, I need to be confident in their paternity. Maybe that's vain of me.
[Ifa] It's...understandable, at least.
[Ifa] I tend to feel a child is a blessing regardless, but clearly I'm in a different situation.
[Ifa] I think you'll need to have that conversation with Alai early, then.
[Dadim] I mean, I'm not asking for fidelity, necessarily, just ... I don't know ... I'm doing this for the family, not for myself. You know?
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] Given your...let's say exploits, it seems a *bit* hypocritical, but if Alai's amenable, I'm sure she can manage.
[Ifa] There's spells and tonics and such.
[Dadim] What's she like? Really, I mean? You're friends with her.
[Ifa] I am, but...it can be difficult. Not that she's unpleasant or anything; she's usually quite personable. But I think Alai has trouble sharing herself with others.
[Ifa] Not like that, I mean. She seems to have no problem in that regard.
[Ifa] I mean like emotionally.
[Dadim] I'm good at getting people to share.
* Ifa smirks.
[Ifa] I'm kind of hoping that's true.
[Ifa] I think the two of you could be really good for each other.
[Ifa] So long as you don't murder each other first.
[Dadim] Murder? I am not the murdering kind.
* Ifa smirks again.
[Ifa] Sleep lightly if you mess up, then. ;)
[Dadim] No, seriously, though ... people say she's dark. Like stabbing dark?
[Ifa] Oh, Dumpling, sorry, no, I'm just messing with you.
[Ifa] I can see why people would say she's 'dark', but...that lacks nuance. She's curious and driven, and very confident. She's not easily dissuaded by others' concerns or sense of propriety.
[Ifa] So, 'dark'...I kind of get it, but I don't think it's the whole picture.
[Dadim] Mmm-hmm. Okay.
[Dadim] I'm supposed to be meeting her this evening. I don't even remember her - she's several years younger than me, and I think I was gone by the time she was an acolyte.
* Ifa nods.
[Ifa] I do think you'll like her.
[Ifa] She can be blunt, but I imagine that could appeal to you.
[Dadim] Sure, I get that. Direct. Is she condescending?
[Dadim] Like, you said that her work is more important. And I mean, I get that, Nemnu's apprentice, that's important. But like, I don't want to be married to someone who thinks I'm some kind of lesser species.
[Ifa] Hmm. No, I don't think she would be like that. When I mentioned her work being more important, I just mean...she's likely going to prioritize work she's doing, but I don't think she'd be a dick about it.
[Ifa] I'd argue condescension requires a lack of confidence. Needing to make yourself feel more important.
[Dadim] I'm happy to be ignored, if it leaves me the freedom to do my own thing. I just worry, when there are kids, whether her work would be more improtant than them, and I'd just be left as a caregiver.
[Ifa] Well, that...you'd need to consult with her.
[Ifa] She's not the kind to completely abdicate responsibility, far from it.
[Ifa] I was just assessing where I think the balance will fall. And talking to her about it will always be your best bet.
[Dadim] Right. I mean, I will.
* Ifa smiles and pats his arm.
[Ifa] Then I think you'll do fine.
[Dadim] Thanks.
* Dadim smiles.
[Dadim] It's good to be back, even if only to visit.