Bedtime Butterflies
Log Info
- Title: Bedtime Butterflies
- GM: Aftershock
- Place: A house somewhere in Alexandria
The baker looks much the worse for wear, his haggard face lined with tension and lack of sleep. Dark lines hover under his eyes, and he looks as though he's lost a lot of weight in a short time. Even his clothes look wrong, all too large and soiled in forgetful ways. As if he'd gotten something on his hands and wiped it off and forgotten that he had done so. "You've gotta be able to do something. My friend across the street died last week from these nightmares. I've not had a wink in nearly a week."
His eyes slide shut for a moment and then he opens them with a little start. "I punched him!" He seems startled by his words and shakes his head. "Customer not my friend. I'm just so tired." He rubs his hand over his face. "Gotta be able to do something. I hired you yea? Can't ya fight 'em off with a spell?"
GAME: Lanier rolls Heal: (1)+13: 14 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Lanier rolls Heal: (10)+13: 23 GAME: Corey rolls Perception: (3)+15: 18
Lanier stands listening to the baker, Spud having been left outside for the purposes of conserving space within the room. The bedragled ranger looks over baker critically, his handing reaching up to scratch his beard. Finally, he says, "We're going to help you, but I have some questions..." He gestures to several locations on the body of the baker, "Did those bug bites occur before or after you began having nightmares?" He then adds, "Also, you're severely malnourished. When is the last time you ate?"
As per usual for the cheerful paladin of Gilead, Cor'ethil Cari'thana (who has already introduced himself as such to Lanier, adding 'please just call me Corey if that's a lot') is doing his best at being a pleasant conversationalist, even if the poor baker is clearly a bit out of sorts for the conversation. "I understand, sir. We're going to do what we can."
The mention of bug bites gets Corey's attention, as he looks at Lanier. "Bug bites?" he asks. "What kind of bugs, you think? I notice our friend here has a really lovely collection of butterflies in glass on the walls here, but... It is a little chaotic in here." Cor'ethil then gestures around to the unkempt environs of the house-portion of the baker's place that the group is in. "Which isn't a slight against you, friend-baker, but bugs do tend to thrive in messy environments like this."
He thinks for a moment. "Would you feel better if someone helped you clean?" Corey asks.
Eztli had taken a step back while the others talk, and the small makari taps one claw against their chin. "Why'd it take so long to ask for help?" They ask curiously. "Secondly, I'm sorry about your friend, truly, but did your nightmares, or lack of sleep happen before or after their passing?"
"And thirdly," She adds with a glance to Cor'ethil, "Do you want me to clean your clothes? I know a spell for it, and I usually feel better when I'm cleaned up."
"Don't remember the last time aye ate." The baker says with a sigh, his eyes bloodshot and tired. He's drifting off a bit, but he doesn't get far before he startles himself back to wake. "Or cleaned. I jus' need some sleep 'sall. If I could do that I could clean meself and..."
His head drifts down and down and then he snores quietly. Seems he's really that tired, but as he relaxes into sleep he starts to slip off his stool...
GAME: Corey rolls Reflex: (10)+17: 27 GAME: Lanier rolls Reflex: (19)+11: 30 GAME: Eztli rolls reflex: (17)+9: 26 GAME: Lanier rolls Knowledge/Nature: (5)+13: 18 GAME: Corey rolls Knowledge/Nature: (15)+13: 28
Lanier frowns as the baker begins to fall asleep before his question about if the nightmares happened before or after the bites was answered. As the baker begins slipping off the stool, Lanier's eyebrows knit together and his hands shoot out as if of their own volition. The skilled healer and ranger gently lowers the baker to the ground, the speed in which he reacted not at all being hampered by his clear strength. As the baker is settled, Lanier frowns, leaning towards him to look over the bites.
He then beacons, "Corey, come here?" He then tilts his head left and right and then asks, "Is it possible? The bites look like they could be from somethign the size of an insect from his butterfly collection." The ranger, however, seems unsatisfied with the conclusion. He takes a deep breath, then sighs, "Let's all take another look around."
"Nice catch," Corey stage-whispers (because the baker is getting some much-needed sleep) to Lanier as he's the fastest of the group to catch the baker. When Lanier calls him over, he nods.
"I remember my twin sister, An, going on about butterflies once," Cor'ethil says. "They don't really bite? They don't have teeth, for one thing. They have a probiscis that can be used to drain nectar from flowers, but that's a bendable structure. Like... twigs. Yeah." Definitely just twigs. He clears his throat. "That being said... I think she might have also mentioned that there are some insects commonly considered butterflies that do actually 'bite' in the sense that their probiscis? Probiscises? Probisci?--forgive me, tradespeak is not my mother tongue--could maybe be rigid enough to bite. The world is a strange and varied place, and our lord of the hunt keeps watch over all aspects of nature."
He looks at the butterfly collection. "But maybe one of these isn't a butterfly at all. Maybe one of them is something pretending to be a butterfly. I agree, let's look."
"Easy there, easy!" Eztli growls, the small sorceress lunging for the baker who was falling to the ground. Lanier is quicker however, so the makari is left lying on the ground awkwardly to pick herself up. "I could clean his clothes now, but probably best not to, they already seem delirious and I don't think waking up to something they have no recollection of doing would help." They sigh, turning to look at the jars. "You think? What kind of insects would make it this hard to sleep?"
Lanier peers towards Cor'ethil and then shakes his head, "Nor is it mine." He then ponders this, looking down towards the baker and musing, "A wolf hiding amongst the sheep for a jucier prey. Spud would be amused." He then looks up, "We seek a hunter. Be on your guard." He then looks to Etzil and asks, "Leave him here, but could you clean him up? Perhaps it will do something to stave off infection."
GAME: Eztli casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 11 DC: 17
"Let's check out the bedroom," Corey remarks, looking thoughtful now. "If we're looking for bedbugs of some kind, they'd likely be there where the poor fellow sleeps. Especially where bakers wake early and sleep early--his whole business is probably suffering for lack of sleep." It's clear that thought makes him unhappy.
He makes his way to the bedroom, with Lanier following behind him. Just in case, Corey's got his hand on the hilt of his rapier, ready to draw.
GAME: Eztli rolls perception: (18)+5: 23
"I don't like this one bit, and I'm not going to argue with being on my guard." Eztli agrees, shaking her head. "But I don't want to leave them alone either. I'll stick with them, see if I can clean them up. But I can't rule out something coming for them when they're passed out. I'll keep an eye on them, while you two go and take a look."
The small makari snaps her fingers and hisses a few words in draconic, causing their robes, and their whole body, to shimmer a bright orange before fading away into nothingness. "Old trick, might help if any bugs try to bite me. Real popular in the spring and summer near the ponds." They chuckle.
The bedroom is pretty simple. The bed is mussed and dirty from night sweats. There's clean bedding to be had, but not on the bed. There's no sign of anyone living with the baker, but there's a few drops of blood (maybe from scratching the bug bites) on the linens.
While Eztli watches over the baker, he starts to mumble in his sleep, jerking and grumbling. He seems to be having a nightmare already. Poor guy can't get good sleep; he wasn't lying about that.
GAME: Lanier rolls Heal: (7)+13: 20
Lanier nods his head to Corey, stands, nodding now to Etzil, "Thank you. Please shout if you see or think of anything." He then turns and heads towards the bedroom, "I don't think it's bedbugs, Warden" the Green Warden using the church's title for the Paladins, "but I do think it's an infestation of some kind. There are the bites, but remember he said that his neighbor suffered from this same affliciton as well? Let us not forget that."
As they enter the bedroom, Lanier narrows his eyes and begins looking around. He frowns, "The trick now is to divorce our minds from that which we expect to see..." He then takes a deep breath in through his nose, as if smelling the air. There is a moment that passes across his face that would make one think he regretted it instantly. He drops his head, and comments, "Ah." He then points towards the drops of blood, "See those there? They're not smudged on the ground. It's as if these drops of blood came from a needle prick, or..." He looks back to Corey. The Ranger has teed it up, now it's time for the Paladin to knock it out.
GAME: Eztli rolls will: (4)+12: 16
"Or an impaling probiscis!" Corey says with a nod, smiling with bright silver eyes at Lanier. "Which means it's the butterflies. How strange. Do you think we should head back to the main room and go looking at the butterflies again? Try to narrow down which one could have done it?"
He turns back to the door of the bedroom, before he adds, "It might be like finding a probiscis in a haystack, but shouldn't be too hard." And the paladin smiles brightly like he hopes Lanier gets his joke. "And maybe determine if there's an empty glass or two where they should be but aren't, while we're at it."
"Damn, some sort of nightmare, huh? I thought I had it bad." The makari sighs, debating whether or not to wake them from whatever nightmare it might be, or to let the man actually manage to get some manner of rest, however minor or nightmare filled. Before she can ponder it much longer however, the makari drops to the floor, one wing wrapping tightly around her with a muffled thump of the sorceress hitting the ground.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d2: (1): 1
Lanier's eyebrows pop up and he nods his head quickly, "Exactly!" He then nods his head, "Let's go." The Ranger doesn't wait too long, however, as soon as he hears the thump of a sith sorcerer hitting the ground in a heap. He rushes forward, maneuvering lithely around Corey and into the main room, and stopping with a skidding of boots on the floor next to the sorcerer, "Wake up!" He calls out loudly, but doesn't quite reach out to touch the sorcerer. It's worth a try...
Corey's hot on Lanier's trail, the paladin following the ranger out into the main room of the house with quick and nimble steps. "Hold," he requests gently, seeing Lanier might be about to try to touch Eztli. "Let me try and protect us all first?"
He takes a breath and focuses. "O Gilead, o White Stag, give to us your guard against darkness, and see us protected from evil that may dwell in the house with us." It appears he's answered, as a moment later, a magic aura emanates out from him.
"Phew," Corey says softly, smiling brightly at Lanier. "Let me try? I have a few granted gifts that might protect me from what's happening." And so he reaches out to touch Eztli.
GAME: Corey casts Magic Circle Against Evil. Caster Level: 13 DC: 17 GAME: Eztli rolls 1d20+5: (20)+5: 25 GAME: Eztli rolls will: (20)+12: 32 (CRITICAL SUCCESS) GAME: Lanier rolls Willpower: (1)+5: 6 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Corey rolls Knowledge/Nature: (14)+13: 27
Eztli was fast asleep, and if they were upside down, they may have passed for a very large, lizardlike bat. Even the shouting of Lanier does little to rouse the makari, and in spite of their sleeping arrangements, they seemed completely unphased. Thankfully, they weren't much of a snorer.
Lanier looks over the downed body of the sorcerer, then nods to Corey, "Go ahead." He takes a step back, watching the proceedings with concerns. Just as suddenly as he takes a step back, Lanier's legs seem to give out from beneath him, the ranger dropping to the floor.
The arrangement of his arms break his fall, but lead him into a turn that leaves in lying flat on his back. His blue eyes are lidded, but open, staring up towards the roof without any attention paid to what he sees. Slowly, and measured, his chest rises and falls with his quiet breathing.
Cor'ethil draws his rapier, eyes going around the room as he finally realizes what--and who--is in the room with him. He speaks in the formal language of the fae, his words careful as his entire form is suddenly no longer the jovial paladin, but the honed warrior, wary and alert. "Reveal yourself to me, creature of nightmare. I am immune to your bite's compulsion; you cannot harm me as you have my allies." <Sylvan>
There's a flicker of movement in front of Cor'ethil, a black butterfly flapping into the air. It hovers in front of him and then with a shimmer it transforms into a tiny fae creature. Huge gold eyes and a body of ebony held aloft by black wings reminiscent of the black butterfly it had been. It speaks to Cor'ethil in the same language he spoke to it, it's voice higher and angry. "Clodstompers! Clodstompers all! Forgotten the ways and paths. Killing and displaying corpses! Stealing children! We found them! They stole, so we steal their dreams, their lives! It's only fair! Clodstompers!"
The tiny fae waves enraged hands. "We protect the kin. We protect the little ones! You stop us, and we've swords too for killing! Tiny, but true!"
GAME: Eztli rolls will: (12)+12: 24
Cor'ethil blinks at the golden-eyed fae as it's yelling and engaging in angry-jazz hands. "All of these winged creatures... They're your people?" he asks, gesturing to the glass displays. "Who brought you here to begin with? Did the baker or his neighbor bring you here, or someone else?"
He can't help his small frown. "You and yours are a long way from home. Someone had to have brought you here... Or you all came this way for a reason."
GAME: Corey rolls Diplomacy: (9)+20: 29 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+-2: (4)++-2: 2
Eztli rolled over on the ground where they were sleeping, and there's a snort of flames from the makari, followed by a short fit of coughing as the smoke fills theirnostrils. "Eh? What, god my head hurts-" The makari grumbles, blinking awake before the sorceress hops to her feet, trying not to get tangled further by the wing that was around them. "Corey, what in the hells is that?" She wonders. "And, why is Lanier on the ground, too?"
Lanier remains asleep, his eyes afixed on the ceiling above him save for a momentary twitch left or right. In his sleep, he dreams of sitting around the fire in the Felwoods, the very trees themselves threatening to close in on him, of stalking through the woods with Spud at his side as he tracks the slime trails of an abomination, of getting stabbed by a demon's spear as he lops off its head with a greatsword. Y'know... Good dreams.
"Our kin brought us here. He needs us. Poor kin. So lost. So alone." The fae droops a bit, but quickly remembers their anger and glares at Cor'ethil. "Then we found the hunters! Look at their bodies! Clodstompers! They kill the little ones!"
There's a sound of angry bees buzzing in the background, like emphasis to the words that this little fae is speaking. Suddenly, Eztli moves and the fae squeaks in range and fear. "Tell it not to move! No move Clodstomper! We kill!" Eztil is on their feet, but now the fae is holding a dangerous-looking pin.
Corey looks very pained as the tensions ratchet up just a little more. "Eztli," he says, switching back to the common tongue, "this is a very rare type of fae, who takes on the form of a butterfly. They cause nightmares in those that they bite. But they're not evil. They just... get protective of their own. Please don't move; I want to see if I can solve this amicably."
The paladin sighs gently before he resumes speaking in the tongue of the fae. "If you'll allow me to wake up the baker, perhaps I could convince him and his neighbor to stop hunting your friends? I know it will not bring back the lives lost, but if it can prevent more butterflies from being harmed and if it can stop you from taking your revenge... You'll be able to live in peace again." <Sylvan>
GAME: Corey rolls Diplomacy: (14)+20: 34 GAME: Eztli rolls diplomacy: (18)+10: 28
Eztli blinks, and the makari sorceress looks to Corey, listening intently. She nods slowly. "Alright, I'm not moving, make sure to let them know that." She agrees, turning to look back at the fairy again, making her posture as non-threatening as possible, even going so far as to stop her tail from swaying behind her absentmindedly.
The fae wafts to and fro, listening to the words offered and then seeming uncertain. There's a whisper from someone else and the little fae perks up a little. "Offering! He has to return the bodies, and make milk and sugar offerings! One each day for every lost little one! Make him agree or we eat!" It's... almost a fair agreement. "A whole thimble full!"
Corey seems uncertain, but then he nods. "Allow me to wake up the baker and my companion, then. I will explain the matter." <Sylvan>
He walks over to Lanier, and at first, he just taps Lanier on the cheek. That doesn't appear to be enough, however, so, with a murmured, "I'm sorry, my brother in Gilead," in tradespeak, Corey slaps Lanier awake. "Be still," he says, using the common tongue. "I've reached parley with our enemy; I have to wake up the baker now."
Then the paladin goes to slap the baker. "Hello, and good morning. Afternoon. Evening." Corey's cheeks flush; he's a little rattled by something, it'd seem. "I have reached an accord with the cause of your issues. The entity responsible for everything is a rare type of fae who takes the form of a butterfly and lives among them. It appears this one is deeply unhappy you have killed their kin and mounted the bodies up for display. Should you return the bodies and make offerings of milk and sugar--one day for every specimen you have in glass--the fae will cease. You and your neighbor must agree to this."
As Lanier's face is impacted by the hand of his god, after a fashion, he blinks once then moves his eyes from the roof to Corey, 'What was that for?!' He listens to the explanation and then chides, 'Brother, you told me you wanted to try something, so I simply laid down for a nap. Plus, you know, I've been adventuring for awhile and I know how much Paladins need validation...' He stands to his feet, and as the Paladin speaks to the baker, he speaks to the fey, "Hello, fey one. Were you the one that stabbed me?" <sylvan>
Eztli winces slightly with each slap, but the makari does her best to hold up the request and move as little as possible. Listen to the paladin, he's been talking with them." She adds in Lanier's directtion. "I like my sleep as much as the next person, but I don't just sleep on random floors unless I've had way too much to drink."
The baker looks at Cor'ethil. Looks at the tiny angry butterfly in the room. Shakes himself. "Yer sure this isn't another nightmare?" Once reassured that he's awake, he points out the obvious - his neighbor is dead. Not soon to be making offerings, but he promises to get the collection of butterfly bodies from the neighbor (his wife always hated them anyway), and return them to the meadow where they always went hunting for butterflies. He also promises to make the required offering, but at that point he stalls. "What are they going to give me or my friend's wife for killing him? Shouldn't they pay for that?"
The fae looks at Lanier. "No stabbings yet!" Guess that's a no.
Corey looks a little wounded at Lanier, with silver eyes that suddenly resemble puppy-dog eyes. "I don't need validation," he says. But then... "... Maybe a little. From my mother. She's very proud of me."
Then Cor'ethil takes the baker by the shoulder and says, in a low and cautious voice that's accompanied by a haunted gaze, "Trust me when I say that when the fae offer you leniency, you should be glad to receive it, and you should not demand another step more, and you should be glad when you are done and you have parted ways with them. This is as clean as you can hope to have a deal with them; sugar and milk should be no problem for you as a baker."
He then leans away from the baker. "If all are satisfied, then I think we have solved this bloodlessly," he says. Which puts a smile on his face.