JNAProductions
 OOC Thread 

 

The Wayward Home For Lost Children has new residents. You've finished your first night sleeping in your new home... Or at least, it kinda feels that way? It really does feel comfortable, despite all the new people.

You hear Snattle's voice wake you, with a cheery "Breakfast is ready!"

You get out of your small bed and find some of the other kids helping set old, cracked plates at the tables. There's two of them, both worn and slightly unbalanced. "Now," Snattle says, "there are some responsibilities you'll have. Gregory," she gestures to a tall human boy, "helped me make the grits this morning. And you can see everyone is helping serve the meal-but for now, I'd like you to simply get accustomed to being here." She gives a big, genuine smile, and gestures for you to take a seat.

The breakfast isn't a ton-grits, some cheese and bread, and a small amount of bacon. But it's filling and tasty, and given freely. No one tries to steal your food. There's talk and laughter. It's... Comforting.

"I will ask," Snattle says, "for you to help clean up, if you would. Darla," she addresses the biggest child, a goliath girl, "please show them where the plates and such go." Darla nods, and shows where you leave the plates for cleaning, when the well water is gotten, and then also where the plates go when they're clean. "And, now that we're all fed and happy, introduce yourselves, please. Say as much or as little as you're comfortable with."
MaltholLoth
Frank has slept alright, there had been a bad dream that had woken him at some point but he has drifted back off to sleep quickly.

Coming down to breakfast he stayed relatively quiet, a small smile given to those who offered one first. He had stood behind his seat, taking in the activity and listening to what was said. When others started to sit, he joined them only at that point. As basic as it was, the food was tasty and he was pleasantly surprised.

Then they were asked to introduce themselves. He felt the comfortable sense he'd felt vanish. He felt a tingle run down his body, so much did it tickle his senses that he found he'd half stood up. His face flushed.

" ... Ahhh... Ummm.. I... " he stumbled over his words, he hadn't given himself time to think. Why did he need to think. He knew his name. He knew what he liked. Taking a deep breath he continued.
" I'm Frank. I'm 9. I'm... I like green and I like helping people and plants. " he gave a smile as he finished to collect his thoughts for his next point. Which... Could be... He knew his name, what he liked... He knew his past.

His past... His mind flashed to memories of his parents. He could feel his eyes beginning to well up. Looking down at the table it was typical. His eyes fell on a knife. His mouth wobbled, he could feel in his nose, snot was staring to run. He sat straight back down and hid his face in his arms.
JNAProductions
Snattle moves over to Frank, kneeling down and hugging him. "I know. It's not easy, being on your own," she says. "Cry as much as you need to-it might feel overwhelming, but we're here for you."
animorte
Panaka spent a couple nights nearby watching this place after hearing about it, but this was his first night actually staying here. So many people, he didn't really know any of them, thus he didn't sleep very well. He was just watching silently, waiting to run if he felt threatened, but the little bed was roomy for his small form and much more comfortable than the wooden planks covered in paper and old clothing. Late into the night after everyone else had been asleep, he finally succumbed to the weight on his eyes.

The sounds of other children bustling about woke him abruptly, but he didn't move until everyone else was up and made sure to be one of the last out. Nobody really bothered him, it was... nice. Another pleasant surprise, the food wasn't half-eaten and still had some warmth to it. Yet he barely ate anything, just enough bites to get him started. The rest was safely hidden away in a few pockets, a little bit for later and maybe some for his best friend, Lee (the cat).

As Snattle was addressing everyone, his mind drifted off to his cat and when he might be able to check on him at some point.   Would they allow him here? Probably not.   He also remembered a small stash with his trinkets hidden behind a loose brick a couple blocks away. He didn't want to bring any of it here in case it was just bad... But somehow it's not.

He realized that it would help to follow the lead and help clean up, during which he did his best to not make eye contact with anybody lest they attempt conversation. But then it was time to say something anyway... He knew how to pretend to be confident, he needed to make up for being so small somehow. And it helped if people didn't know how old he was, they would always underestimate him.

He looked directly into Snattle's eyes and tried to speak, but found himself frozen by all the attention. Yet he refused to look down or look at any other faces, fearing how many eyes might be on him. He took a deep breath and spoke clearly.   Hello, I'm Panaka... Thank you.   And then his eyes dropped straight back down to his feet, thinking about letting them take him away. He closed his eyes and pictured the smoke and fire, but didn't let any out. Not just yet.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai winces on hearing Snattle's voice calling, but can't ignore the stampede of other kids heading down to breakfast. She gets up and goes with them. She quickly thanks Greg and Darla and does probably more than her fair share of the dishes as she makes an animated towel dry the plates and pass them to her.

It still feels uncomfortable, waking up in this new place, but she knows she shouldn't feel too sorry for herself. Not here, surrounded by other orphans, many of whom like Frank have had it way worse than she has. Better to put on a brave face and help out where she can. That in mind, she reads the room, notices Panaka's shy discomfort and jumps in to get everyone's eyes off of him.

 "And I'm Mai!"  she says, jumping in the air and waving her hand with a ridiculous flourish.  "Mai Watterson! I used to live by the river, three doors down from the flour mill! I know how to draw and dance and make things move, so if you need stuff moved, I'm your girl!" 
JNAProductions
Snatle pats Frank's back, and stands to face the other two newcomers. "Panaka, it's nice to meet you," she says to him. When Mai makes her noise, Snattle laughs a bit. "I'll keep that in mind, young miss! I'm afraid we don't have much to draw with or on, but when I get the chance, I can try to find  something . I'd normally be leaving soon for another job, but with three entire new people, I think my other job can wait."

 
 Spoiler: DC 8 Check-Noticing Something 
As she talks, you realize she barely had any food-a spoonful of grits, a small slice of bread, and that was about it.
 


"For now, Frank, you said you like to grow things? We've got a little garden patch in back-why don't we see if you can coax a little more vegetables from the dirt?" she asks. She doesn't seem to be ignoring anyone else, but her attention is focused on the child most in need.

Darla steps over to Mai. "What do you mean, 'make things move'?" she asks. "Like... You're strong? Or you're magic?"
MaltholLoth
Frank sniffles and lifts his head at the sound of the garden. Despite his best efforts, his eyes were still red and wet tracks could be seen. Thinking it would get him away from so many eyes, he mumbles an agreement and stands up. Once again standing behind his seat, he puts his arms to his side and says: " Thank you for the meal. I will try to help more tomorrow. "

He slowly makes his way towards the garden, he wanted to listen to the answer Mai was going to give. So much so that he pauses at the door, looking back at her sheepishly to hear it.
animorte
Panaka suddenly felt a great deal of relief. Mai pulled the attention away from him and she seemed nice. Frank had his own interests that were innocent enough, and they were the same age. Snattle and the other kids all welcomed them as equals and were really patient. That makes sense then, if they all had been new here before too.

He still wanted to be cautious, but each moment felt more inviting. He was ok being left alone, but didn't want to lose this opportunity to make some new friends. He decided to give a little more and just started talking to nobody in particular, probably not loud enough to get through the growing excitement.   "I uh... I have a cat. I mean, he's not really mine, but he's my best friend. I'm ok with animals."  

His ears perked up when the other kids started talking about if Mai had magic. He didn't think he was quite ready for people to know about his yet, but he wondered how many other people could do magic.
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Both!"  Mai tells Darla without really thinking. The way the goliath towers over her immediately challenges that assertion.  "But mostly the second one I guess. Here, I'll show you!"  She picks up her strife specibus, a small slate framed in cork paired with a tiny satchel of gypsum and limestone. She sets to drawing with a series of quick strokes and flourishes. If Darla leans in too close, she's liable to sneeze from the chalk dust.

The resulting lull in conversation lets everyone hear Panaka as he mentions his cat.  "Oh, you do? That's nice! Actually, that gives me an idea..."  She wipes off a corner of her chalkboard for a small course-correction, and soon reveals a chalk drawing of a small aquarium scene, with a long strand of seaweed, some bubbles, and a tiny fish.  "Your cat will love this!"  She draws her finger across the frame, and the fish in the image starts to swim around the chalkboard enticingly.
JNAProductions
Darla lets out an "Ooh... That's so cool! Everyone, check this out!"

The other kids crowd around, observing the animated fish scene and marveling at its magical splendor.
MaltholLoth
Frank continues to watch the scene unfold. It was indeed interesting to see. And hearing Panaka has a cat made him want to go speak to them, he'd not had a pet before. This brought him mind back to the drawing, and wondering if it could be kept as a pet. Then again, would he want to stroke a piece of slate, or cosy up to it at night. It was still more of a pet than what he could do. He looked briefly at the plants about him. Much more of a pet, but plants had a different feeling on him. He sighed and looked back into the room once again.
JNAProductions
Snattle chuckles quietly. "If you want to talk to the other kids, don't let me stop you," she says. "The garden can wait."
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Aw, come on, it's not  that  good,"  Mai says unconvincingly, blushing and smiling.  "I just thought you could set it down and the cat would go wild chasing it around, you know?" 
animorte
Panaka really started to like how Mai could somehow include him without making him the focus. He had to hoist himself up on a chair to see above the other kids. The magic looked really cool, more detailed than what he could do. He couldn't take his eyes off it for an moment, and knew Lee would enjoy that. But still he wondered if it was safe or even allowed for his cat to come here.

He still kept on the outskirts of the room for the most part, but started working his way toward the door to the garden, toward Frank and Snattle. He finally worked up the courage to ask the leading thought on his mind.   "Would it be ok if Lee came here? Not now, but y'know... whenever."  

Suddenly he realized he wasn't constantly thinking about disappearing in a cloud of smoke and running away. It was... odd, but comforting.
JNAProductions
Snattle thinks a moment. "I don't really have the place for a cat here... But cats are also rather independent sorts. The first few times you bring your feline friend here, I'd like to make sure I'm here, just in case. But I don't see anything wrong with bringing a cat around, provided they don't bite or claw or anything like that."

Darla gives a big ol' smile hearing that. "Maybe I can talk to it! Remember when Mr. Hubert came by and sucked at animal noises?"

A few of the other kids laugh at that, with one saying "Yeah, but you were good at those!" to Darla.

Almost as if on cue, there's a knock at the door. Snattle rushes over, and opens the door. "Oh! Mr. Wright, we were just mentioning you."

A lanky man makes his way in. His skin is a little sallow, but his face is bright and friendly. "Nothing bad, I hope," he says. Darla blushes and looks the other way. The man frowns a bit at that, then seems to realize something and chuckles. "How are you, Darla?"

She keeps looking the other way. "Um, fine, Mr. Hubert!"

"Still working on your animal sounds? You know that I tried my best, but I just wasn't as good as you," he replies.

Darla looks over to him. "Um, thank you."

He turns back to Snattle. "Miss Brighthome, I know it's short notice, but Kuwagata returned with someone from Rodin. He promises that the man is a friend, but since he's nowhere to stay, Jill offered Rebecca's home. I know you're needed here, but I also know that you often have other duties. Sam is more than happy to cover your day's wages, plus some extra, to get the new man settled in."

"Why me?" Snattle asks.

Hubert replies "Kuwagata asked for the best person to welcome someone in. That's you."

She nods. "If she's paying for the day, I suppose I can do so. Very well!" She turns back to all of you. "You know the rules. Be safe, be responsible, keep the door to the front locked. Don't have too many snacks, don't-"

"We know!" there's a chorus.

"Then make sure our new family knows too. Have a wonderful day, children!" she says as she leaves with Hubert.
animorte
Of course, just as he starts to get comfortable, Snattle is leaving. But he understands, since she has to be the nicest person he's ever met, especially for a grown-up. Now she's leaving, just as he starts to get comfortable. Might as well try to make friends, still hoping Snattle will be back.

  "So, what do you do here normally, and what about those rules?"  

He's still moving toward the garden area where Frank is, at least hoping to get a look outside. Maybe plan out his escape route or more hiding spots just in case.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Once the adults leave, Mai puts a two-piece puzzle together in her mind.  "Miss Snattle is running out of money, huh?"  she thinks aloud before realizing how rude that is to say. Hopefully Panaka, in asking about the rules, can return the favor and get the heat off of her.  "Um, yeah! The rules! Maybe you all can explain them while we're checking out the garden?" 
JNAProductions
A smaller kid, gnomish, answers about the rules. "It's nothing too much. There's Snattle's room in the back, which we aren't supposed to go inside unless there's an emergency and we need to hide. Um, there's what she said about snacks and leaving and everything like that. We've got some chores that we have to make sure get done. And that's kinda it," he says. "I'm Avery, by the way."

You head out back to the garden. It's in a small, fenced-off area behind the orphanage, and it's mostly vegetables. There's a few weeds and a few flowers that might also be weeds. Other items of note back here are various playthings-a small little climbing area, made up of a few barrels and crates, some crude dolls, and a few small sacks, filled with something light and sewn shut, to be used as balls.

As you check out the garden, you hear the other kids gossiping about Hubert.

"Wasn't he here before with Rebecca?"
"And the really tall guy!"
"What was his name? Ku-something?"
"And the really pretty lady."
"They were both really pretty!"
"Who do you think Sam is?"
"Is Sam a guy or a girl?"
"I dunno!"
animorte
Panaka is especially interested in the barrels. They can be used to climb and hide. This Avery, another small kid, seems to really have it all together. Panaka decides to like him. Everyone else starts talking about the names they've overheard and, while he never really cares for gossip, maybe it's useful. He looks to address Avery, but hoping for a response from anybody really.   "Does she have to go away often?"  
JNAProductions
"She's usually gone, actually," Avery replies. "Snattle works really hard, but she always tries to get at least one day a week off to spend with us."
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "That makes sense. No way can she stay cooped up here all the time."  Mai stands indecisively halfway between the two conversations going on.  "Is Rebecca out of town or something? He said Jill said Kubota could stay at her place, which is a weird thing to offer without permission." 

At some point, most gossip like this eventually gets written off to adults being weird and rude to each other. Honestly, sometimes it makes one wonder how they ever got put in charge.

 "Anyway! What chores to we have to do? We should knock them out quick so we can goof off for the rest of the day." 
MaltholLoth
Frank moves with the crowd, though towards the front of it, he didn't want to be at the very front or even out front before the others. His eyes dart from one person to another as they all talk. Lots of names are mentioned and he tries to remember which is which but only finds himself confused.

As they break up to the different sections, he spend a minute with the plants. Running his fingers through the green leaves, whispering a few magical words to watch a flower come to bloom or some vegetables grow that bit bigger with a warm orange glow at his touch. With a little smile he decided he'd probably be better off in the climbing area with the others and started to head for the barrels.
JNAProductions
The chores are pretty simple. A bit of cleaning, a bit of tending to the garden, and a few educational lessons directed by the older children. You're finished before it even crosses over into noon.

Frank enjoys the garden work, simple rote tasks that help bring life from the ground.
Mai intrigues the other kids, being bombarded a bit by questions about what kinda magic she can do. Darla seems to appoint herself as Mai's protector, making sure the kids don't press too hard. "She just got here, guys, give her some time," is a common refrain.
And Panaka sees his cat, perching loftily on the wall of the courtyard. The feline friend drops down, moving to Panaka and headbutting his legs. Gregory moves to the cat, and sees if he can pet it. The cat fixes a level gaze on Gregory, then blinks and lowers its head slightly to let the boy pet.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I think this is a good point to start moving forward a little bit.
Respond, here, in the OOC, or in Discord, about how far you want to move ahead and if there's any kinda goals you're looking to do.
 
animorte
Panaka does his best to help with the chores. He learns a lot, not really remembering much of what it's like to really stay in a house and just be a part of a family. He remembers it's been at least 4 years since that memory.

He thoroughly enjoys finding plenty of different hiding spots and routes to take just in case, by habit. He also enjoys the presence of his cat for a little bit, Lee doesn't really draw a ton of attention to them as Mai continues to keep the other children amazed. He takes a brief opportunity to set half of the food from earlier down in a corner for his cat to eat.
JNAProductions
Chores and lessons wrapped up, you play with the other kids. The balls get tossed back and forth, until an over-eager throw lands it over the wall. The wall itself isn't massive-easy to climb over from this side, though properly obscuring anything past it.
animorte
Panaka was observing more than anything, but it was just so nice being in a happy environment. The ball leaving their boundary caught his attention and he was suddenly interested in the opportunity. He had no legitimate fear of the outskirts, save a few instances of his past that he learned from. Of course, he has no idea what anybody else's past is like. He looks around at all the other kids, judging their faces to see how any of them might feel. He's not afraid to volunteer, even though the confidence probably gives away his age, being more than what the rest of them would previously suspect.

  "I won't mind getting it, might need some help up. At least have a look."   He looks over to the taller kids, Darla and Gregory, each easily twice his size, if not more.   Getting back though... How many balls do we have anyway?   He thinks to himself, starting to have second thoughts.
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "It's okay, Darla! But, I am better at doing it than explaining it..." 

Mai eagerly lends a hand to the chores, animating shovels and brooms to get the jobs done in a way she imagines is slightly faster. She volunteers to help with lessons, but she really is not great at explaining things; maybe one day, when the lessons are about dancing or something. During the free time, she's starting to outline a big group portrait in chalk on the wall when the ball goes sailing over her head.

 "Oh! I've got it!"  she says, seeing as she's the closest in the moment. Starting from an exaggerated, catlike crouch, she jumps to grab to the top of the wall, pulls herself up and looks around to see where the ball wound up.
MaltholLoth
Frank pitched in where he could, and when they started playing he kept to the side joining in when the ball came his way. Then when the ball left the area, he was quick to volunteer. " I'll get it... Hmm... I'll help get it. We can team up! " he says eagerly, already heading to the fence and planning his way over.
JNAProductions
Peeking over the top of the wall, you see the ball in a grimy alley. It landed near a larger sack, haphazardly tossed into the alley from somewhere else.

You don't see any people about in the alley.
animorte
Panaka is pleasantly surprised by Mai and Frank wanting to team up with him and thought it funny. They've just got here yesterday and already finding a reason to get back out.   "Sounds good. Let's go together! Mind giving me a lift?   He's a little wary of the large sack. He's seen plenty, and they hold all sorts of treasure... and creatures.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai doesn't hesitate to straddle the wall and pull the other volunteers up behind her. What's the worst that can happen? They fall off? Pff.

With the team is sitting on the fence, it's time to plan their next move.  "Maybe I can..."  Mai extends her hand toward the sack in the distance and tries to manipulate it into picking up the ball and tossing it back. The sack is likely too heavy, too far away, can't get a good enough grip on the ball, and in any case can't throw farther than a meter or so. Still, maybe something will happen just because the bag is animated and being messed with?

 
 Spoiler 
Roll for Telekinetic?

 (3d6)[ 6 ][ 1 ][ 3 ](10) 
 


At any rate, when this doesn't work, she does a needlessly acrobatic jump down from the fence, then catches the others when they take their turn like dancers in duets sometimes do.

 
 Spoiler 
Roll for Dancer!

 (3d6)[ 4 ][ 3 ][ 2 ](9) 
 
JNAProductions
As Mai fumbles with the bag, it moves more than she expects it to. When she stops messing with it, it continues moving-there's something animate in it! It doesn't make any noises, though.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai gasps.  "There's someone in it!" 

She runs over to open the bag and release its trapped occupant, forgetting about the ball for now.
animorte
  "Hey, be careful!"   Panaka is waiting, prepared to catch the bag aflame if it's one of those nasty critters. He knows enough to tell the good animals from the bad. If it's something good though, he can work with that too.
JNAProductions
Mai vaults the wall and tries to get the occupant free. The first bit revealed is the arm, which is heavily bruised, practically purple. The person inside reaches out and tries to grab Mai, who does the smart thing and backs off.

The figure inside the sack stands up, shucking its covering, and revealing someone who looks pretty much dead, save for the fact that he's moving. But the worst part is his mouth-while the rest of his body is tattered, torn, and bruised, but otherwise normal, his mouth is distended grotesquely, filled with an unnatural hunger.

The figure attacks Mai, trying to grab her and stuff her into his maw!

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Making an attack against Mai!

 (3d6)[ 8 ] 

Mai, Defend yourself!
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 
 Spoiler 
Mai doesn't really have any Cliches that are appropriate for hand-to-hand combat, but a Dancer could at least be pretty good at swaying and dipping out of the way of a zombie attack.

 (3d6)[ 14 ] 
 

 "There you goIAH!" 

Mai doesn't know anything about wrestling! In her panic, she relies on her dancing instincts to run circles around this... slow, possibly injured, definitely aggressive entity?

She pirouettes out of the way of the slack-jawed stranger's arms as it stands up, then Sissones around it when it lunges at her, leaving it with its back turned and possibly running into a wall.
animorte
  "Stand back!"   Panaka keeps at a distance, hoping for an opportune moment when Mai is safely out of the way. Then he'll snap his fingers in an attempt to light the ugly thing on fire, or whatever flammable material it may be wearing.

Pyrotechnics:  (4d6)[ 15 ] 
MaltholLoth
Frank had appreciated the help over the fence and had a quick glance up the other direction of the alley. By the time he's turned around, Mai had the arm out of the bag. He instantly saw the terrible state that the arm was in and ran a couple of steps towards in thinking he would help. This feeling was short lived as the creature attacked.

" Aaahhh! Bag monster! " he cried aloud. He felt his waist for his knife. Of course it wasn't there, he'd felt safe here and thought it wouldn't be needed...    mental promise to self, keep knife with at all time.   Scanning around he looked for anything that could be used in replacement, pointy things to a chunk of something that he could still swing or thrust at the thing with. He would not allow his new friends come to any harm.

Taking his chances with what he finds, he dashes forwards to engage, a bravery coming forth that he didn't know he had. " Mind out Mai! "

 
 Spoiler: knives are my friend 
  (3d6)[ 9 ] 
 
JNAProductions
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
To be edited once I see roll results.

 (3d6)[ 12 ]  against Pyrotechnics, 15
 (2d6)[ 9 ]  (plus  (1d6)[ 4 ]  if the first one beats Pyro) against Knives, 9
 


The creature goes alight, but it seems immune to the pain. It is finding it harder to act, though, with the pyromania suffusing it.
Frank, foolishly brave, charges in with whatever he can grasp. He finds a discarded chunk of rock-it's no knife, but it's got a point, and that's good enough! He gives a small flurry, affecting the creature.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Mai, you can attack if you wish. :)
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai recoils in surprise as the smaller kid rushes up to take on the ex-man with naught but a pointéd rock.  "Frank! Don't-!" 

She really doesn't know how to end that sentence.   Don't get so close? Don't get yourself killed? Don't feel the need to protect me just because I'm a girl, I'm like 6 centimeters taller than you, shouldn't I be the one protecting you instead?   None of those things sound very helpful right now. They sound rather needlessly critical for the situation, to be honest!

So, instead of saying anything more, she takes advantage of the lumbering oaf's shift in attention. With an animated crouch and downward sweep of her hands, she picks the now-empty sack off the ground and springs back up, twirling it like a ribbon. After couple of widening twirls, she jumps up and brings the back down over the monster's head from behind!

 
 Spoiler 
Dancer Attack!  (3d6)[ 4 ][ 2 ][ 4 ](10) 
 
animorte
Panaka admires the sudden courage of Frank and Mai's composure and grace under pressure. Sure, he wasn't in direct danger at the moment, but he'd never had anybody team up with him and care to protect him, far as he could remember. Even so, the two of them were still easily bigger than him and he wouldn't dare stand that close to such a threat, if he could help it. He was always so good at running away and hiding, but not anymore. He would stand by his... Friends.   Friends? Frank and Mai.   He caught himself smiling, lost in thought for a second, but the shout of his new friends reminded him of the bag monster.

  "Bag monster!"   He realizes that the flame doesn't seem to bother it that much. He tries to suppress the flame to make the smoke curl up around its head so it can't see.

Pyrotechnics:  (4d6)[ 14 ] 
JNAProductions
Mai's able to knock the creature down, and Panaka's follow-up leaves it thoroughly befuddled. The fire seems to be catching up to its actual motive force, and it's incapacitated.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Panaka gets to decide the fate of the bag-thing, as he defeated it.
 
animorte
Panaka's fear finally reveals itself and he can feel his eyes getting wetter, he tries to fight back the tears. A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions conquer him.   "What was that thing? A person? But why did it look like that? Are there more? But his new friends are there with him through it, so it seems."   Suddenly he realizes that they now know he has magic and exactly what it can do.

As his face curls up, the bag monster thing slowly begins to resemble ash right before their eyes.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai stares wide-eyed at the burning corpse for a few seconds as though waiting to make sure it doesn't get back up. In fact, her heart is pounding and her brain is fizzing, not sure which thought bubble to act on first. Her dad taught her that in situations like this (okay, maybe not like  this ) it helps to list her ideas out loud or in chalk. Like Frank, Mai left her weapon on the other side of the fence not thinking she'd need it, so...

 "Okay. We just killed a man. We don't know who he was. Or why he was in a bag. Or why he just tried to eat me!"  She emphasizes the last two words involuntarily as her brain stem registers the most salient point.

She looks at the two boys. Panaka's eyes are welling up and Frank seems to be in roughly the same pensive state as herself. On another instinct learned from her parents, she pulls them both into a de-stressing group hug.  "You two saved my life! Thank you!" 

She pulls back and wipes a tear from her eye as her heart and brain start to calm down.  "Let's quick grab the ball and get back! We can tell Miss Snattle what happened when she comes home. Okay?" 
JNAProductions
You grab the ball and get back into the courtyard as fast as you possibly can. Maybe Snattle was right about staying inside-but then again, she doesn't look like a fighter herself.

Back inside the orphanage, the other kids are all waiting. Darla speaks first, asking "You guys okay? We didn't see what happened, but we heard."
MaltholLoth
As the man went down in flames, he stood still ready to strike with his stone. His eyes remained locked on the body. This was ghastly. His stomach started to feel very active but his focus was broken as Mai reached her arm around him. He'd heard all of what she was saying but it didn't register at first. His body doing only the necessary to stay upright, and once able to again, resumed staring at the remains.

" Huuuaaahhh " he sighed as his eyes moved away from the body to a bit of ground only a couple of feet from it. His head slowly adjusted before looking at the other two with rather wide eyes, then to the stone in his hand. He checked behind him and threw the stone hard to an empty area no longer wanting to be associated with it.

" Errr umm... ok. " he agrees as they retrieve the ball.

----- (Sorry I was slow)

Glad to be back in the grounds, he tries to forget about the sight but Darla asked and he felt his mouth talking before he could think, " There was a bag monster. It tried to eat Mai but she was really quick and then it caught on fire! I never knew such things would be around. "
JNAProductions
There's a moment of silence. One of the kids asks "Do you think this has anything to do with Natalie?"

Darla shakes her head, but she's clearly not sure.
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "You heard everything?"  Somehow this makes Mai nervous again, like she's going to get in trouble for almost dying. She tries to channel the energy into something helpful-ish.  "I don't think Bag Monster quite does it justice. It was just a regular man, except grosser, kind of? Maybe I can draw it." 

She retrieves her board and goes into sketch-artist mode while the rest of the group keeps talking.

 "Natalie? Natalie who?" 
 
 Spoiler: Sketch Artist Mode 
Drawing the beast:
Artist:  (3d6)[ 3 ][ 4 ][ 5 ](12) 

As she subjects what she saw to nonverbal analysis, Mai might be able to identify the monster, too. Sorcerers do tend to be knowledgeable about magical creatures! Given that Mai is a putz as a sorcerer, though, I'm not really holding my breath. 😛

Sorcerer:  (1d6)[ 1 ] 
 
animorte
Panaka is snapped out of his overwhelming thoughts by the embrace of his friends.   "Friends..."   He never really got far from the wall, so just as they grabbed they ball, he looks to them for assistance back across the other side. Of course, they have no problem helping.

He listens as Mai recounts the events to the other kids. He sits down for a moment and closes his eyes just for a moment, that earliest memory, the face...

The name they mention sticks in his head, he's probably thinking the same as Mai,   "What kind of person would know about something like the bag monster?"   He's also thinking about his magic and if he should still keep it from the other kids. Maybe he'll catch Frank aside while Mai is keeping the other's attention and see what he thinks about it.
JNAProductions
The kids try to crowd around the portrait, but Darla keeps them at bay. "Give her time. Natalie was another orphan with magical talent. But she was sick-really sick. I think it had something to do with her magic too? And then when she died, there was all sorts of weird stuff happening. The dead moving and things like that."

Mai finishes her drawing, revealing an excellent rendition of the creepy... Corpse? Probably corpse. The other kids aren't so keen to crowd around anymore, looking at the distended jaw and all that.
MaltholLoth
Frank listened and felt sad at the plight of Natalie. "  How do you mean sick? And erm.... What kind of magic did she do? " he shyly asks, feeling very self conscious of his talents. Not that he did the fire, but if they were going to think anyone who could do magic would end up like that, it may not be good to reveal. His needed to know more. " Do... Does anyone else do magic? "

The drawing was all too good a representation. Though he knew it for a drawing, it was enough for him now he was out of the situation to remind him of what he did. His face paled. With a queasy tummy he moved back to the comfort of the growing area.
animorte
Panaka doesn't even make a point to look at Mai's artwork. He got enough of a look at the thing and the story of Natalie certainly made him want to keep his own abilities to himself, unless necessary of course.

He decided to follow Frank out to the garden hoping to move without drawing any attention to himself. When he feels safely out of earshot, he approaches his new friend, one of the only people he's actually started to trust. He still tries to keep his voice down.   "Do you... Y'know... Have any umm... Magical stuff? I always feel like I need to keep mine hidden."  
 
 Spoiler: OOC 

If needed to go unnoticed by the others...

Hide and Seek: [roll0]
 
JNAProductions
 
 Originally Posted by MaltholLoth 
 Frank listened and felt sad at the plight of Natalie. "  How do you mean sick? And erm.... What kind of magic did she do? " he shyly asks, feeling very self conscious of his talents. Not that he did the fire, but if they were going to think anyone who could do magic would end up like that, it may not be good to reveal. His needed to know more. " Do... Does anyone else do magic? "

The drawing was all too good a representation. Though he knew it for a drawing, it was enough for him now he was out of the situation to remind him of what he did. His face paled. With a queasy tummy he moved back to the comfort of the growing area. 
 

"Her magic wasn't really under control," Darla tells you. "Her family, before they passed, tried to stop her from doing anything with it, so it was... Um, you know, by accident, whenever things would happen. I think Rebecca and her friends did something with her ghost, though."
MaltholLoth
Frank trusted Mai would follow up on this Rebecca, he felt rather more comfortable being away from the horror story. The company of Panaka who has been there somehow have him a connection of friendship that was needed right now.

He looked at his friend and nodded. Quietly he whispered back " I do, a little at least. Both of my parents did magic and I picked it up in turn. My mother was always playing with plants, so I can do simple things there. " With that, he reached out his hand to a dandelion plant, with a flicker of his fingers two of the bus swing around and came into bloom as some leaves grew quickly shaping in such a way as to create a smiling mouth below the flower eyes.

" My father on the other hand was a healer. I still remember the day I first dealt with a grazed knee and the look they have me after doing so. " he said with a warm smile upon his face. He then looked about and finding a leaf with a caterpillar hole in, moved his head close to it, gently placing his hand behind the leaf he blew a long soft breath. When he moved his head back, the hole was smaller. " Replacing what has gone, especially if not recent, is tricky. " he said slightly dejectedly.

At last, his mind connected some of the dots. Then with an excited hiss as he tried to keep his voice down still " Wait... Was that fire you? Why do you hide your magic? It was really good. "
animorte
Panaka listens closely as Frank opens up about his mother and father. Then he watches as the plants shape and smile at him, then as a leaf regains some of its structure and color.   "Ooh, that's really neat. They seem... nice."   He didn't want to pry anymore, but it felt comforting to share with someone.

Even though he knows he's been alone long enough to practice it now for years, his own magic has never been complimented before. He thinks of how to respond about hiding it. He remembers some of the story being told back inside.   "Well, I have seen people that really don't like magic or really scared of it. You never know.  

He holds out a hand and makes a tiny fireball appear, but then it separates into 4 tiny ones and begin circling over his palm. One by one, they turn into smoke and then the smoke shapes itself into a smile before dissipating up into the air.
Dr.Gunsforhands
In drawing it, and in hearing about Natalie's illness, Mai is reminded of how her parents looked at the end. Thin, gray, way too old for it only having been a week. Crying, delirious with fever. Did they and Natalie fall to the same plague?

 "Something with her ghost?"  Somehow, this feels like the most disturbing part, though it's hard to articulate why.  "But, your ghost is supposed to be safe! Even if your body turns into something like that."  This is about as much of that topic as anyone is willing to deal with, so Mai starts a new one.  "Rebecca was the one What's-his-name was talking about, right? The one whose house they're using?" 
JNAProductions
"Like, they put her to rest or something. I know that one night Snattle had to leave to help with something they were doing, and one of her friends looked after the orphanage," Darla says. "Snattle trusts Rebecca and her friends, and she knows that they were involved with Natalie after she passed. I trust Snattle on this."
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai idly starts doodling with her chalk again. It helps her think.

 "Okay, Darla. I believe you,"  she says.  "And that means we need to tell them about this right now!" 

She turns her drawing back around and animates it. She's added a little ghost version of the guy whose corpse that was, watching helplessly as his body moves on its own.  "We did beat the one bag monster, which is good! In retrospect, we should probably feel really cool for doing that!" 

The monster bursts into yellow-chalk flames and burns to ash in demonstration. The ghost sighs in relief.

 "But, if someone else out there is sick like Natalie was, and they spread it around like she did, then-!" 

The thought is easier to express with magic: in the picture, three smaller, less detailed corpses rise from the ashes of the first and wave their arms menacingly. The little ghost looks horrified.

Mai grabs a cloth and erases the zombies to end the animation.  "So, we need to tell Snattle and Rebecca before that happens, so they can fix it! Do you know where Rebecca's place is? Or someone we can tell to go there, at least?" 
JNAProductions
 
 Spoiler: DC 10, Knowing The City 
Rebecca's a noblewoman, and her home would be in that area. You're confident that, if you get to the right general area, you can find her home.
 
MaltholLoth
Frank was really glad all three of them had some form of magic. Each was different and that was exciting. As he watched the fire turn to smoke and form a matching smile to his flowery one he tried to obscure the view to anyone else.

" I see your point. I guess all of the people that I met were aware of magic and happy with it... " he said, trying to think of why people wouldn't like magic. " I get it off they're scared of certain things as it was. Hmm fire can hurt so maybe that doesn't help. Does it hurt you to do? I hope not, especially just to have shown me it. " his concern genuine he looks Panaka in the face.
animorte
 "Yeah, fire can be scary and dangerous."  He pauses for a moment, memories flashing in his mind, some of the destruction he has seen... some he caused himself.

He feels the concern and is proven again, if Frank's bravery wasn't enough earlier, this is a person he can trust. He rubs his hands slowly for a few seconds, considering how to answer.  "It used to hurt before, but I learned how to control it. The heat..."  -  he holds his hands apart demonstrating  -  "...and flame are different. Y'know?"  His eyes finally lift up to greet Frank's. He offers an assuring smile.

He overhears the excitement inside, which then draws his gaze. If he's learned anything about Mai, she's prepared to hunt down the solution for any problem and the three of them will do it together, whatever it is.
JNAProductions
You talk amongst yourselves for a bit, with Mai mentioning that she can probably find Becca's home. A plan (vaguely) made, you head for the door. Darla moves to intercept you, though, just for a moment. "I heard what you're planning. Just... Be safe, okay? You guys are pretty cool," she says with a small smile. You reassure her that you'll do your best.

Outside the orphanage, the city of Psentos is much as it ever is. People moving to and fro, and very little attention paid to you. Mai takes point, and sets off for the nobility's homes. It's a trek, taking the better part of an hour to arrive, and then you do a little more searching for which house is Becca's. You have a small spot of good luck, as you see Snattle and a man sitting at the front of a home-presumably Becca's.

The man is a young adult, human, and a bit chubby.
Dr.Gunsforhands
It's  that  place? Huh! It makes sense enough, Mai guesses, if they can afford to pay Snattle for days just to hang around and make a guest feel more comfortable.

 "Miss Snattle!"  Mai waves and runs up to her.  "Miss Snattle, I'm sorry, I know you said to stay home, but this is important!" 

She notices the man sitting next to her and waves to be polite. Mai doesn't look  too  out of place in this part of town; her parents could afford clothes that fit her, and she hasn't been an orphan for so long as to grow out of them.  "Ah! You must be Mister-"  she's about to say Mr. Kubota, but she knows that's wrong. It has too few syllables.  "-or, no, you must be his guest from out of town! Hi! I promise we'll be quick!" 

Mai turns to miss Snattle again. She tries to act calm and phrase things in a way that won't further freak out the person Snattle's supposed to entertain, but it's still easy to tell that she's worried.  "We saw a thing we didn't recognize in the alley across the street, and when we asked Darla about it, she said it sounded like something that happened when Natalie was sick. We think it might still be dangerous, and we're not sure who else to ask about it besides you and Rebecca." 
JNAProductions
Snattle's face goes from a brief smile, to concern, to outright worry when Mai gives her explanation. "Are the others safe? Was anyone hurt? Are you three okay?" she asks, and you quickly reassure her that everyone is fine. "Okay... Okay," she adds, breathing a sigh of relief. "Rebecca is still... Where did you say you're from, Caleb?"

"Rodin," the man replies.

"Rodin, yes. And we don't know when she'll be back. But this can't really wait, can it? Caleb, get Hubert, please," she tells him. He nods and stands, heading inside. Snattle, meanwhile, moves over to you three. "Thank you for keeping yourselves and the others safe-and what do you know about Natalie? I can explain what happened, but... No, you should know."

You tell Snattle what you know, how she was taken in, had sorcerous talent, but was also sick, and the two were somehow related. "That's right. After she passed, things started getting darker, here in Psentos. The way Rebecca and the rest explained it, she tried clinging on to unlife, and it opened the door to something foul. Her spirit is at peace now... But I guess whatever came to her isn't gone."

Three people appear at the door-the chubby man, Caleb. The gaunt man from before, Hubert. And a girl, a little older than you all, unfamiliar. "You called?" Hubert asks.

Snattle gestures at you three, and you explain the story (again). Hubert frowns. "Jill," he addresses the girl. "Anything you know about?"

"Lemme ask," she says, and grows quiet.

"Ask... Who?" Snattle asks in turn.

"Natalie," Jill replies, causing Snattle's eyes to bug out.
animorte
Panaka isn't surprised in the least bit by Mai being so forward. Might as well be straightforward, it certainly moves things along. Of course, Snattle is always understanding. He follows closely behind, staying mostly silent, pitching in with a few words for recounting the incident. He listens with curiosity through the rest of the exchange, obviously there's a lot more to it.

Jill's information suddenly catches most of them off guard, but he somehow is still more curious than afraid, for better or worse. He glances back and forth between his two friends.  "Ask Natalie? Now, this I gotta see." 
JNAProductions
Jill's quiet for a few moments, eyes closed. Snattle looks at Hubert, her eyes questioning, but Hubert just says "Give her a moment."

When Jill's eyes open, she says "Okay. Natalie says that she can feel the presence of something, that originally helped her to stick around. It's... Gained a foothold, I guess? Is that right? It doesn't need a host anymore."

"And Natalie is... With you?" Snattle asks.

Jill nods. "Mm-hm. She's piggybacking with me. She's pretty nice, now that she's not being tainted by some kind of undead monster."

Hubert nods as well, then adds "Well, we need to figure out something to do. Snattle, it might be best to get your new kids back to the Wayward Home."

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
If you intend to convince the others you're suited to help, and not just go home and be safe, I would like a check. Use whatever clichés you feel appropriate.
 
MaltholLoth
Frank stayed quiet through the exchange. He wished he had the courage to talk like that. Though he had gone into that fight quick and it made him wonder if he did have it in him.

His eyes widened at the realisation of Jill talking to Natalie. Swallowing hard, he stood watching, his eyes flicking between the different people to see how they react.
JNAProductions
Snattle seems quite concerned, but is dealing with it.
Hubert and Jill view this as normal.
Caleb is just happy to be there, and not at Rodin.
MaltholLoth
" Mmmm... " is the noise closest to what escapes him. Jill had interested him, she was able to talk to the dead... Right? This made him come up with wild and silly ideas but he needed to find out more. Here was his chance to be brave and try talking.

" Could... Could we help? It makes sense right. If ...Natalie... can help, then it would be most of sense for us to be the ones to answer questions. We saw the thing and we were fine. Now we know about the things, we can be more careful  aaaand  the other kids would only want to know a story of things from us if we were to go home straight away. " his words spilled out but when he was done he found himself sliding back.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai doesn't seem super concerned about the seance. If anything, this development makes her  less  worried.

 "So her ghost is still around after all? Cool!"  she says, readily accepting the insane premise and building on it.  "I guess that means the monster that was controlling her before is still at large, and that it might be strong enough to make the body-bag-thing on its own now, right? Except why put it in a bag?" 
animorte
Panaka continues to admire his friends being so brave. It inspires him to do much the same. Jill being able to talk to Natalie probably makes everything easier actually.  "We did handle ourselves pretty well. We make a great team! And you know, somebody wouldn't expect us kids to be working on it." 

He's debating showing what kind of magic they're capable of to be even more convincing, but he remembers again the fear some people may have. But then... Jill and Natalie...

Before he can help himself he blurts out,  "We all have magic!"  Even then, he's still not so sure of himself.
JNAProductions
Snattle raises her voice. "No-no, I will not have these children putting themselves in danger!"

Jill and Hubert look at her, with Hubert saying "Miss Brighthome. Snattle. Did you forget your own childhood?" Jill looks a bit confused at that.

"I..." Snattle lets out. "Wait, how do you know? What do you know?"

"Sam's got information on everyone," Hubert replies. "But, let me put it this way-if they're determined to help, do you think you can stop them? They'll be able to sneak out. Hells, if they decide to just stay here with Jill, what are you going to do? Drag them back forcibly? That's not you. Not anymore, not by a long shot."

She's quiet for a few moments. "You raise a strong point. And... Alright." She looks over to you three, and Jill too. "I will do my best to help you help Psentos. But promise me-all of you.  All  of you!" she looks over to Hubert and Caleb. "You will be safe. You will be careful, and you'll do as best you can to make it home at the end of the day."

Jill nods. "I've got a family for once. I know mom's away right now, but I will see her again."
Hubert nods. "Scott and I have a wedding planned, tentatively, for next year. I'm going to be there, come hell or high water."
Caleb says "Um... Can I just stay somewhere and not fight? I'm, uh, a singer. Not a warrior."
animorte
Panaka is patient during the exchange. He wonders what Snattle's past was like, thinking that's why she's so nice and helpful. He couldn't imagine her dragging anybody anywhere forcibly. He senses the deep concern she has and does his best to reassure her.  "Don't worry, I'm  really  good at hiding and staying safe. With your help, we can do anything." 

He's kind of excited to go on an adventure with his friends, and interested in how Jill is able to communicate with Natalie. He'd never heard of anything like that.
JNAProductions
"Alright. I can tell when I've lost," Snattle says. "But right now, I need to go home and check on the other kids. Hubert, look after these three. Caleb, I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but..."

Caleb smiles again. "No, I understand entirely. I wasn't expecting to have a home and someone to greet me at all, when I arrived-I'm just happy to be here."

Snattle shakes his hand, and starts the walk back to the Wayward Home.
MaltholLoth
Frank bobbed down and up in joy. " Thank you Miss Snattle! We'll be good. " he said before turning to Caleb, " Maybe you could sing and Mai dance? Not right now but later. A fun duet. ".

Then growing abashed. " Sorry to volunteer you both. You don't have to. "
JNAProductions
"Hey, I can always use some support. My voice isn't known here yet!" Caleb says.

Hubert gives a small grin, and then gets down to business. "We should see about talking to Mort-he'll know more. Looks like we're going on a bit of a trip. Jill, need to grab anything before we go?"

"I'm good," she replies. "Caleb, help yourself to the larder and pantry and all that."

He nods. "Thank you."

"You guys want any food before we leave?" Jill asks you.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Move forward to Mort time?
 
animorte
Panaka was thinking the same thing about Mai and Caleb making a fun pair. He also imagined for a moment how he and Frank might use their own magical talents to accent the performance. He is still wary of newer people, but his friends are at his side, and anybody close to Snattle must be decent.

At the suggestion of food, he remembers the additional bit left over from earlier. He plans to leave it out nearby for Lee.  "Food sounds good, thank you." 

Before they head out, he makes it a point to keep an eye out if Lee had followed him the distance. As is habit, he will probably keep a small handful of the newer food in his pocket for a later occasion.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Ready to hence forth!

Side note: Feel free to add Lee to the NPC repository and incorporate his presence as you see fit.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai nods to Snattle before she departs, determined not to disappoint her.  "I promise, Miss Snattle. We'll be back before you know it!" 

 
 Originally Posted by MaltholLoth 
 " Maybe you could sing and Mai dance? Not right now but later. A fun duet. ". 
 

 "I'm sure it'll happen when the situation calls for it,"  Mai says with a coy grin.

She's about to say no to the offer of food when Panaka beats her to the punch.  "I thought it was rude to eat when no one else was eating, though? And I don't want to spoil my dinner!" 
JNAProductions
Jill shrugs. "Who cares? You eat when you can. If you aren't hungry later, it means more food for the others, right?"

"But try to make it something you can eat while walking-we're going to the Golden Cat," Hubert says.

You duck into the home, and prepare a quick snack. Some bread and cheese, maybe throw them into a sandwich, and then off to the Cat. The Golden Cat, you learn, is located on the edge of the noble district. It's a large, low-to-the-ground building. Before you enter, Hubert stops. "What's the matter?" Jill asks.

"Er... How old are you guys?" Hubert asks you three.
MaltholLoth
Frank enjoys the extra bit of food, he's so happy that everyone else is so nice and friendly that he gently hums to himself as they walk through the city to the Cat.

" I'm nine, why? Is it one of those special clubs that children aren't allowed in? " he replied to Hubert.
animorte
Panaka knows better than to turn down food when it's offered. You never know when your next meal is.

He quite likes the name Golden Cat, as anyone who knew him well enough would understand. Upon being asked his age, he realizes that he still hasn't told anybody yet. He considers it for a moment and finally decides it's ok to let them all know.  "I know I'm small, but I'm also nine."  He looks around, curious to see if it catches anybody by surprise.
JNAProductions
Hubert nods. "Er, yeah. Not really for kids. There's a back entrance-let's go around to there."

He leads you all around the building, and in the back, he retrieves a key from a pocket. He cracks the door open, and then gestures you all inside. Once in, he takes point, and leads you to some stairs winding downwards. You get only a glimpse of the main lobby, but you see some rather provocatively-dressed people of all sorts. The stairs go down a considerable distance, and when you're almost at the base, he heads down a hall. Reaching a room with a closed door, he knocks. "Yeah?" you hear from within.

"It's Hubert-I've got some news for you," he replies.

"One moment," Mort says back, and after a couple of seconds, the door opens. There's a man behind the door, dressed in wrinkled but well-made clothes. He looks to Hubert, then to Jill, then you three. "You know this is a brothel, not a playground, right?"

Hubert sighs. "I'm well aware. But the kids found something that's up your alley. I'll leave them to tell you-right now, I want to check in on Scott."
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai snaps off an,  "eww,"  as soon as she hears the word  brothel , but quickly figures out what she needs to do and nods to Hubert before he takes off.

 "Right! Across the street from Wayward Home, we saw..." 

She draws her weapon, uses her power to redraw the monster with miraculous speed, and shows it to Mort.

 "...this! It jumped out of a burlap bag and tried to eat me! Do you know what it is?" 
JNAProductions
"Distended jaw... Greying flesh... How intelligent did it seem?" he asks. You let him know it mostly just shambled and lunged. "Okay, not intelligent. Good-is the body burned?" he asks again. With a yes from your young arsonist, he nods. "That's the way to clean it up, yeah. That was a lesser form of ghoul-an undead of hunger and cannibalism. I've been doing some research on what's been going on, and it's pointing to one thing-well, one creature. Doresain, the Ghoul King. Which does fit in with how the attack on me went, to a degree."

Outside, you hear a muffled, angry "Who?" A few moments pass, and a short individual opens the door. They're either a somewhat feminine guy or a somewhat masculine lady-you really cannot tell-and they look PEEVED. They look to the three of you and Jill. "Gods above, Hubert!" they say to the man, following sheepishly behind. "They're children! Jill's at least a teenager-you couldn't've just asked Mort to come out of his hidey hole? You know he could use the sunlight." They sigh. "But, I guess they're here now. I'm Sam, owner of this establishment, which apparently needs posted signage stating no children allowed. Why are you here?"
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Hi Sam! I guess we're here to talk to Mort? About this thing."  Mai shows Sam the sketch.

 "So, Doresain's the one behind it. He was probably the one behind Natalie before, too, right?"  The phrase, 'ghoul king,' somehow doesn't ring a bell. All of the kings she's heard of are basically figureheads.  "Mort, you said that you were attacked, too?" 
JNAProductions
"In Crenbridge, where I still technically live. But I'm sure as hell not leaving the safety of here till the whole thing is done with," he replies. "I was assailed by two Bodaks-thank the gods that Becca and her friends were there, or I'd probably be dead."

Sam shoots a small glare at Mort when he swears, but leaves it be. When she's shown the sketch, she asks "May I hold it?"
Regardless of the answer, she examines it closely.
MaltholLoth
All of this talk rather scared Frank, he stood there itching the back of his ankle with his other foot. Ghouls and Bodak's sounded unpleasant, even without knowing the full details, he felt a shiver run down his spine which he tried to shake off as an itch.

Still, while these other kids were about, he didn't want to be the scaredy cat that just ran away. Yet, he was glad they didn't ask him anything in case his voice was shaky. To take his mind off things, he thought about this 'brothel' and why kids weren't allowed. It seemed silly that any kid would want to come here. Noisy adults being boring, loud, and drinking. Half of them didn't even have clothes on from that brief glimpse he caught.
animorte
Panaka had no interest in the establishment himself. As far as he was concerned, you're allowed wherever is safe. But he learned rather quickly that this wasn't a place he would feel comfortable for long. He grimaced at the brief glimpse and made it a point to keep his eyes down to his feet.

The descriptions of even worse monsters began to turn his stomach a bit, but it made him feel a lot better knowing that his specialty of fire would be a great help. Maybe this is the purpose he was meant for all along?

The little bit of confidence paired with Mai's consistent positive attitude allowed his curiosity to shine through.  "Different kinds? Bad? And how did they save you?" 
JNAProductions
"Bodaks are a lot worse than ghouls," Mort says. "Their gaze is deadly, as is their touch. If you see any long-faced individuals with grey skin, get out of there as fast as you can, and get everyone else out too. As for how they helped... It was violent. Considering Sam here has her knickers in a twist over a few curse words," he rolls his eyes in her direction, "I feel I shouldn't go into more detail."

Sam sighs. "I didn't have a lot of innocence growing up. Excuse me for trying to make sure these kids get to."
animorte
More descriptions were disheartening, and he was glad the detail didn't go any further. Panaka started to feel a bit worried, and suddenly got the feeling his fire might not be enough. He considered whatever that "gaze" was and if the thing has to see you? He's always been good at hiding though and he'll do whatever he can to keep his friends safe.

That comment about an innocent childhood was amusing in a sad kind of way, he thought. His eyes went to the floor. He couldn't help but let some of those thoughts out, in more of a mumble to himself than a direct response.  "We're here 'cause it's a bit late for that." 
JNAProductions
Sam looks to Panaka. "I'm... I'm sorry. I don't know your story-none of yours, really-but I know that whatever you're dealing with, it isn't easy. You have my support-and you are strong. You will make it through." There's a moment or two of silence, then she smiles and talks again. "Right! Mort, I want you to do your spooky things and find out where loci of necromantic energy might be. Jill, I want you to help keep an eye on the Wayward Home-it seems to be more important than we thought. And you three, I'd like to give you some tools. Wait here." She heads out.

Mort rolls his eyes, muttering "Not an employee, you know," but starts shuffling through his supplies. He gets a map of Psentos, laying it out on the table. Once it's in place, he pricks his finger with a knife, and drips a few drops of blood into an ink vial. The takes the ink, and throws it over the map, where it hangs in the air for a few moments, before spiraling down into a few different locations. "Graveyards, makes sense... Some of Tavi's locations, might be worth checking out... And..." the last of the ink slowly forms a ring around the map. "That's... odd and concerning."

"What does it mean?" Jill asks.

Mort shrugs. "I don't know."

Sam returns, with a small bag of rocks. "Here-take one of these, you three; and Jill, you too." She hands out a rock to each group. "These are Sending Stones-they can relay messages across any distance."
animorte
Panaka had never actually seen a map before, but kind of knew his way around a bit anyway. It was really odd to see the place he had known for as long as could remember from that angle. He struggled to grasp the scale of the thing.  "Where are we at?" 

He watches as the ink comes to life. Even familiar with his own magic, any new type still is amazing to witness. He wonders what Mai thinks of this, being an artist herself. When the ink begins to form a ring around the entire thing, he hears the tone in Mort's voice and it sends a chill up his spine.  "That's... uhh... not good, is it?" 

But just then Sam comes back in with intent and snaps him out of his daze. Sending stones? That's neat and his curiosity gets the best of him.  "We can just talk whenever?" 
JNAProductions
"They're a little more limited than that," Sam explains. "You can send a short message, once a day. Mort, what are we looking at?"

Mort takes a few moments before answering. "Honestly? I don't know-not for sure. We might need to check the city limits, see what's going on there in person."
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Whoa, blood magic,"  Mai says, impressed but no longer smiling. She doesn't know much about these rituals except that they have evil connotations.

 "OK, so your spell is supposed to mark necromantic something, right? Maybe it just pools up leftover ink at the edge of your range?"  she tries with unconvincing optimism.  "Anyway, if the graveyards are naturally supposed to have it, I guess that means we can try those Tavi's places next, right? Oh! Also!"  She hovers her finger over the map, then plunks it down in the alley across from Wayward Home, where all of this started.  "Right there! That's where we saw the thing!" 
JNAProductions
Mai needs to be careful, as there's a small whirlwind of ink hovering above that point of the map. "Tavi's haunts should be safe... He's dead, after all. Destroyed. Gone."

"Tavi was some kind of necromantic construct that was causing havoc in the city under the guise of inquisitor," Sam helpfully informs you. "I won't say you can't investigate any of those spots-but I will tell you to be careful when you do."

The nearest spot that's not a graveyard looks to be right next to the palace-might not be the easiest spot to get to. But there's another one, opposite direction, in the mercantile district.
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Constructs can do that? That's creepy,"  Mai says apprehensively, but it triggers some creative ideas in her head. She'll be filing  those  away for later.  "You want to check the city limits anyway, though, right? Maybe on the way, we can check this one on the merchants' side of town? Or on the way back, I guess. Whichever you want to do, I don't really want to split up." 
animorte
 "Yeah, we definitely need to stay together."  Panaka is very confident in saying that. Especially against whatever is going on, they can't take any chances.

He's confused about a construct causing problems. He'd heard about them, but wasn't really what to expect.
MaltholLoth
Frank had gone into deep thought over things and the other two chirping up coincided with his thoughts coming together. " I agree with both of you. We do need to stay together, and moving in a single direction to strike off multiple points make sense. There's one thing I've been thinking on... " he said as he moved closer too look at the outer ring of blood. "  Do you have a bigger map? I am curious about the ring, there's a couple of ideas in my mind about it. " then flaps his hand and steps back. "  Thinking about it, don't worry. There's nothing we could do about any of the outcomes. Maybe we should head off while it's still day... " he says, his voice trailing away.
JNAProductions
"Hundred percent, yes," Mort says. "Daytime is much safer than night, with what's going on here. Which does mean, if you want to investigate, you should be going now, rather than later."

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
If no one objects, I'll move us on to the investigation.

Feel free to respond IC, OOC, or Discord.
 
JNAProductions
Sam asks if you need anything before you go, but you're all pretty good. You set off for the merchants' district and the edge of the city.

The sun is just past noon in the sky, shining brightly down. Entering the mercantile district, you get some looks, but no one pays you too much mind. You're beneath their notice-unimportant to their lives. It takes a little thinking to find the spot, but eventually you manage to locate a small storehouse, off the beaten path, that seems to be the spot.
animorte
Panaka has been somewhere around this part of town, he thinks. It's a different perspective walking along the streets now with friends instead of clinging to alleys and needing to watch your own back. Even so, he's nervous all the same. He wonders if that will ever go away.

 "So I guess we try to get a closer look, just look out for any more bag monsters."  He tries a little humor, but it doesn't even make him feel comfortable. He waits to see if anybody else has input, before doing what he does best.

 
 Spoiler 

He'll wait for other suggestions, but ultimately plans to use his skills for keeping unnoticed as they investigate (when everybody else is ready, of course).

Hide and Seek:  (4d6)[ 14 ] 
 
MaltholLoth
He'd possibly walked around this area with his parents, probably in fact. Though nothing stood out as familiar, he couldn't really say for sure where he had been when our shopping.

Frank rubs his upper arm with his hand. The reminder of the bag monster reminded him he had not armed himself in any way. So he just gently nodded agreement and looked about.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai originally intended to follow Sam's lead, but given the time pressure she ends up taking point anyway. She'd say she's excited, but  excited  implies too many positive connotations.  Motivated , let's say. This is a job fit for a budding sorcerer!

What? The merchant district? It's where you go to sell flour and buy supplies. Mai's probably seen some of the vendors before, but she's not friends with them or anything. That said, every bag of grain she sees makes her do a double-take now.

 "I'll be careful,"  she replies to Panaka as though he weren't joking.

As Panaka skulks off, presumably to check for windows and secret entrances, Mai looks up at the front door of the storehouse, squinting and shading her eyes from the bright noonday sun.  "This place probably belongs to someone now, right?" 

She goes ahead and knocks - a quick and whimsical  shave and a haircut  rhythm.
JNAProductions
There's a few moments of silence. Then a few more. Then, just as you're thinking about knocking again or doing something else, the door opens. A short woman is in the threshold, dressed in simple but sturdy and practical clothing. She looks down immediately, and asks "Who are you? Are you lost?"

 
 Spoiler: Noticing Subtle Details-DC 7 
She's more guarded and skilled than you'd expect from a random worker. That's not to say she's menacing or anything-but her precise movements and attitude indicate someone who's more than meets the eye.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Hi ma'am!"  Mai beams.  "No, we actually came to ask you. This is one of the buildings the necromancer Doresain used to use for his evil schemes, right? Have you noticed anything weird here? Lately, I mean?" 
JNAProductions
"..."

There's a very awkward silence for what feels like a small eternity. The woman stares at Mai like she's crazy, and gives a short "No," before moving to close the door.
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Wait!"  Mai moves to block the door, and with a magical orange sparkle effect, the door helpfully twists itself just enough that it won't close properly.  "There's more to it than that, OK? You might be in danger! We found this map of necromantic energy blobs, and your house had a big one pooling on it, and..."  It's roughly here that she realizes she doesn't really know what she's talking about.  "Frank, help!" 
 
 Spoiler 
Is this where we engage Convincing-Someone-to-Let-Us-Investigate Social Combat? 😛

If so, rolling Telekinetic for Mai's cheeky opening move. Hard to keep us out when the door won't close!

 (3d6)[ 5 ][ 3 ][ 1 ](9) 
 
animorte
As usual, Panaka admires Mai's determined bravery, but this time he happens to be off to the side, just trying to be inconspicuous. The lady seems very serious to him and not very helpful, but nobody can resist Mai's persistence for long.

Then suddenly the door closes in her face, but - it doesn't? He can't quite catch the little trick, but he realized Mai did  something  and this person doesn't want to listen to them just because they're kids? The other grown-ups did, what's her excuse?

His frustration powers through a bit more than he would have liked, and he steps a bit closer to pipe in. He blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind.  "Hey, we know how to fix it!" 

It might be more than they can back up right now, but he just wanted to get her attention.
MaltholLoth
Frank looks at the lady while in sight, his brain thinks over the nuances of what he picks up on. Mai then alters the door and gives her speech of help and requests help. While he thinks wow what to say, Panaka steps in.

" We may be children but sometimes there can be more than meets the eye to people. Now please, you may be involved in things wittingly or not. As you see, Mai here has some skill no more or less than any of us. " he states, feeling like he was his father advising a patient. The thought of that sends a tingle down his spine and a sense of pride in his mind.
JNAProductions
The woman stops trying to close the door.

"..."

There's another silence. But, after a few moments, she slowly opens the door. "Fine. Come in."

You follow her in, and she securely closes the door behind you. The front room of the storehouse has a table and a chair set up, as well as several tomes on the table. The tomes don't look like very pleasant books-you get a grisly sense from them. There's another door in the back of the room, closed. "What are your names?" she asks.
animorte
Panaka takes a look at his friends and is nervous, of course, but they came here for a reason. Might as well just go for it. He sees the door close and wonders, what did Mai actually do to stop it if it closed so easily now?

The books catch his attention, but he chooses to steer clear of them, about as far as he can be. While he was always interested in the contents, he never really learned to read properly.

He tries to follow their confident examples and it seems the best way to back up his previous statement, for now.  "My name is Panaka and, as they said about magic..."  He pauses for a moment and conjures a small ball of flame just above his hand, making it rotate and flicker. It briefly illuminates the room better, before he lets it dissipate.  "...Fire seems to do pretty well." 
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "And I'm Mai Watterson! It's nice to meet you - what's your name, ma'am?" 

Mai talks to the storehouse's keeper over her shoulder as she looks around. As the narration says, her attention is naturally drawn to the books. The general vibe already  feels  like necromantic juju, but she wants to be sure before she starts throwing accusations at adults.

 
 Spoiler 
Magical Book Evaluation (Sorcerer):  (1d6)[ 5 ] 
Non-magical Book Evaluation (Artist):  (3d6)[ 12 ] 
 
JNAProductions
"Good to meet you," the woman says. "Call me Kylee. I'm an Inquisitor of Psentos-and I'm trying to clean up this mess that the former Lord left behind."

 
 Spoiler: Evaluation 
 
 Spoiler: Magical (5) 
They definitely feel nasty.
 

 
 Spoiler: Non-Magical (12) 
They're very well-made. They're bound in leather, of an unfamiliar kind to you. The writing is precise, for the bit you can see-unmarred by normal humanoid imperfections.
 

 
MaltholLoth
" Hello Ms Kylee, my name is Frank. " he says and then half points to the books. " Do you mean the mess of books? As in you don't live here or just moved in? " is his assessment of what she said, wrinkling his nose a little as his head tilts.
JNAProductions
She shakes her head. "I don't live here-but there was someone who left a metaphorical and necromantic mess all over the city. Speaking of which, you said you had a solution to some of that."
animorte
 "We were told that fire is the best way to keep them down. We know where the hot spots are. And we have a friend that -  knows  about this, from before..."  Panaka trails off at the thought of Jill and Natalie's weird relationship that he has no hope of understanding.

Panaka hears that she is trying to help solve the problem too and he starts to get excited. He's never known so many people to be working together on something.  "We can all work together with what we know." 
JNAProductions
"Whoa-slow down there," Kylee says. "I know fire works-fire virtually always is good for cleansing the undead. Who sent you?"

Her face looks a bit suspicious, and you notice a bulge at her hip-a dagger? a sword? something dangerous, for sure.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai was staring at the books during this exchange, seemingly distracted by their craftsmanship.

 "Wow, this lettering... it's all so precise and consistent, even on the covers. Almost as though they were made by a printing press. Or maybe,"  she turns and points to Kylee dramatically like a storybook detective,  "they were written by a construct! Like the one Mort told us used to live here!" 

...

 "Oh, right, you already said you were an inquisitor. What are you doing here, then? Are you investigating? Or-"  She recoils wide-eyed as the storybook detective in her head continues her work.  "Wait, no! Mort said the construct was impersonating an inquisitor back then!" 
JNAProductions
"Who is 'Mort'?" she asks. "Is that who sent you?"

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
No check needed-she's getting suspicious, and might do something hostile sooner rather than later.
 
animorte
Panaka is really anxious to figure out what's going on, especially with his friends at his side, never having been able to trust anybody before. He can feel the tension is rising and is prepared to escape with his friends if needed.  "Look, all we know is that there's this mess everywhere and we just want to help fix it. Mort was able to help us see where the mess is on the map." 

He thinks for a second, and remembers the one that might have caused a part of this mess, at least where they're at now.  "Do you know the name, Tavi?" 
JNAProductions
Kylee moves to the door. She stands there, facing you. "The truth. Now. What do you know?"
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Alright, let's work backwards,"  says Mai. This way seems the most appropriate for dramatic reveals.  "Yes, Mort is the person who sent us, sort of. He's the one who cast the divination ritual to showed all of the town's necromantic activity on a map."  She seems proud of herself just for knowing those extremely basic magical terms.  "We wanted to investigate right away, because a spirit medium - Jill - told us she sensed an evil presence growing in town. We think that presence might be related to the evil monster, Doresain, because the spirit that sensed it was the ghost of one of his previous victims: Natalie!" 

This feels like a good enough summary of what little they know and who's involved.

 "Now, your turn! What do  you  know? Why is this evil magic stuff still here? Shouldn't it have been confiscated when you caught Tavi?" 
JNAProductions
She stands there a moment, processing. "You're going to get yourselves killed," she says. "Look-the best thing for you to do, right now, is go home. Go home, forget about everything you learned, and leave this to the adults. I don't want to make you leave-but I can if I need to."
animorte
Panaka is getting frustrated with Kylee's attitude and he lets out the anger through his words.  "Yeah, we're just kids but there's plenty of adults that have proven less capable. Not that you're one of them, we just thought you might be able to help. 

He starts for the door and then pauses for a moment to look up at her, his eyes getting noticeably glazed over with emotion.  "I'm sorry for whoever hurt you."  Some people just want to be left alone, but then that's how he's lived his life so far. He can't blame her for that.

Then he turns to step out the door.
JNAProductions
"Wait," she says. "Look-I wish I could let you help. But I don't know if I could live with myself if more people get hurt because of me. Especially some kids."

She sighs. "I... I don't know. I get the feeling that you're not gonna listen if I tell you to stop, right? So I might as well stick with you and make sure you stay safe."
MaltholLoth
Frank gives that silly kind of over the top big grin, his teeth showing, head tilted slightly back " Heee! ".

He gives the other of his group a wink each then turns back to Kylee " You are right! So... do you have a plan of what you were doing or are you join ours? "
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Because of you?"  Now it's Mai's turn to process.  "Oh! I get it! You were there when Natalie got hurt, right? That wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for something a monster did." 

She joins Frank by the door and moves to the new topic along with him.  "Our next stop is the edge of town. Mort's map showed that there was a ring of badness pooling up right on the city border, but wasn't sure what it meant. Want to come check it out?" 
JNAProductions
She's quiet a few moments. But then she nods. "Alright. A... Ring, you said? Of 'badness'? Any more details?" she asks, moving to stow a few items.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
To the edge of town? Move us ahead a bit?
 
animorte
Panaka takes a moment to process the exact statement that Mai addresses, taking the blame for others getting hurt. And the sudden change in demeanor, he's more confused than sharing the excitement with Frank. Either way, progress is good and he knows they'll need all the help that they can get.

 "The map showed a ring all the way around the town."  Otherwise, he figures Mai is clearly better suited for presenting better detail.

 
 Spoiler 

Yes, ready to move ahead!
 
JNAProductions
Kylee packs up the various objects, and shepherds you out. She locks the door behind, and you set out for the edge of town.

When you arrive near the border, you see the normal terrain around Psentos. But there are no people-none whatsoever, outside the border of the city. The two guards stationed at the entrance appear very bored, chit chatting to one another.
animorte
Panaka looks around a bit at first in awe. He hasn't been to the edge of town in a long time. Suddenly remembering their mission, he gets a little confused.  "Was there anything worth seeing where we met you?" 

Then his mind starts to come up with answers and he trails off a bit more to himself than anyone else.  "Maybe it's all underground. Or maybe it's  everywhere  outside of here..." 
Dr.Gunsforhands
This time, Mai decides that maybe investigating herself is not as efficient as just asking the people who would already know.

 "Hey you two!"  she greets the guards.  "How's it going? Anyone interesting come by today?" 
JNAProductions
"Hm?" the nearer guard responds, looking down. "Um," he adds, looking to Kylee. "Ma'am?"

Kylee looks at the guard. "She did ask a question. It's polite to answer."

The guard nods, and says "Err, not much. It's actually been real quiet today-barely seen a soul coming in this way."
MaltholLoth
Frank looks a little puzzled. "  Excuse me. Should. Should it be that quiet? Is it always like this? " he asks as polite a manner as he can. He'd been raised to believe, respect the law and the law will respect you.

He then had other questions in his mind that would wait, like 'do these guards know Kylee?' 'Are other dates into town as quiet?', 'why did they leave so quickly?' Panaka had dinner good points.
JNAProductions
"Hey, I'm not complaining! Makes it easy on us," the guard that's been talking says.

The other one is thinking. "Mark... Have we seen  anyone ?" he asks. "I know that this side isn't the busiest, and there's nothing much going on... But have we seen literally anyone?"

Mark (apparently) looks back at his comrade. "Come on, of course we've had someone! There was... Uh..."
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Really? The merchant district was as busy as ever. Is this just that thing where your days are kind of similar and start running together?"  Mai looks out through the gates, irrationally intimidated by the idea of simply walking past them.  "Or is it something more  sinister? " 

She pulls out a piece of chalk, drops prone and draws a snake on the ground. Then with a gesture, she bids it rise into a slightly-three-dimensional chalk-dust image and slither out just past the gates.

In her mind, this will test to see whether it's safe to cross beyond the town limits! In reality, it might just be testing to see whether necromantic doom spells work on animated chalk drawings.
JNAProductions
The snake slithers out past the walls. It makes it about ten feet before it's gone. It just seems to slip out of reality, sliding cleanly into oblivion.

Mai, once the snake is gone, cannot feel it or control it anymore.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Mai startles. " Eyah! I didn't make it do that! There really is something going on! Maybe an invisible barrier?" 

She looks around.  "We need to try something more substantial. Does anyone have a pole we can test with? Or a think plank? Or maybe,"  she notices an unattended javelin in the guardhouse and points to it,  "that'll work! Can we borrow that for a sec?" 
JNAProductions
"No!" Mark says. "You are not going to touch actual weaponry!"

The other guard just looks at him. "I think this is a bit above our paygrade, Mark. Miss..."

"Eversheen," Kylee replies.

"Miss Eversheen, I'd rather not hand the javelin to a kid, but I can throw it for your kid if you want."
Dr.Gunsforhands
 "Don't throw it!"  Mai asks,  "just, you know, hold it in front of you. We're looking for an invisible trap, or a barrier, or an illusion or something." 

She doesn't really know enough to narrow it down beyond  something vaguely magic-related. 
JNAProductions
The more cooperative guard, now looking a touch nervous, holds the javelin out. He tentatively waves it back and forth, slowing just before the spot the snake disappeared. The javelin stays normal. As does the guard.
animorte
 "Hold on a sec. Lemme try something." 

Panaka reaches his arm out and attempts to set a small flame along the tip of the spear to see if light reveals anything about this...  weirdness.  He wonders if it could be just magic that's affected by this invisible wall.

A realization suddenly occurs to him.  "Or maybe it's... like a cage?" 