Do'Zah Solo

Doza Dar is a deacon and an older brother who likes to think he's always right. He was born into a lower income family but developed skills in swordplay and combat. He finds satisfaction in combat and feels a rush of adrenaline during fights. He recently rescued a girl named Quill and brought her home to care for her. He is concerned about her safety and wonders why she is there. He tends to her wounds and tidies up his home. While at the market, he receives a summons from Yuan and decides to go to the Mage's Guild. He meets Yuan, who is a hobgoblin woman, and they discuss his mission. Doza Dar. Would you like to take a moment to tell me about Doza Dar? What kind of character is he, and how has he gotten to where he is now? Doza Dar, well it's a deacon. He is, it's a backseat. On the spryer end of age. Definitely the older brother who thinks he knows how to care for everyone. Whether or not that's the case, he likes to think he's right, a lot of the time. Generally likes to think about how things are going to be done, and then think of how all those ways it could be done will go wrong and then try to compensate ahead of time. Generally, dusty gray fur with some stripes of orange scattered throughout. Does have a little bit of a clipped right ear from an altercation or two. Does have these easy to remember orange eyes. On the taller end of thoughts, with being above average human height, but not a human. Very much a tabaxi. What kind of lifestyle were they born into, and what kind of lifestyle has it developed into right now? Definitely born into lower income, maybe lower middle income, using today's standards. But upon realizing appearances aren't always what they seem, realized where he was wasn't where he thought he was in terms of comfortability. Home comfortability. Over time, Doza has spent, whether it was his free time, whether it was time elected for him from his father to develop his skill with swordplay or maneuverability. What is the most intriguing thing about combat? Or essentially, not specifically kind of like physical altercations, but the encounters in themselves, where it could be besting another person, it could be achieving the goal of what was set out to do initially. And is this something that makes him feel good? He definitely, I definitely see fighting, not necessarily a fight first ask questions later, but combat definitely is a method of satisfaction. Is it always the most efficient? Not necessarily. But there is a moment during fights, especially back alley ones where sweat and other bodily fluids everywhere and that rush of adrenaline coursing through you that, and you only have that one thing in front of you to think about. Only that one task in front of you, where nothing else is relevant. And it's in those instances, oddly comforting, but at the same time, in the after the fact, oddly scary that someone can get so absorbed in the moment. Your fight with Sagoth was probably a very unprepared yet momentous occasion, specific because this was such a reckoning force where the path of destruction was laid out before you, where when you made your way through the main street of Bormov, you saw corpses of dwarves before you had entered. But when you were inside with your party fighting him and his followers, it felt realistic and doable. And perhaps does a sword breaking was discouraging. But at the end of that, do you think there was a felt more exhausted or do you feel what what would he feel? In the moment, definitely exhaustion, but also the moment there was a third party involved, the moment Quill made an appearance, all focus was not only ending the fight, wrapping that up, but also make caring for her, making sure she gets safe, making sure being that older brother that he sees himself needing to be. What does Doza think of Quill after being gone for so many years? Some things could kind of like lead Doza to thinking of like, why is she here in the same church that he was with such incredible danger. That definitely ran through his mind of why are you here? You shouldn't be here. But in the moment, that's not the first that's not what crossed his mind. That's not what was on the forefront on the forefront of his thoughts. It's kind of like seeing an old crush, a friend that you haven't seen in years, and your mind immediately goes back to how your last interactions were. That personality that was that, that connection that you had. And that's exactly what happened with Doza. He felt needing to care for her, needing to protect her, keep her safe, get her out of here, and then find out what is going on. Why are you here? You shouldn't be here. This is not a place for you, let alone any of us, but you most of all. Doza, you have just brought back Quill to Kiro. You've made your way through the gates, and you've made it back to your childhood home. You step within the door, you have Quill in your arms. Tell me what happens after that. Carefully set her down on the couch, still there in any capacity to hold weight. You're recognizing that this looks, this home doesn't look like a home right now. It looks dusty, it looks unkept. Abandoned. Yes, especially after taking the time to not be here when you had found the posters of yourself, the flyers of you as a wanted criminal. So yes, the couch is still there. Carefully as I can, trying to not jostle her awake, lay her down, find somewhat of a blanket to lay over her and start dressing any wounds that I can see, stemming any bleeding, if there is any profuse bleeding. She had taken a significant amount of damage from burns. A lot of her wounds were cauterized, but a lot of the significant damage was eaten into the leather armor that she wears. Though, still, she remains unconscious and after you take a couple moments to essentially go down the list of the things you would like to do just to make sure she's healthy, to make sure she can recover the best that she can, you extend back and you don't know what more you can do in this situation. You just have to give her her time. What do you think to do? In addition to the bandaging, definitely lean body up on a 45 inch incline, give some water just to help keep fluids running. Start tidying up, starting with the kitchen, making sure just being near and going into when needing to, going into town, to the market, getting food and then paying for it this time and then coming back. Especially to any of the vendors that, if any of them are the same, maybe accidentally overpaying now that I have some of them, now that he has money. While you are out, out at the market, you finish paying for your goods and you are carrying your items, you're making your way back, whether it be through back alleys or the like, you see a crow and this crow sort of looks familiar. Go ahead and roll me your perception check. Fifteen. Fifteen will do it. You see that this crow has a little note wrapped up around its right foot. It perches alongside a wooden fence that is within reach and it just stares at you. What do you do? Am I in town or am I in the market or more on the outskirts with more residential area? Can you tell me? If we're in the market area, definitely make eye contact and do like a follow me, but if we're more residential, probably walk over to it. We can say that you've made your way a couple streets away from the main market, from prying eyes, to acknowledge that you are remaining relatively concealed. The crow allows you to reach for it and unravel the scroll that is wrapped around its leg. And on the small portion of parchment reads Yuan Summons. Does his stomach and heart drop? Yes. And after the crow sees you unravel the parchment, it takes flight and dismisses itself. Look around, no one noticing, no one watching or anything? No, you're just another person walking through an alley of no concern, of no real recognition. Find a box or a crate or something, or even the wall right next to me, put the groceries down, lean up against it and read it. Oh, it was just a small portion. Oh, I thought there was more to it. No, it's just a small, essentially like, how do you say, a fortune cookie, reading Yuan Summons. Just letting you know that Yuan is summoning you, and if you don't want to acknowledge it, that is alright, if you do. And how far is home from here? Um, maybe 15-20 minutes walking, maybe less. Not running, but walking with purpose, go home, put the food down and leave the note on the table visible. So, and just quick glance at Quill, I'm assuming he's still fast asleep. Yeah, Quill hasn't moved significantly since you last left her. Okay, then, yeah, groceries down, then deep breath and head over. As you make your way over to Yuan, the Mage's Guild. It is roughly, I think it would be somewhere in the evening, maybe 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock. Because you all had made your way back to town at about noon. You make your way to the Mage's Guild, and there aren't a significant amount of people here. You open up the doors, and there's no students or anything in the classrooms to your left or right. There is one Orcish Mage, just wearing some blue robes. You can tell that he's just kind of like an earlier follower, and just kind of like on basic learning blocks right now. I assume you just make your way to Yuan's door? Uh, remembering last interaction with her. Uh, excuse me, I try to get the Orc's attention. Uh, what? Uh, Yuan has summoned me, can you try to go up to her office, or should I wait here? Oh no, feel free to, I'm no bellboy or anything like that. Uh, knocking on the door usually has results, but sometimes it doesn't. Wonderful, and which one says? Top of the stairs, on your right side. Thank you. Make my way back to there, and... Um, when you walk up to the stairs to the bisecting... Uh, the stairs essentially roll up, bisect, and her door is the first that's on the right, and on the right of her door says Yuan of the Mages Guild. You knock on the door, and after a moment, the handle turns, and the door opens revealing a hobgoblin woman in a captain's coat, uh, that is red, and she has long black dreaded hair, and her eyebrows raise as, uh, she says, Rosa! Very nice to see you. I am glad my summons has reached you, and glad you are back in town. How is your mission? Mixed results, but more favorable than not. Yeah? Come in, come in. She welcomes you in, and, uh, behind the door, you see a... essentially a small classroom. A classroom of, uh, eight seats, and as you immediately walk in, on the right side is a chalkboard, and, uh, there is a podium where she keeps her, uh, kind of like books and occasional scrolls, and she's like, please take a seat. Does she sit? She does not sit. I'll lean. You found your sister, is that correct? Yes. How is she? Stable. I have a proposition for you, Doza, and I tell you this with acknowledgement towards the accusations on your behalf. While I am not trying to clear your slate, I find that you can be of use to me. I also want you to acknowledge that this is not to, hmm, spite you or anything, but I do have, um, ill feelings towards your sister for stealing my property. My proposition is that you either spy on Enoch, and if I become the next treasurer, I will expunge your record while you will still be on covert to assess what had happened with your mother. I'm gonna insight check her. Is she trying to, like, is she being completely forthright with her intentions? Yeah. You can go ahead and roll insight. A little bit better. Seventeen. Seventeen. You put together that she wants to use you. She is aware that you, while reckless, you got the job done. And she is extending her grace of, hey, this is the child of River Spring. He's probably gonna end up doing it anyways. Might as well have her looped into it. Might as well get the ball rolling. In addition to you doing so, I would like your sister to also work for me while I need her to investigate the Cardinal Syndicate or completely leave town if she is not comfortable with working with me. I can't. As much as I would like to speak for her, I can't promise anything for her. Oh, yes, I completely understand that this is not essentially a decision for you to make on her behalf because you do not own her, you are not her guardian, you are not anything of that sort. She is a grown woman herself. But seeing that she made her way into my quarters, stole my property, my requisition of, hey, come work with me, may be received in ill. So why I'm asking you is to ease the idea. And I promise that I have no ill intent. I know harm will come to her. I'm not going to have her gallivanting upon the ruins of old orcish deserters and the likes. But she is also an asset to be utilized as a treasurer or potential treasurer. I see strength in both of you. Though if she has ill intent, then I will quickly find that she does not have a long-standing citizenship within the town of Kiro. What do you think? What type of work do you want from me? You mentioned spying on him. I would like you to spy on Enoch and inform me of essentially the long-term goal. Because I don't know if Mosca had told you, but a party member of mine was in a romantic relationship with a party member of his. And over time, I learned that the rest of his party had been killed. Though, he, as obvious as it is, has not. And out of nowhere, he seems to be trusted by whatever holds there are in Enafol and he is summoning people here in Assyrian for what reason? All of a sudden, things start stirring up. And when Mosca brings his name up, I'm like, oh, okay. Well, this sounds like it could be a ploy of some sort to, I don't know, maybe siege the rest of the continent that is south of Enafol here. Or even greater intent. Who knows? Not me. That's why I'm trying to figure it out. I would like to take supreme responsibility for the people of Kiro and I would like to make sure that people who have unjust circumstances and unjust points of view on societal situations, they do not make it in these seats of power just because some people can be close-minded. Does that make sense? It does. It's important to me that I'm asking you this because you... Yes, why me? You have Kiro a little bit closer to heart with Mosca. They make their way from Skikoan to Kiro to wherever else. They are very directed by their own greed, as it may be often motive. I trust that you have the city in your best interest. And if not the city, your sister. And perhaps the rest of your family. In reward to this, I can provide you information regarding Cloudfeather. Does it immediately, whatever he was, like facial expression he had, the moment she mentioned Cloudfeather, all attention like, oh, you just now piqued my interest. And you have information on him. I do. Yes, years ago, not too long after your mother passed, he had... It's a nice way to put it, thank you. ...been caught, and he escaped. And that information had been confidential all the way up until the point where I found the information. And while I do respect you as his family member, I do not want to give that information out freely. That's sad. Now, there's still one caveat to your reasoning for picking me. Hm? I'm an unknown factor in your equation. Mm-hmm. Why not have someone closer to home perform this? Someone who, in theory has, is unknown to Enoch. I am playing the cards that I am dealt. And you have an entire guild behind you. Correct. Though, who has seen Enoch? Who has the time to go up to Anifold and commune with him and spend all the years and requisitions and do all the paperwork to see High Lord Enoch? It takes... The governments are a tricky system. Yeah. And having the time of day for someone to finally come into... ...the same room as Lord Enoch, it... ...is of alert, because it is not a situation that he had prepared for himself. Though you... ...you already have reasons to see him. When he chooses. Yeah. It's not a... But you are fulfilling a contract for him now. What is your timeline? As soon as possible, within the week. Just let me know... ...what you can find out to give me a realistic explanation. Just let me know what I can expect within the week. Well, if he chooses to make contact, believe me, as soon as that contact is sent, I will let you know. I appreciate that. So we have an agreement? Tentative agreement. Give me time, give me... ...half day to think about it. Hmm. Consider thoughts. Very well. Very well. It's a sign of good faith, is what I'm asking. I have no issues with that. Thank you for having time with me. I appreciate it. She steps back from her podium and opens the door for you in gestures... ...for your departure. I leave. You have a very wonderful day, Desider. And to you. All right. Quill, tell me about Quill. Well, you see... Sometimes, when you need something done, relying on others isn't always the easiest option. Sometimes, needing to do it yourself is the best way to get it done, because then you can ensure it is completely done. Um... I, myself, am not considerably shorter than my brother, Zah. But similar skin tone, similar slenderness. But definitely shorter, lighter, and yellow. Yellow with green eyes, as opposed to his, in some cases, menacing orange. Um... Definitely... Tries to see... I try to see the world as it is, not what it could be. And... Realizing... Um... Yes, utopias are great and all, but name one that has stood more than a day. Who do you think the most influential person to Quill would be, and why? Uh, in general, or positively, negatively? Either one. No morality here. Father was very influential, whether he wanted to accept it or not. And he can definitely... Shown ways of getting things done that many people probably would scoff at. But, nonetheless, did prove results. Mother did have her positives and her interests. But sometimes took things a little too close to hot when needed to kept on the outside of the skin. And my brother. Definitely the older brother in the family. Definitely one of... Kindness and caring. Definitely thinks he knows what's best. And likes to think he knows best. But definitely immediate family, individually, being influential in their own positive and negative light. You remember this one evening, late in the night, where your father got back home and you can't distinguish what time exactly it was. But you knew it was very late at night, and your mother was not pleased with how often he came home late. And you know it wasn't for two-timing or anything of the sort. But it piqued your interest. Like, what confusion is this? What kind of work does your father do that requires such untimeliness? How do you address this? You hear him get home, quietly closing the door. Where are you? Is it light or dark out? It's dark out. Roughly like two, maybe three in the morning. Just getting home? He's just getting home? Mm-hmm. And I saw Mother and Dad go to bed? Correct. While it is maybe not as frequent for you, but on occasion you do happen to find yourself up late at night to, I don't know, find the interest of just listening to him come home, take off his leathers, and get his own rest. On his way up the stairs, I'll probably just be leaning against the wall and pretend just going to the bathroom. And just making eye contact, him knowing that I see him coming in this late. Not saying a word, though. Are you at the top of the stairs? Maybe not menacingly at the top of the stairs, but, like, I see you. I see you sneaking in very late at night. He... Tell you what, go ahead and describe your father for me. Oh, Cloudfeather. He is definitely the tall one in the family. Or was the tall one in the family until Za grew up a little bit taller. But definitely taller than me, which is a feat in and of itself. He is pale orange eyes, similar to Za, but a little bit calmer, if that's possible, with orange eyes. He is definitely the frame of Za, but not as bulky. Similar silhouettes, but a keen eye can distinguish between the two. More orange, Za, than me and Za. But we definitely get the dark from him, as opposed to Meta. Definitely not surprised seeing me awake, but definitely curious to why. You see him before he sees you, and you know it's been a very long evening for him. And his head is down as he takes his first couple steps up the stairwell. And about midway as he's making his way up, he looks up to you, his eyes meet yours, and you see his eyes are a little gaunt. And you see a bruise on his cheek, on his chin. You're not supposed to be up this late. I'm needing to go to the bathroom. You're a bad liar. And you're bad at dressing wounds. Why are you up so late? Couldn't sleep. Awoken. Comes downstairs, and he turns around and makes his way to the kitchen. I follow. He opens up a cabinet, and takes out a small parcel wrapped in twine and brown paper over by the countertop. And I imagine you follow him downstairs? He gestures for you to take a seat. I do. Are you hungry? Are you hungry right now? He subtly nods. He unwraps the parchment, and you don't see directly what is inside of it, but you see him take one, two slices. He unwraps the parchment, and you don't see directly what is inside of it, but you see him take one, two slices. Sets it aside. Wraps it back up. And ties the twine and puts it back onto the shelf, higher than both you and Doza can reach. This is a gift for your mother. And perhaps for you it's just a little treat. And before you, he presents a small piece of cured salmon. He sets a little plate in front of you with two pieces, and with his fingers, he takes his portion and eats it. And gestures for you. Where did you get this? As I go to pick it up. Is that important? Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. You're clever. Thank you. And it's foolish of me to think that I should beat around the bush all the time. It's not important. Where I acquire better off things, and while I understand your mother would advise doing things the proper way sometimes, boons can fall from nothing. Quill, I want you to understand that the only spoon that can feed you is yourself. It's important to fill your own cup before others, because you cannot trust that other people will do the same for you. Your mother grew up in a blessed community, and she sees the greatness in all people. And she sees the greatness in all people. At times that can be beneficial, at times that can be wondrous and very, um, rosé. But with these rose-tinted glasses, that can remove some of the shattered bits of how things are done. I trust you to keep this between us, but would you like to know what I do? Both her and I are too young. Perhaps it is time for you to go to bed. How about a good story before bed? Once upon a time, there lived a boy in a town that was worthless. You looked in any direction in this town, you saw cutthroat savages. You saw people looking to steal, to maim, to kill, just for another piece of gold. And that gold would be spent, and then not had the next day, and the cycle continues. This boy, he saw this, saw his future of these people, and he did not want to become these people. And so when he surrounded himself with company that allowed him to have a roof over his head, that allowed him to sleep securely at night, he wanted to continue this. He wanted to continue this because at the end of the day, whether some means of evil are to be avoided, mass genocide, slavery, sometimes things, sometimes measures are going to be a little bit drastic before the final results of true peace. Not for civilizations, not for generations to come. True peace. Not for civilizations, not for generations and an entire continent, but for oneself. Your own security is the most important thing before anything else. And so this boy learned how to receive information from people who are withholding, from people who killed, who stole, who maimed, who lied, all of these other counts. And so through obtaining information, whether it was blunt, strenuous, whether it was difficult taxing, and whether it was one-sided, the information was more important than anything else. Because if he was designing a life for himself, where good things were to come, and he could start his own family, then he wasn't doing anything wrong. And justified the means. I understand that my line of work is not proud. It is not something to reckon, but it makes the ends meet. It is time for bed. You are dismissed. Thank you for the story, father. The scene fades out as Quill... What does Quill think about this evening? Is this what they expected from their father? Expected? No, but definitely not out of lust. It wasn't out from lust field, but it wasn't exactly what she was thinking. She was curious to why he would come home so late at night. And wonder why he would go on these trips, as he would call. But was always curious that mom disapproved when he would provide. This definitely did shed light as to why. Why? Quill, you ruminate on this oddity with the differences between your mother and your father. And as you think about this, you can only barely remember of the last day that you saw her. Maybe it's memory suppression in your own sense. Maybe it was so traumatic that... It's better to not think about it. It's better to... Well, she just... She's gone. She's just gone. Things are different now. Quill, you wake up in a stone room. It is cold. There is only but a small pile of hay in the corner of this room. There is a window high above you, and it is a very brisk night. You feel alone. You might feel scared. You might feel isolated. The door to your cell is locked and barred. How do you feel? How do you feel? You don't know exactly what happened yesterday. You know that Za and Cloudfather had another argument. But this time things got serious. And you're not home anymore. Clearly. Take a brief moment. Any pain? Any... No. Any gashes? Any gabs? You're okay. You might be a little bit hungry. But... In all technical senses, you're fine. Though the remembrance of a warm home is too far away. This room is meant to be isolating. This room is to essentially not allow this person, whoever happens to be in the cell, any space to think about or to kind of like not think about what had happened in the recent past. One day goes by. Two days go by. The only food that you're provided is some kind of slop with dry, dry bread. When the food's brought in, are there other cells or is it just one? There are other cells. There's one cell across from you and then two more to your right side. Do I hear anyone else talking or like any sign of... Is someone else in this space other than me? Make me a left check. Is someone else in this space other than me? Make me a left check. Nineteen. Nineteen. After the first day, you hear the clinking of the keys that the guards have on their hip. Mm-hmm. And from the first moment that you listen to this new being, any auditory sense that is introduced into this cell is, I wouldn't say exciting, but it's interesting. You want to listen to it. Maybe this is a drunk person and all you hear from this person is drunken slurs of, The blood god's going to take us. The blood god's going to take you. And after a moment, you hear the sound of the barred jail door closed, the key latches, the key latches, and the guard walks past your door to exit. What do you do? How many keys are on the key ring? Five. Total of five cells? No, four cells. Four cells in the door. Four cells in the door. From hearing and watching them come in, could I see which potentially, roughly, more towards the front of the key ring, more towards the back of the key ring, that cell was from? The key to that cell was? I go ahead and give me a perception check. This is going to be a high DC because of how things are positioned. Eighteen on the die for? Twenty-four. Twenty-four. You see it's the frontmost key that he locked your neighbor's cell with. And then he hooks it on the tip again. It's on his right hip. He walks past your cell. I just make notes. Is there anything else you would like to do with the rest of your night? Is Blood God Drunko still murmuring to himself? After a moment, he allows himself into a drunken sleep. You know that he, if there's no attention being poured into him, then he quiets himself. After a moment after the God leaves. Blood God's coming for all of us, is he now? Coming for you too! And you. Yeah, but you'll just be like me. We'll still come to his nature. Oh, I thought you meant drunk. So why are you here? Doesn't seem like a place to put a drunk. Why are we all here? I was born. How about you? So was I. I was born one day. A great day long ago. And what about today? Why are you here today? I just came of the Blood God. A great monstrosity that will rain blood from the sky. And why are you in here? Did you aid in that blood? In that blood draining? Did you assist in that? Oh, me? No, I didn't pay my talents. Interesting. But they don't want to pay the big squirrel they will. Neither do I. But that's how the world works sometimes. No one wants to let go of a coin, everyone wants to hoard it. Yeah, tried and true and tried and true. But at the end of the day, at the end of the week, at the end of the month, at the end of the year, the Blood God will still cast his eyes to me. And I shall be his herald. So your name's Harold? No, Harold is a state of, uh... Stature? Of, um... Oh, so he's redeeming you there, Harold. Got it. Jokes. I like jokes. And with too many jokes come annoyances. Get yourself some shut-eye. You're the one who woke me up. Unless there's anything you would like to do? No. The night will conclude. That's about it for tonight. The next morning, um... The guard allows him to leave. And... A little bit further into the afternoon, you hear the guard unlock the door and come to your cage. Cage? Cell. What's the difference? Whatever we put cats in. You hear the guard come to your cell door, and... He injects his key, turns it, and opens the door. He gestures for you to leave. He says... Quill of Cloudfeather and Riverspring, you may now depart. You have been picked up under a new guardian. Do I know who before leaving the room? I'm saying this as I start walking toward. Uh, you may. You may not. Uh, it is not my decision. You're not going to tell me who? It is... I... This is my job to unlock the door and to allow you to exit. I do not know everybody's personal directives. The officer that requisitions you to leave? Maybe that would be appropriate to ask them. And that was? The requisitions officer's name? Yeah. Stephanie. Thank you. Now is that so hard? You may depart. Thank you. He opens the other door of the hallway for you, and... When you enter into this new room, you see a desk that is on the left side. There is an officer. Uh, there, uh, there. They're a city guard officer. Um, a little bit higher in post and in regard to the, uh, one that just unlocked your cell. And in front of the desk, you see a creature like a bipedal hyena. This man is wearing red robes, and he looks at you, and he says... You must be Quill. My name is Hasui. I am very pleased to meet you. And he holds his hand up to shake your hand. Why me? That is my directive. I am requested to come and pick you up. You will be under my guidance for the foreseeable future. And you will be my responsibility. She definitely gives like a smirking smile at that. He holds his hand out for you to shake. She mumbles to herself as she goes to shake it. Mm. After so, the officer asks you to sign a little bit of paperwork. Just your name here, here. He signs one here, here. Blah, blah. And the scene closes out. We face blast. Uh, can I ask one question? Of course. On the papers, was there a date? A date? Mm-hmm. Is that something Quill would be looking for to remember? She would be looking for to know loosely how long she was there. She was only in there for like two, three days. Okay. I promise, no time dilation right now. Oh no, because in those cells, hours can feel like months. Yeah. So. Um, the window of the jail cell was kind of like your largest denomination of time. Yeah. Quill, you wake up in a room with a wooden wall, ceiling, and floors. There is a standing crystal lamp with a small brass chain hanging from it near your bedside. The room is completely dark. You notice this room is without windows, closets, and a single closed door at the front of the room with a very faint blue light peeking under the door. What do you do? I have a sense of time right now. A sense of time. That would be nice. This is what you remember. You think back to the day that Hasun had picked you up, and it feels like years ago. Okay. You think back to your childhood, and that's even further. Mm-hmm. Slightly hard to discern the days from that. Okay. All right, listen. Do I feel comfortable in this space? Like, familiar, maybe? If it has some sense of comfortability, I'd probably get up and try to open the door. To your immediate left, you see a dresser for clothes, a cabinet for snacks and shelf-stable foods, a small bookcase of trinkets, some being a long yellowed tooth, a ring with a small purple crystal in it. A small pouch of what seems to be gold and platinum, and a set of bracers. You open the door to a hallway, and there are multiple lamps washing this calming blue illumination over what you see. Directly in front of you is a bathing room. Within is a large wooden tub, towels, a small well for water, all the things that a washing room would need. Mm-hmm. If you were to look to your right, you would find a study, the wall seemingly built as bookcases to the ceiling. If you look to your left, you see a conversation room, a round table on the left side of the room seating four chairs, and an armoire on the right with a door at the end of the room. What do you do? Splash some water in my face and wake up. Mm-hmm. Then probably, do I hear any conversations from the left? No. It sounds like nothing. You're listening to your own heartbeat at this point. Oh, yeah. You're listening to your own breathing. I hate that. Unsettling. After freshening up, after waking up and splashing the water in the face, go back to the room I was in and grab all the stuff that was out. Mm-hmm. The bracers, the rain. All the blankets and all that? Yeah. You pick up all of the items, you put on the braces? Yeah. Would you like to describe them? And you could not, if you'd like not to. They're like these leather three, four-strap adhering bracers. Ornate, but not elegant. Seemingly some type of either hand-me-down or desired prized possession to quilt. Mm-hmm. These bracers are not well-worn, but obviously worn in a relative recent fashion. So you pick up all of the trinkets. After that, what do you do? As you begin picking up the trinkets, washing your face, things don't feel memorable, but they do feel familiar. You know that these are your things. This is your room. This is your space. I look in the dresser. Anything seemingly disturbed? No, not necessarily. These, you're going through the drawers, and you see very nicely folded clothes, undergarments, sloop-wear, very, very common items, while not extremely elegant, but also not peasant wear. Okay. I close the dresser and go out, probably to the library, to just relax for a moment, waking up still. You make your way to the study, and you are glancing over these bookshelves. These shelves are filled with books of history, government structures, locations, faiths, art, farming techniques, rope-tie manuals, campaign journals, guides, a small section of books on manipulation techniques. They're generally hovering over a multitude of topics. I probably pick up the ones, pick up one mostly about social reading, being able, the psychology of mannerisms, those types of things. Inflections and kind of like emotional distortions. Not so much the insight, using skills, but not so much the insight, but the how to manipulate those, manipulating others' insights. How long do you think you spend reading a book like this? How intrigued would you be? Pretty intrigued. Probably spend a few hours to start the day, just getting things going. Okay. After you spend a very not significant amount of time reading, you hear a knock at the door from the conversation room. Yes? You make your way to the conversation room? Walk toward it, but if it's clearly a conversation I'm not supposed to be a part of, we'll make my way down. There are no doors between these rooms. Oh, okay. The conversation room is right here. Yeah. The library room is right here. The washroom is right here. Your personal quarters are right here. The only thing connecting all of these four rooms is a single hallway. There are no doors except for maybe the washroom and your personal room, but there is nothing keeping you from walking through this door. Okay. Yeah, I'll go to it. My speculative free insight is maybe this is the only door, fire hazard, the only door exiting from this personal area. Yeah, I'll go to see what's going on. So you make your way to the door. Do you open the door? Do I hear talking already? No. Yeah. You reach to open the door, but just before your hand touches the handle, it turns itself, and the door opens a crack, and you hear a familiar voice. Will, you're taking a little bit too long to answer the door. I am trying to be polite. You recognize this voice to be Hasun. May I come in? Sure. Hasun is wearing his standard red robes. He has a sort of large satchel over his shoulder and a couple pouches by his side. As he takes a couple of steps inside, he puts his satchel on the table. Is there anything you do? Just staying quiet. As he's unloading his satchel, he takes out some robbed goods covered in brown paper tied in twine. One, two, four, five different parcels. Then he sets out two small plates and two small butter knives, and he gestures for you to sit at the table beside him. I sit. Do you begin the day at the market? Oh, I think so. Best you have all the energy you need, right? He sounds exhausted, tired, without life, maybe. Okay. So without enthusiasm, he unstrings the parcels. And before you see bread, you hear meats, cheese, jam, butter. And he sets these out in front of you, and he begins kind of like making his own plate of breakfast foods. A little bit more meat than anything else him being a gnoll would probably leave you there. Very. Before he begins eating, he waits for you expectantly to get comfortable making your own food. And while he's making his, I'll also be just making sure to not reach for the same thing as him at the same time. Unless you decide against this, you both eat in quiet. You just have a nice little breakfast together, supposedly. About halfway through, Ella is able to ask, so what's the plan for today? So today, you're going to be looking for this. And he pulls a scroll out of one of his pouches, and you see a drawing of a pretty regular looking bag. And he shows you another parchment, a drawing of a hobgoblin woman. He finishes his food, and he stands up. This woman's name is Rorkecht. She works with Sephun on the other side of town. Her bag of holding is a very unique one. And as he notices you finish your food, he walks over to the armoire, revealing a key in his hand. He unlocks it, and the doors swing open. Within, you see a familiar set of armor, weapons, and utilities. He scratches his head, and he says, he turns to you. He's called the Bag of Transverse. And, oh, right, almost forgot. And you see him reach into his pouch on his hip. What do you do? He said, oh, I forgot? Yeah. Forgot? He pulls out two bells, and he rings it, and Quill falls unconscious. Quill, you don't remember what happens after this meeting with Hasim, but your next memory, and even more memories following, are very similar situations where you wake up, maybe another trinket has made its way onto your cabinet, and this next time you do see the bag that you remember Hasim mistakenly talking about. And there have been occasions where maybe he slipped, maybe the last time you remember it was someone else's name, it was someone else's thing, maybe it was a different bounty, something. It happens every now and then, but it's not significant, just because it always just ends up to be another thing. What are you being used for, though? Is it important? How are you going to escape from the cycle? And then, after, it could be weeks, it could be months, it could be a year, it could be two, you remember this word. Hasim lets it slip. You will be stealing from the High Mage, Yuan. And he shows you a photo of a dodecahedron. He takes it away. This is going to be very difficult, because, as her title has reputation, there are going to be arcane locks, there are going to be traps, there are going to be ways she's going to track you, but I have trust in your abilities. And then, after that, your mission will continue further, and you will need to retrieve this. He shows you a drawing of a journal. A journal. This journal is Sagoth's. Sagoth, you do not know who he is, is an old Kino orc, who was renowned for his strength, but was also renowned for his treason. He was hunted by the dwarves, and he has an affliction. It is of the utmost importance that he does not see you. That's easy. He rings the bell. And you remember nothing. Quill, you wake up in your childhood home, now. You are sat on the couch. Parts of your skin, parts of your body are searing. You look at yourself, where you're sitting, and parts of your armor, chunks of it are missing, skin, fur has been burned off, and this place is almost unfamiliar. You could be in a stranger's home right now. What do you do? Windows and doors. Where are they? How many? Can you tell me? There aren't a significant amount of windows. There looks to be one door, probably to your left side. To your right side, you see a kitchen table, and are you getting up to look around the room, the building? I think her first instinct is, is she alone, to figure that out first. Tell me what you do to figure that out. Sit quiet, don't really move and listen, footsteps, voices. You hear voices in the far, far distance. You hear maybe birds chirping outside. For the first time in a while, you're actually welcomed by an orange light pouring through the kitchen window. While initially this room that you woke up in was dark and unlit, the welcoming light provides you a new feeling of lack of isolation. Lack of could be, I think freedom is kind of like a cheap word, kind of cheap. But this is different. Well, tell me what you do. Gather senses. Is there any food? Windows have less food. Right, he left groceries, right? Yeah, he left groceries. You see, what would, what kind of food would Poole find on the countertops or in the storage cabinet? In some semblance of bags or a basket or traveling container for coming back from market. There would probably be some snack nuts, some fruits, vegetables, maybe some modest amount of proteins, fish, meat. In the cabinet, maybe some dried goods. As you're making your way from the common room to the kitchen and you're looking around, it does feel familiar now. It feels reminiscent. And memory is triggered after you smell this cured fish that you see that is relatively freshly on the counter, speaking with an older tabaxi and being very quiet about this speech. What feeling do you think is coming from this triggered memory? Frustration, purpose, curiosity. Curiosity of what? What happened? What's next? Who is here? Going over again, you're taking your time to listen for nearby footsteps, creaking of wood, whether it be upstairs, whether it be outside, whether it be anything outside, these birds chirping. You may be filled with anxiety. You may be filled with paranoia, even. And you're drawn by this kind of like confusing feeling as to why, where you're mistrusting everything. And as you're making your way through more of these rooms, you see your older brother's room. And then you see your room. And you find yourself in this odd mental capacity of, oh, those are my old toys. Those are my old clothes. It's midday now. Where's your mother? Where might she be? Well, she's not home. Fresh groceries. Either in town or maybe outside. Mm-hmm. Could be. Didn't hear any singing or whistling. She wouldn't be, because she's not outside. Is she in town? That's probably where. That's probably where, in town. Mm-hmm. Probably. I also check her room. Is she in her room? No, she's not. Okay. What do you think she finds once Quill goes to her mother's room? Relatively untouched, other than the right side of the bed, where a cabinet had been pulled out and a drawer had been pulled out. Odd. You are looking through some of these garments, everyone. Right. Someone's clearly here. Did any of the bedrooms look touched recently? Not significantly. While you do notice a fair amount of dust on the floors, there are a significant amount of footsteps that have been made within maybe the last week. Some large, some small. And when you go to your mother's room and you're going through maybe her dresser, maybe just the sight or even the very subtle smell of her, what does Quill think of when remembering her mother? In years, you now acknowledge that in years since you've seen her, hasn't she looked for you or your father? Maybe Doza? Why did no one come? Why did no one reach out? Clearly someone brought me here. Who would know I lived here? No one knew I lived here. Did they? Doza, you make your way out from the Mage's Guild. Where do you go? What is your directive now? To your knowledge, Quill is still resting at home. Do you have this intriguing, question mark, opportunity from Yuan? Find a park and walk through it for a second? I don't know if there would be a specific park or along the waterfront. Something that has just ambient white noise that is not people talking? You... What time of day would it be? You said it was relatively late. Yeah, it would be roughly 6, 7, 8. In that case, actually. Stepping out. You definitely breathe heavy, rubbing nose, face for a second. Like, okay, what to do? Probably just... Not leisurely, but probably take the longer route back home. Maybe passing some of the temples? Um... While there are not a significant amount of civilians walking through the temple district... The light bells in the distance and the birds in the distance or on the roofing... They drown out the reminder of townsfolk. After a little while of walking, you pass in front of the Church of Tyr. Tyr having the symbol of scales above a hammer. With their colors being blue, white, and gold. Doza knows right off the bat that this is his mother's church, or was. Does Doza have any opinions regarding faith, maybe Tyr specifically? Or how his mother decided to spend a significant amount of their time with the Church of Tyr? Definitely, for me, it's... Faith is something that is a root for Doza. It's not who he is. It's not who he bases his being on. But it is something he can return to in his familiarity. A baseline to remind yourself by. To remind yourself of the bonds and flaws and morality. To allow yourself that second thought to make a decision. Instead of making instincts. What does Doza do? Well, still asleep. She's been asleep all afternoon. Probably has a little bit more time before she wakes up. Hopefully. Is anyone walking into the temple right now? Yeah, yeah. There is... There are actually a handful of people walking out. Maybe they just had to finish the service. Maybe... There could be a number of reasons why. There are two acolytes holding the door open for people as they are dismissed. And as they... They're just not really searching for anything. They're just kind of like glancing out in front of the courtyard. One of the acolytes meets your eyes. And they raise their eyebrows in their way. Do they gesture at all? They do not. They are not inclined to welcome people who are not inclined to argue with their way inside. But, with the meeting of his eyes, you might feel welcomed. You might not. This is also to establish that people of the many faiths are not willing to... Push. Indoctrinate others. Oh, they're not like Talos? Outside of their will. But yeah, you see all of these people leaving. Some are commoners. Some are peasants. Some are other acolytes being dismissed of their services for the day. Does it feel invited? Upon seeing people leaving, I'm more inclined than if there were a lot of people there. Mainly due to self-perceived guilt. Or self-pushed guilt. Tell me what those are those. He probably will. Not eagerly, but not reluctantly. More like someone who's lost. Trying to find a way. Approachingly? Approaches. Like curiosity of... Someone who's been gone for a long time. Are they still welcomed back? As this acolyte is holding the door, most of the people have exited the building. He sees you slowly making your way forward towards the doors. Welcome, friend. My name is, uh... Trevor. Are you familiar with this house? This house? To some degree. We are welcoming of all kinds. And... Can you roll the dice for me? Okay. Fifteen. He's... His eyes lock onto yours for a little bit too long. Maybe he recognizes you. From all followings, from all backgrounds, we are welcoming of anyone. As long as you bring no harm, mistrust, and the like within these bounds. Am I right to invite you? Yes. By all means. He holds the door a little bit more open for you. You will be looking to speak with Desmir, the High Cleric. Say the name again, I'm sorry. Desmir. D-E-S-M-I-R. We'd like to describe how the inside of this church looks. I can't do as I'd like to. As you walk in through these very tall double doors, you see multiple views on both your left and right. A bit shorter than the previous church you had been in recently. But maybe five, six views on each side. In the center of the room, you essentially see a large rectangular stone coffin. And decrypted on the top of this condom, on the top of it is a man with one hand holding a sword. In front of this stone coffin, you see a man with a white eye patch. Light golden embellishments on his blue robes. With the symbol of Tyr, the scales and the hammer. Sewn into the front of his robes. Very well to meet you, sir. My name is Desmir. How can I be of service to you? He reaches for your hand. Just a pilgrim lost, you might say. What brings you here, pilgrim? We are the house of Tyr. And while there can be allusion to scrub one's ledger clean, this house is not to be utilized as a safe haven from the law, purely. I ask of your intent, what brings you here? Searching, most possibly for purpose. Trying to find a way. Not in legality sense, in morality sense. Someone who knows what to do, but not what to do. Does that make sense? Yes. I am aware of your outstanding allegation, and while I can't say that I can clear your ledger, perhaps we can make an agreement. Are you aware that your mother is involved with the Church of Tyr? Yes. I sense the fact and have been made aware. What I can tell you about High Paladin River Spring is limited, and while my initial thoughts was either you or your sister, was you would come here searching for information regarding her, while I understand that it is perhaps rude, but with time and trust you will be allowed more leniency towards investigating her demise. And trust me, I would like to know just as well as you do. She and I were very close, but I can't allow any person to have access to all of her personal information as the High Paladin. And while I am here, I cannot take additional time to make means to investigate the allegations against her. It is fortuitous that you are here now, and while you are down on your luck, that is unfortunate, but I am glad that you are finally here to help even out the scales. Are you comfortable with devoting your time and presence? To a purpose, potentially. To a person, maybe not. I will be transparent and tell you that the Church of Tyr is not a church that tells you how to live a life. We here are provided guidelines, but it is up to the faithful to decide what those guidelines mean. These guidelines remain within the law. These guidelines remain with the just, remain with, on a morality scale, the good. But even that occasionally can go outside of opinion. And it is important that your involvement here is taken seriously, because I am not here to waste my time, I am not here to waste your time, and neither are you, correct? Mm-hmm. So what I am offering is you spend time as an acolyte here, and eventually as you learn more about the statutes of Tyr and prove yourself to be faithful of a sort, you will, like I said before, be allowed more leniency, and the information and the quarters of your mothers will be essentially yours within time. What say you? You have my interest. You have a close interest of mine, to be honest. I know you said officially you can't have me involved in figuring out what happened. That's not what I said. You can be involved, but it is important to me that this line of trust is respected. I can't have you waltz in and go to her quarters and start going through her cabinets, because you could be anyone. You could be someone in disguise, you could be, what are the local myths, a skinwalker of sorts. The trust within this house is very important, and with the recognition you being their kin, you will be allowed within these quarters. Does that make sense? Mm-hmm. This is all I have to offer you. No coin, no reputation. If you spend time with the faith and decide you would take your mother's place as a high paladin, then that will be up to you. But this is my offer. Can you give me the night to think about it? Of course. Can you give me the night to think about it? Of course. As you make your way on my way out, I would like for each step... Count each step that I take, and then on either the last pew, last bench, on some table near the entrance, for each step from that little room to the door, with that amount of gold. Um, seeing that there were six pews, you're a relatively tall person, 20, 25? Between them. And as the, um, acolyte that had greeted you, they see you submit into the donation box, they look to you and say, Very greatly appreciate it, brother. It is comforting to know that you are considering joining the House. Make sure the hungry get fed. May you fare well, regardless of your decision. Thank you. Is there anything on Doze's mind as he is making his way back home? He gave himself two deadlines of the morning. But, just... This was, yes, taking on a burden, but at the same time, it felt comfortable. It didn't feel like a yoke being placed upon him, as opposed to Yuan's task. It felt more like a yoke being put on him. Does that make sense? And he's thinking, Yuan's thing is just reconnaissance, this is action. Yes, this is definitely, both things are doable. They're both realistic. But this is also kind of a, like, going to the church was a realistic expectation of, like, this is a serious endeavor. This is not just you being able to walk in, yeah, clock your hours, walk out, yeah. Because what the real prize is, is essentially... defining out what your mother has done. Yeah. But, it's devotion. It's purpose. You're walking back home, and you look to the moon, and it is a full moon outside. And he smiles. Quill, as you're looking out of the kitchen window, looking at this moon, you notice the light pouring in, the light blue, light white, light, illuminating this small parchment next to the groceries on the counter, saying, Yuan Summon. This could be a request for you. Go ahead and roll me a history check, if you'd be so kind. 22. 22. 19 on the die. You are recalling the word Yuan. You're scratching your brain, Yuan, Yuan, Yuan. I know her. Well, at least... She was a mark. I know that I was involved with her for a moment. I got something from her. What did I get? What did I get? The palimpsest. The dodecahedron. You don't have it anymore. You're searching through your pockets, your things, whether they're zippers or flaps or anything. You don't have a lot of the things that you used to have, and you're getting very faint memories now of being within the church, of having the bag, of having the journal, of having the palimpsest, of having these achievements. While you don't remember these achievements, they were yours, and now they've been stripped from you. Yuan. Did she take it back? If she's summoning you, then she knows you're in town. And if she knows you're here... You could confront it. Confront her. Or... You could leave. Establish yourself somewhere else. Very true. No one's come back yet. No one leaves groceries on the table without putting them away. That doesn't seem logical. Yuan, why leave food out? It doesn't make sense. So, who was here? They haven't come back yet. They haven't come back yet, so... Either... They're coming back... They're coming back... They got devoted... Or they're gone. Unlikely... To know I'm here... Given no one's barged in all day. So that's... A tick for her not knowing I'm here. Delayed... Or gone. Delayed or gone. Delayed or gone. Delayed or gone. Delayed or gone. Delayed or gone. We're gonna set a trap right by the door. Okay. Tell me how you make this trap. Or what kind of traps, specifically, you're trying to make. I'm gonna make a noise trap. So, looking in cabinets, is there anything ceramic or glass? Yeah, you would, um... Yes, there would be... Probably not ceramic plates, actually. There would probably be pewter plates. Which is type of stone. Yeah. Which, if it were to fall, would make a hell of a lot of noise. Mm-hmm. Perfect. Gonna take one of the plates, put it so the plate, the food surface side, is against the door and the handle, and resting up against the jam. Mm-hmm. So, it's not preventing the door from shutting, or opening, but should the door open, boom, it falls. Mm-hmm. Going to do that, and then going to... Is there any mat on the inside of the door? On the inside of, like, the living room? The front door. Like, on the living of, on the inside of the living room, or on the, uh, like, on the, like, where our mat is over there? Yes. Um... Um... Probably, like, a little hay mat. Are there any, like, small beads, marbles, ball bearings that I can find, or have? Maybe, um, seeing that children had resided in this house, marbles would probably be findable. Or, um, you might remember that your dad would have things like ball bearings, um, maybe stashed away in some of his cabinets or something like that to find. I'm going to try and find a, not an exorbitant amount, but a good amount of that type of material. Okay. And take them and put them underneath the mat? Mm-hmm. And... Is there a blind corner to that door? Like, if someone were to open that door and... Would there be any part of the, that room that would be un, like, not immediately seen? Yes, um, I think that... We can draw out this living room a little bit later, like, the entire house, honestly. Um, but I feel like the door would open inside. Mm-hmm. And there would be probably an alcove for, um, a bookcase or, uh, any kind of, like, an ornament and stuff like that. Um, that's where you would... Okay. I'm going to... While upstairs also... Did I have a blanket on when I woke up? Did you? Doza probably would have left a blanket on her. Mm-hmm. I'm going to find some pillows from upstairs and make it look like someone is still on the couch under the blanket, and then give it and wait around the corner of the door for a while to see if someone comes home. If no one comes home, I'm going to tentatively rest and at first light leave. What do you mean at first light? Like, uh, sun up? Yeah. Or as soon as, like, rest, but try to not deeply sleep. Mm-hmm. You were resting not because you were asleep. You were incapacitated. And that did not provide enough rest to quell an actual body's kind of self-improvement other than healing itself. Mm-hmm. So not too long after you set this trap and make preparations and kind of, like, make these light plans to depart, you start dozing off lightly, and you're getting memories of being in the church and getting a journal and making your departure, but then your skin is illuminated and you try departing, you try leaving, you open up this misty step, as it were, and you're on fire and you're scared because you've been seen, not because it hurts, not because it's scary from what's going to happen, but this is the first time you've been seen. Mm-hmm. And the consequences are not something that you can imagine. You wake up with a start, and you don't know how many hours, minutes, seconds have passed, but you are still essentially behind the door, the trap is still set, and you are slightly relieved because of this. And only a couple moments after you've woken up from your light sleep do you hear a knock at the door. Mm-hmm. One moment, two moments pass, and there's another knock. What do you do? Nothing. No one's home. I maybe shroud myself even more in that corner, if possible, but doing nothing. No one. No one. Doza, you are making your way home, and as you are rounding the block to get to your house, you see Yuan walking down the street. Good evening, Doza. I was hoping to speak with Quill in regards of our conversation prior. Perhaps she has left? Perhaps she is asleep or something? Asleep or something? Well, I hope my message has been made well. What do you say? Hopefully she's still asleep, and it is a pleasure running into you. If you do not mind, I wish to retire. Have a wonderful evening. To you too. So you make your way to your house. Yuan departs, and you tell me what happens. Go to, and I will take liberties to act as Quill. I don't want you talking to yourself. Aww. Unless you would like that. Would you like to do that? Would you like to do that? It is an audio format. I will start off trying, and if I'm going completely batshit crazy, then I will pass it to you. Okay. So, wait for Yuan to get definitely out of eyesight before even opening the door. Once she's nice and far away, go to open the door. Take out the key, unlock it. Alright. And it opens inwards, so turn and open it. You see a plate shatters from where the door handle I thought was on the inside. I need a step back and get ready to fight. As you step back, go ahead and roll me a dex check. Dex save. Dex save. Okay. As Doza. Dirty 20. Dirty 20. Um, you notice that ball bearings have been placed under the hay mat. Um, you won't have your feet slip, but you catch yourself with your left foot. What do you do? Immediately look to see if Quill is on the couch. No, I don't see anything on the couch. You... Tell you what, give me a perception check. Okay. Because I did say ask Quill settings. Perception as Doza. Six... Sixteen. Um... Let me do this on, um... How good would that be? Tell you what. Um, perception check. Do you want me to roll a deception for Quill? Yeah, you can put sequel in there. Okay. She's laying where she was. Um, she may be tossed and turned a little bit, but... Yeah. It's a little bit suspicious though, there's traps on the inside. On the inside. So maybe you're being trapped. Did she see you on leave? Mm-hmm. Maybe they know that you're back in town. And the city guard know that you're here. Maybe you're the one being bounty hunted now. I'm keeping the door how it was. I... Quick, quick scan. Like, not losing sight of the door. Or like, doing one of those... Are you still outside? Uh, slowly making way in. Trying to make way inside, but trying to also not... If someone's coming from behind. Mm-hmm. Trying to clock that first. You don't see anybody significant, maybe. Okay. No, no one significant out in these parts at this time. Okay. I say... If this is one of your tricks... If this is one of your tricks, Quill, it is me. I'm here. I brought you home. I don't know if that is... If this is your doing or not. But I am coming inside. Quill does not respond. Quill does not believe it's him. Mm-hmm. I... Doza, I'm gonna start using third-person codes. Sure. Just so I can keep track of who's doing what. So Doza's gonna make sure to pull the cloak back so his face is visible. Mm-hmm. And... He... Pushes the map forward so the ball bearings and marbles are exposed in the trap. Not disarming the trap, but activating the trap, but not falling for it. Oh, we already went through that. Okay. That was your tech trick. Okay, I thought that was me just noticing it by then. Okay. So then I put a hand on the... Like, reaching out. And then I put the second hand and say, I am coming in. And then I slowly walk in. And Quill's going to wait a moment for them to get right as they would be in sight. Quill's going to bring Dagger, not to attack, but like... As a warning. Yeah. Like, getting ready to go like that. Yeah. Do you want me for Quill to roll anything? No. No, this is the story. Okay. It's me, it's me, it's me. And, like, Doza's not... Like, hands are up, like, in the surrender position. Mm-hmm. It's me. Like, still looking forward. Or trying to not intimidate, startle, or anything. Prove it to you. How would you like me to? My name's too easy. Where is Mother? What store is she at right now? What store is she at? She's been gone. Years ago, when we were in the market, I shielded you from the sight. I didn't want you seeing that. No one, no child, no one, no son, daughter, should ever see what happened to their mother in that fashion. And Doza's starting to tear up. Mm-hmm. Quill is stone-faced. Quill, go ahead and roll me a history check, please. With advantage. Wait, Quill, with advantage. Fourteen. You said, with advantage, correct? Okay, yeah, fourteen. Fourteen? Okay. You feel this heaviness in your heart, Quill, and you're seeing Doza well up in their eyes as they are speaking of their mother, your mother, and you're confused. You're having this odd reaction where you're also sad and morose. You are upset, you're angry, you're stressed. You're this multitude of stacks of negative emotions. You don't know how to deal with it, and you don't know how to deal with, allegedly, your older brother right in front of you. And you're angry because nothing has been explained. And while your mother's disappearance is still not come to you, the heaviness in your heart still remains. Try again. Fuck. Last time I saw you was us being taken after father coming home, demanding us to go with him out the window. I did not let you. I guarded you from that. I protected you from whatever fate he had in store for us. I could not let that happen to you. That was not your fate. That was not a decision he got to make for you. One more. One more. I don't know what else other than... What do you want? How can I prove? What do you want? Doza, as you are in this position, for a lot of your life, where bounty hunting, where combat encounters, where training, and all of these different situations where you may or may not have had the upper hand, but you remain successful in your endeavor, this game of cat and mouse that you've been playing over and over, every time that you've been in this situation, you finally now feel like the mouse. Look me in the eyes. Doza slowly, not making any sudden movement, turns to look at her. At this point, tears are streaming down his face. Him trying to show stoicism, but it is failing. Quill... Can I roll insight as Quill to see if she believes all three of those markers? You tell me. Does she believe? After all of this memory loss, after all of these... blanks of memory, maybe these knocks on the door that were prior to Doza walking in had reminded you of her sooner. And maybe this was not a ploy to pull these bells out of the pouch. With the dagger still to his throat, toss it back. Doza, not sudden movements as slowly and using as few hands as possible, takes his bag and drops it. Good arm's length away, so he would have to do a huge movement to try and get to it. Quill uses her foot... No, no, uses her left hand to shut the door, switches the dagger to hit her left and grabs the bag and pretty much runs just through, not looking, not looking at all, but based on feel, do I feel the bells? You do not feel bells. Do I feel anything, potentially resembling anything that could make that sound? No, what you feel inside the bag would be... a small container filled with liquid, a blood towel, I think a couple of health potions, oils, or similar. Whoever happens to be carrying a whole bunch of glass bottles in their bag is unbeknownst to me. You also feel a little prickly ornament. Prickly. That's what you see? That's what you feel? That's what you feel? Okay, you're not with Hasun. Who is at the door? Yuan. She had summoned me when I was in the market getting those groceries. Summoned me by Raven. On my way home, I left the groceries and the note in hopes that if you happened to wake up, you would have some idea of maybe where the person who brought the groceries went. Seeing as you are awake, seeing as you saw the groceries, found the plates, left them right where they were, because you haven't had much time since, that was who was at the door wanting to implore you to either help her or leave the city. Because in pursuit of in returning to the city, I may or may not have accidentally had a run-in with the law and may or may not be wanted for false charges. Actual false charges this time. Really now, you think I'm that stupid? I've been nothing but truthful to Quill ever since stepping into here and hearing that plate fall and break. I've done nothing wrong to hurt you. I was the one who carried you here. I was the one who cared for you, fed, gave you water, bandaged those wounds, the one on your leg, the slight scorch mark on the back of your left shoulder. I was the one who trusted. I think upon hearing where those wound placements were, that gives some sign of, sign of, okay, this is actually, this is, uh, and upon that, she wants to give him a hug, but at the same time, wants to punch him in the face. So... sit. Let's sit. I need, we need to talk. And she keeps the dagger out and pointed at him, but definitely not as on alert as she just was. And Zod does comply. He asks, can I draw the curtain so no one can be peering in? She, Quill nods and allows him to, all the while she has one dagger pointed at him and has produced a second dagger ready to be thrown. Mm-hmm. You can disagree with me if you would like, but I think that Quill would have Doza sit at the table and Quill will sit where her father did. Oh, yeah. Hundred percent. Nearing that night. Do you think that Quill tells Doza of what she has seen? Not yet. Still addressing the now. Then we'll worry about the past, is her mentality right this second. So, if you are Zod, where have you been? I've been... Honestly, been in... Most recently, where we encountered each other, was, I am working on the Ormoth. Then before that, was here. Then before that, Sigma. And then before that, was here again. Mm-hmm. Trying to make a living and trying to pick up pieces. Why did you never come out to find me? I wanted to. I really did. Just didn't have the resources, didn't have the methods, didn't know where to begin. Vasodon had me by the neck, on charges. False ones, I might say. And what were you doing in Sigmar? Came across a half-orc goliath and a dwarf who... Unexpected adventuring companions who, meanwhile, all of this, Doza is having his hands on the table, as calm as he can, being held at knife point. Mm-hmm. I was in... The three of us got summoned by Lord Enoch to get on Captain Hanzo Porter's ship. And we were on our way to... somewhere, I don't remember offhand, when we were attacked by the... We can say that we go and practice all of this, especially since the people listening to it have been there. Yep. So Doza spends a lot of time essentially going even through the kind of like minor details of his adventures of the past two or so weeks. Mm-hmm. So one of the nights, relatively recently, had a dream when we were hiding out in the tavern that... down the road, where... was running through this corrupted forest, and... deer with crystalline antlers was running, but not being pursued. Came across this large building with this large statue of some thing, black leather on my hands, pushing the doors open to this church with many people inside. Going up the floors, seeing a black mass in a crystalline pool, a human figure in that pool, a female voice resonated from me, and a massive hand was put on my head, and then... woke up. I know nothing of that. Correct me if I'm wrong, Doza's interpretation of that was that it was Quill. Mm-hmm. Quill recollects nothing from that. Um... You go further, and you continue telling Quill of these... adventures, misadventures, all the way up until... Right, sitting at the table. Are in... the Church of Talos. Mm-hmm. And... that's where things go from nothing to blurry to her. You are talking about how you were, um... fighting Seyoff, and... then you notice her... attempting to escape. And... not knowing exactly that it was her, that's why the combat ended how it ended. Mm-hmm. And... how does Quill feel about that? About... while this is the first time they have been caught, it was by their brother. Somewhat... relieved isn't the word. Appreciative, I think, is the... would be a better way to describe it. Like... I'm glad I was bested by my own kin than some random person. Mm-hmm. Does that make sense at all? Yeah. Okay. Out of all the variables that could have happened, I'm happy that it was you. Yeah. Well, this is Quill. You were the one who bested me. Really, brother. Well, it wasn't just me. There was the half-orc and the half-orc goliath and the dwarf. The dwarf was the one who made it much easier to give him credit. And to be honest, the goliath wanted to end it. I begged to protect you. Because that was my job. It's always been my job to protect, to care. And the moment I saw it was you, I didn't care what happened to anyone else. I didn't care what happened to me. My thought was, my only instinct was, I need to keep you safe. I feel like Quill might be compelled to question Doza's association with Yuan. So to skip asking that as Quill, I'm just going to respond as Doza. Yeah. She wanted to recruit one or both of us for a job. Me for spying on Lord Enoch, and you for working with her and knowing your skills and abilities, either you working with her or leaving town. And I told her, it is not my place to answer for you. You are your own person. I can tell you my opinion, seeing as you bested me a few minutes ago. I'm not one to tell you what to do anymore. It is not my task to protect you. I will always want to. And should you ever desire, sometimes maybe even not desire it, I will always protect you. Why was Yuan looking to involve me? Our father. She explained why. Me as a player don't remember why Yuan wanted Quill. The personal connection. Right. The insight check was more for Doza specifically. Mm-hmm. But Quill alludes... Quill can put together that maybe it might be a little bit more than what Doza knows at the time. Mm-hmm. The half-orc Goliath took the palimpsest and I don't know immediately offhand what's become of it. Yuan wanted you for, I'm assuming, skill set, but also relation to our father. Wanted me because, once again, relation to father. But also for the Lord Enoch because apparently it's hard to get into his inner circle and I only had to get a letter from him to get into his inner circle. What does Quill think of this and essentially Yuan's offer towards them being involved? She would want to know what's in it for her and the constraints behind it. Quill, how do you feel about this subject specifically? Do you think it warrants you seeking out Yuan to have a discussion with her yourself? Seeing that your father... Sorry not to cut you off. No, no, you go. Seeing that your father is now involved with this, this might be a little bit more compelling. It is. And every step of the way it's always been summoned in one form or another, told what to do, go do it. It's kind of all... It's kind of all she's ever known was get summoned, do task, go away. Get summoned, do task, go away. So not being summoned directly but still, again, being summoned. And blind on the task. Sounds like a trap, doesn't it? Doesn't that sound like a trap, sir? She is strong for what you bargain with her. Appearances aren't always reality with that one. She is deserving of the title of High Mage. But if you want to go, I will go with you if you want. But also figuring out what happened to Mother, why that happened to her is also the major thing that I want to figure out. Because I know I subconsciously, choice, purposely, whatever, suppressed those thoughts and then being back in town most recently, the floodgates broke. Do you remember what happened to her? Go ahead and roll me another history check with advantage. Ten. No. This feeling in your heart lessens this time. It's not as significant as it was moments ago before you and Doza had sat down. I think it's up to Doza whether or not to fully explain it or to not. But this is essentially the fourth road. She was executed in the town square on charges of treason. Treason, assault, manipulation of the treasurer. Knowing Mother, and as he accounts for each of those, there is a physiological grimace as he does, not believing them as he says them. Repeating a thing that you know deep in your heart is a lie, but it's being told by everyone else's truth. Which I don't see being possible. She was a careless woman. She wouldn't do any of that. For God's sake, she was a paladin of Tia. It doesn't make sense that she would do that. Upon hearing the paladin of Tia, I think Will does not believe that, because she never saw any indication of it, something like that. Other than the selflessness. If River Spring chose not to be public with her association with the Church of Tia, to her children, then I think that... I think there is some involvement of like, oh, we need to help care for others. We need to help others in that regard. I don't think she would keep it a secret, though. Being a paladin of Tia, while it is kind of like not the most hoity-toity, like, I'm a paladin of Tia, blah, blah, blah. She would kind of like, well, my job is a very respectful one. I work at the Church of Tia, blah, blah, blah. Probably didn't hype it up, but also kept it modest. Okay. Thank you. So, she was not just a paladin, though. The high paladin. And that position, all of a sudden now being raked through the mud, that doesn't make sense, does it? Right? Am I crazy, Quill? Does that make any sense for someone revered in circles, all of a sudden being told doing such 180 actions? The puzzle pieces are starting to make sense now. Quill knows that Doza is starting this path of being motivated towards being associated with the Church of Tia to find out what happened with his mother. And if Doza's doing that, then... Quill... I can always use a hand. Except for Quill. So... I think I would like to find father. But... I... do not want you all involved. That's fair. Being roped into another... ball and chain situation is daunting, and it is... unkind. Fair. Very fair. I don't know what comes for me tomorrow. And I'm... glad... that... I've seen you today. Makes me happy, too. Seeing you on your feet. I think that's what I will pursue. Can I ask... some favors? Or, not even favors. Some considerations. You may ask. Here will always be home. If I am here, you will always have a bed. And, number two... Don't... Don't always believe... what people claim... happens... happens to our family. You believe what you find is truth... and that is what is important. Your conviction... your honor... is what's important. And that is something no one can take from you. Those are the two considerations I ask for you to keep. Quill is going to... stand up from the table. And you... can see a tear fall from her eye. And without saying anything else, she... goes to her room and closes the door. Making that sound exactly... like that. Doza... you have some stuff to clean up at the door. So yeah, Doza definitely... cleans up the plate, cleans up the marbles. And... before going to bed... definitely writes Quill a little note and leaves a little... travel package for her on the table. Doza... you... spend your night... catering and cleaning up the house... putting away the groceries, writing your note... and preparing... sassines for your sister. Unless there is anything else you would like to do tonight... we can resolve this day. Okay. He's probably going to... before going to bed... probably in... either in his room or... downstairs. Probably... probably... in his room he would do this. But keeping the door open... just to hear... to essentially still be on guard. Just to make sure no one's bothering the house. He's going to... take his mantle off. The little cloak he wears. And... where'd it go? There it is. He's going to... take the clasp off... and turn it around and... remove the piece of cloth covering the ivory insignia of... the scales... the balancing scales... and put it on the ground and... whether or not anyone is actually listening or not... I hope... your reasoning... and while staring at the... at the symbol of Tyr... I hope your reasoning for... doing this... what is... purposeful and meaningful and... that... the wheels behind the curtain... or why this happened to Mother... I hope you don't think less of her for these accusations... is what I'm saying. I know she was... who she was. And... those lies and slander... that can't be the truth. That can't be what... you set her up for. She's too good of a person to do that. And... I can't believe... that... a deity like you... would willingly let... someone as pure and as selfless as her... fall to that. So... Whatever... call it... whatever you want to call it... she will be... restored. Her honor... will be restored. If not by me, then... then... some... hopefully someone else finds this injustice and raises this mantle up. But I know... I can't sit down the sideline and... leave my mother's name in the mud. That's not her. That's not who she raised. That's not her legacy. And then I... I think he's going to... not... lay down to sleep, but... lean up against... his bed and... with the medallion there... fall asleep. Roll me a perception check, please. I've been rolling pretty well tonight. Twenty-four. Twenty-four. Right after you finish your prayer... you can hear a door... in the hallway... softly closing. And that is your night. Can I ask one question? Feel free to. When I came up the stairs... was Quill's door open or shut? It was shut. Okay. You wake up to a new day. You see... the... letter that you had left. The goods... have been taken. It is roughly... eight o'clock... maybe nine. And... you wake up... and you see... the letter... that you had left. Anything that was out of place... any wrappings, bandages... anything that Doza may have... put off to the next day... was taken care of. Was cleaned. And... Doza, what do you do with your day? Feel free to utilize this day to... maybe go shopping. Maybe... find something that you are looking for. Give me a moment to just breathe. Okay. Because today... first off... first off... was the... symbol still in front of me... when I woke up? Correct. Okay. Door was still open? Uh, cracked. Just as you left it. Okay. And everything that I didn't clean... was cleaned? Correct. I... Is Quill's door open? Quill... No, she... Did she leave it open or shut? Uh, she left it open. Okay. It's organized in that room now. Dusted and everything? Dusted. The... her old toys and the like... were organized... how she used to like it. Like, kind of like... set up in the corner of the bed. I... don't touch anything other than just... make... making sure it's... clean. But like where she left things... I don't touch... for the most part. I... take the morning probably... two, three hours to just... start cleaning up... with the upstairs. Going through... my room... mom's room, dad's room... et cetera. I know we found the... hidden compartment of dad's... nightstand. But now... finding... looking... just... making sure... no other surprises to be found... maybe in mother's nightstand. Or anywhere else in the room too. Nothing significant from your mother... nothing... nothing that stands out... just very ordinary, regular, regular. And... dad's side, nothing... unexpected? No underwear. That's weird. Alright. Okay. But yeah. Clean up there. Make the beds. Then... yeah. Downstairs. Seeing the... care package and note... taken... definitely... giving a sigh of relief of... hopefully... she remembers... she remembers... home. And... that is... I know... she... she... hopefully... will see that I'm true... truthful about that and... hopefully we will... hopefully she will... come back. But... if you love something you have to set it free, right? So... this is him talking... like mumbling... not mumbling to himself but... knowing you have the house to yourself... talking to yourself... but pretending someone's listening... but you know no one is. Get it off your chest. Or anything. Yeah. Then... gets to the downstairs... starts cleaning... the downstairs... Doza goes through and cleans his entire house. It is... pristine. Oh wow. You finish around... three maybe four o'clock... and you are taking your break. From doing so... you feel... content... with... how things have been left now. Alright. Let's do this. And... he's going to... make his way... to... back to the temple. You make your way... back to the church of Týr. Yes. And... the acolyte that had held the door for you is not there... currently... but you do find... Desmyr... the High Cleric. Welcome friends. I am... glad that you have made your way... back to us. Are you here on behalf of your decision? I am. Very gratified. Tomorrow morning... I expect you to be here... first hour of sun up. First hour of sun up? First hour of sun up. I will... go over... everything... with you... we will go over the locations... I will show you around... you will be meeting people... and then I will outline... all of the things we do here. And... we will develop... your statutes... based on Týr statutes... and see what fits for you the best. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. So you make your way to the Mages Guild... and... it's... it's roughly midday... now... you... make your way there... and there are quite a few more wizards... and mages there... at the moment... and so... just like you had before... you knock on... you knock on... Yuan's door... it takes a couple seconds... Yuan... opens the door... Doza... I am very delighted to see you. Have you thought about my offer? I've thought about it and... would like to discuss further. Sure, sure, please come inside, come inside. And the room looks different... now than it did before... where... this room looks... kind of like a science room... where there are... essentially those stone slate chemistry tables... Oh, yeah. You know what I'm talking about? The ones that you can draw on very easily with a pencil? Correct. Correct, correct, correct, correct. Love doing that. Love the faking stuff. Yep. There is an alchemical... bench... and... a couple other... like crafting benches... in this room... and... at the moment she is... taking notes for some chemicals... that she was... looking at... one vial being... a very bright yellow... another vial being... a very deep purple... and... she... has kind of like... these spectacles on... with kind of like... multiple lenses... one side... even more on the left side... and she's... kind of like... looking... at the glasses... and having this conversation with you. She's like... tell me what's on your mind... and she's taking notes... and scribbling while she's talking to you. What's in those? Sorry. Slight distraction. Chemicals. But the conversation at hand... is important. I am very busy right now. What is on your mind? So... what type of information are you looking for? Specifics. Proper nouns would be most appreciated. Honestly... regarding Enoch... anything... is anything. Once we get a little bit further along... once we have a little bit more information... I'll know what... strands to grasp... for... but... any crumbs that fall off the plate... is what I'm looking for... because... I am aware that... he may be a very... tight-knit... man. You should know as well as I do... any fallacies... any flaws... or something to be exploited. And while I am not declaring this man as my enemy... or any sort of sense... it is just important to... know thy enemy. And... if I can rule him out as a... potential threat... then all the better for all of us. What crumbs do you already have... so I know not to repeat information? Not a lot. Other than... It is rather confusing to me... that... he, of all people... made it out of this party alive... and... he hasn't contacted anybody about it. He hasn't contacted anybody about it. That in the same breath of... he and I were not close... by any means. But... it's very confusing as to how an adventurer... goes into the depths... of... I think he was... I can't rightly remember... I think he was fighting some... kind of... god or something... and... they got bested. And that's the last I heard. And then years later... he... is apparently the... some high societal person... in Ennifol. Somehow surviving? And suspicious, honestly. Have you... Have you talked to him? Nope. Why not? Because... like we spoke of before... it is difficult... to get within... his speaking range. And also... he knows enough about me... that... that would draw suspicion. I was not... the best of companions... but... sometimes... the ends justify the means. Sometimes. Rarely, though. Any more questions? Is this... information I get you... your end of the deal is... if you get voted in... and I do this... then you'll clear the name. Am I understanding our arrangement correctly? Those two conditions need to be met first. Clearing your name is a difficult subject... because when people are looking at these flyers... and they are accusing this person of doing such a thing... and then a new treasurer comes into place... and the treasurer says... oh, this is actually fine, don't worry about this... then concern is drawn. So... So... what the public record will be... is that you will be under my supervision. And I have no... requirements, really, of you... other than this task currently. And once this task is finished... then you will be open to accept another task... if you are willing. If you are willing. I see. How does that sound? Then she finishes taking notes... and she sets the glasses on the table... and provides you her full attention. And should you not be elected in... then does this entire thing crumble? Then... my... offer still stands... while I will not be able to do as much as I could... as a treasurer to... reduce your... sentence, as it were, or trial. I will do what I can within my means. What do you think about this offer? I apologize. It is... a fluctuation. It is... not essentially a gamble... but at the end of the day... your reward is still information about your father. And while I am withholding of this... this is my leverage. I'm intrigued. I am interested. Like you said... not getting elected... will make things harder on your end. So... I will start... but I will not... wait. But along the way... I would like... signs... that things are getting better. As I give information... I need some take in return. So you are agreeing? I am interested, yes. So you are agreeing because you are wasting my time right now. I'm telling you I'm interested in the arrangement, yes. I need decisiveness. And I'm telling you I am interested in the arrangement, yes. Are you agreeing? Being interested... is not you agreeing or declining. That means you are interested. That is consideration. That is... not an answer. I need a yes or no. I am a very busy person... and I understand it is a... confusion of an offer of someone who is not yet in... political superiority. But I need you, Doza, to decide where you are going in life... instead of sauntering wherever you go. I appreciate you being here. I appreciate you taking the time to think about it. But I need you to be considerate of others and their time. So... what is it you would like to do? Sure, I'll help. Thank you. She finishes her notes for a second. I expect to see you very soon. I hope you have a very wonderful day. You may leave. Sure. I... go to leave. Okay. I apologize, but I'm not a rude... little bit. Little bit. So... you leave... and... you... one-to-one ratio, you fucking... you know that Yuan was annoyed with... how... Doza liked the answer. Um... Do with that... as what you will? Mm-hmm. So, um... you leave the Mages Guild? Mm-hmm. Is there anything... anything else you would like to do in town for the week? Mmm... Probably... get another set of just... everyday clothing. Okay. Cool. Um...