<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">{{Eidolon it is good to hear from you again!}}</div></div></div><br/><br/><br/><br/>Soma blinks at Mindy's aptitude at transmitting matter through dimensions unseen.<br/><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">[Soma psicraft: 1d20(5)+6 = 11; fail]</span><br/>She has never entered the Astral and hasn't the first clue how to teleport anything.<br/><br/><br/>"Hello!" she says warmly to the elven refugees. "I'm Somaline Ananda. Please, make yourself comfortable here."<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Some minutes later, a steady clicking of greaves against the floor heralds the arrival of the third tiefling.<br/><br/>Yuki enters the suite and proceeds casually into the central room, where she greets the others with a curt nod.<br/><br/>She appears the same as before: cloaked in red, with raven black hair gathered up in a tight bun. She's shed her outer layer of armor; beneath her cloak she wears only chainmail. Casual wear, by Yuki's standards.<br/><br/>"Who has the key?" she asks immediately, and when Soma produces it Yuki seizes it and returns to the entrance. With a press and a turn of the key the entrance dissapears to leave a solid, seamless wall in its place.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Yuki says little upon returning to the central room except to ask the newcomers who they are. She does not engage in small talk, nor does she reveal anything about herself other than her first name.<br/><br/><br/>She chooses to remains standing at first, under the pretense of scanning the richly decorated wall of the suite. In fact, she is scanning the other combatants in the room out of the corners of her eyes to assess their danger, as she does not yet feel safe enough to sit down and relax with this crowd.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">The scythe-wielding bunny who slew Kalsh...the bottomless centaur who ate him...the shapeshifter...the tall human who deflected spears with his bare palms...the goblin who channeled a brilliant light...</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">And--of course--Her.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">The angel.</span><br/><br/>Yuki pauses at last and forces herself to do what she has been avoiding since she walked into the room: she looks at Auralia. At that gentle face which appears sunlit even in a room of only artificial light, and into those eyes...those hauntingly clear and deep eyes...<br/><br/><br/>Yuki has eaten many people in her lifetime. Some of them were deserving, others less so. Some were totally innocent, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She rarely thinks about this fact, and certainly doesn't lose any sleep over it.<br/><br/>But tonight, a predatory Celestial has arrived and is sitting<span style="font-style: italic">right there</span>. It's enough to make even Yuki sweat a little. Can Auralia read her soul at a glance, as the angels of legend are said to have done? And if so, how does she, Yuki, measure up karmically? Soma has never told Yuki what her aura looks like--then again, Yuki has never asked.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Will I have to fight her eventually?"</span>Yuki wonders to herself,<span style="font-style: italic">"Is such a feat even possible?"</span><br/>She knows that legends describe angels as the direct servants of deities: invincible on the battlefield--able to hold off entire armies single-handedly--and able to work miracles with a touch of their immaculate hands.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">"No move in my repertoire could counter that kind of power..."</span><br/><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">[Yuki Knowledge(religion) to recall useful facts about celestials: untrained, fail]</span><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Or, were those legends just stories? Religious myths?"</span>Yuki isn't sure. She never bothered to read any books on the subject, or to pay attention if Soma ever talked about it.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Soma..."</span>Yuki shoots a look at her idiot cousin.<span style="font-style: italic">"Does she know what she's doing, getting us mixed up in this? That damn girl better not get us arrested or eaten..."</span><br/><br/><br/>Soma notices the look and chuckles, oblivious to her cousin's discomfort. "This is fun, pooling gold to buy a suite like this!" she says.<br/><br/><br/>"Yeah it's something alright." replies Yuki dryly, looking away.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">{{Unless anyone has any objection, I'm going to move the narrative forward one hour. Describe what your character does with the time.}}</div></div></div><br/><br/><span style="font-size: 140%; line-height: 116%;">~ ~ ~ one hour passes ~ ~ ~</span><br/><br/><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">[All stuffed penalties reduced by 2]</span><br/><br/><br/>Lin joins Chrrou, Heshaar, and Nocke as they find a secluded spot for the druid to meditate.<br/><br/>For the next hour (and to the limits of his tolerance) the Longtail youth talks intermittently with Chrrou, discussing her traumatic memories of the sack of Talloak and her anxieties about the future. She also tries to discuss his origins and his current doings, at least as much as he is willing to disclose. She understands nothing of druidry, and is intensely curious as to its nature.<br/><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">[subdued conversation does not disrupt the focus needed for divine spell preparation]</span><br/><br/><br/><br/>Nocke perches on Heshaar's broad, warm back and listens without comment as the squirrel and mouse converse.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Soma loves the sound of her own voice, and spends the hour chatting with anyone and everyone who wants to talk, about any subject important or frivolous.<br/>She fills in Yuki on what she missed, and gets Geno to retell the story of his capture by Nurkisi ("Oh,<span style="font-style: italic">her</span>. I could have warned you to stay away from her.")<br/>She also gives a verbal tour of Armel's landmarks and notable people--taking frequent tangents to disclose bits of gossip, of which she is an avid collector.<br/><span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">[The PCs are now aware of the layout of Armel, as seen on the town map {{200 bonus xp to player who reposts that map jpg}}. In addition, all characters who listen to Soma get a +1 bonus on knowledge(local) checks for the duration of their stay in Armel]</span><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Yuki eventually warms up enough to the group to settle down into a chair and take off her cloak. She still does not thaw toward small talk.<br/><br/><br/><br/>~ ~ ~<br/><br/><br/><br/>"Mindy," says Soma later on, when she and the elf are both unoccupied. "Your portive abilities are among the most advanced I have seen."<br/><br/>"Can you..." she ventures, "teleport out of a belly? Or port a target<span style="font-style: italic">into</span>a belly?"<br/><br/><br/><br/>Jess overhears and is intrigued by the idea. She wags her tail and muses as to what she would do with a teleport nutrion...<br/><br/><br/><br/>"And...what else can you manifest?" Soma follows up on her first question. "Can you levitate? Enter the Ethereal, or the Dreaming? Can you banish Outsiders from the world?"<br/><br/>The tiefling sits up and leans closer, her inquiry growing more personal. "And what is your<span style="font-style: italic">ruth</span>* manifest, Mindrillia, your most potent attack power? When you confront a dangerous foe who seeks to kill you, what do you manifest? Do you, by default, teleport to safety?<br/><br/>"Or...did they send more than just a scout..."<br/>The golden-eyed violet-haired psion stares deeply and unsettlingly into the violet, spectacled eyes of the blond psion. As if reading Mindy's mind--or daring Mindy to read hers.<br/><br/>The two stare at each other for an odd moment. Then the tiefling speaks. "<span style="font-style: italic">Nalyë Sanwënehtar, Mindrillia?"</span>**<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">* - "anger"<br/>** - "Are you a Thought-slayer, Mindy?"  (<span style="font-size: 80%; line-height: 116%;">[Knowledge(nobility) DC:20]: the <span style="text-decoration: underline">Sanwënehtar</span> are an elite corp of psionic agents who carry out covert-ops and espionage for elven nobility. The "elven CIA", essentially. They keep a low profile, and most non-elves in the room have not heard of them.)</span></div></div></div>