After the events of that day, the party decides to head back to the inn to sleep for the night, still having two more days of the Kite-Flying Festival left.
(Ask the party if there's anything they'd like to do before taking a long rest.)
The party wakes up (prompt somebody to wake up first, ask them if they wake the others up) and eventually makes their way downstairs to have breakfast. There they see Iskra, the waitress from the Yumalyan restuarant they've frequented having a pale orange drink with her breakfast. When she catches them come down, she quickly chugs the drink.
- Upon being questioned, she admits that she's reluctantly grown to like Orappillk over the past several years. In the 50 some-odd years before present day, when Leferin first made contact with Yumaly, they brought the drink with them, and it grew to become a small part of the cuisine. Ljubica herself isn't a fan of the drink, calling it "a crime against cuisine," but Iskra doesn't mind it.
- Nadyn butts in that he's Yumalyan too, and that he actually likes it. Iskra looks shocked, before asking him if he's ever received judgment for it. He admits that he does, but he's received judgment for so many things in his life (he flashes a quick glance to Amanti) that it's just one more thing at the end of the day.
When the party finishes their conversation with Ljubica and has breakfast, they're informed that they have some people at the door asking for them. When they get up to investigate, it's two members of the adventuring party that was seen with Michael earlier: The dwarf and Aarakocra.
They explain how they witnessed the party fighting off a bunch of Tigers of Nam members yesterday and wanted to ask what was up and if they were okay. They've been to Nam before (Water Genasi is from the South [Liya], Dwarf is from the North [Qingshi], Aarakocra is from the West [Zuang], and Half Elf is from the East [Sitian]) and witnessed the Tigers' unsavory activities. They also ask if they have a debt or anything that they owe the Tigers, and that's why they're after them.
Water Genasi - Sorcerer: Draconic subclass, Blue (lightning) dragon
Aarakocra- Rogue: Scout
Dwarf - Paladin: Watchers Paladin
Half Elf - Barbarian Ancestral Guardian
(They seem to show familiarity at being told that they seem to be after Fanna for stealing a necklace from one of their captains).
- They remember seeing the Tigers seemingly hitting up any store in the area, especially pawn shops, to see if the necklace that was stolen had shown up, or if any person in a bright seafoam green bob had shown up.
After the two Alt Party members leave, an older couple shows up at the inn: They are looking for Thien, and immediately light up when they see him, rushing to him and giving him a hug. They start babbling about their time in the city during the festival: The mother happily talks about winning several kite battles, the father saying how she easily crushed her opponents, and how they stopped by the massive origin story tapestry to look at it. They admit to having done some window-shopping in Main Street for a while, the father secretly whispering to the party how he bought Thien's father an expensive set of robes when they momentarily split up, to cheer her up after being so stressed lately--Robberies have started becoming more common in the area.
While walking around the city, Nadyn seems to especially enjoy talking with them. When they meet Mei clipping some tree branches (she's one of the park workers) at one of the parks, Nadyn panics and leaves the party, but in truth he actually left to go cry by himself. Thien's parents fawn over Mei and remark how pretty she is, which she politely and modestly accepts.
When walking around, Nadyn accidentally trips and get caught in some hanging fabric, knocking several baskets on him. After untangling him, and apologizing to the shopkeeper, Thien's parents start rushing at him asking if he's okay ("Are you sure, sweetheart?". To their surprise, Nadyn starts bawling, though Nadyn is only a little scraped up. Thien's dad pulls out several bandages and promptly bandages the wounds, leaving Nadyn sniffling.
After Thien's parents leave, a distraught Nadyn asks Amanti where his brother (Matas) is, and if he ever bothered to try and find him during/after the war. Nadyn is especially worried because his brother ended up on the losing side. The two end up arguing, with a frustrated Nadyn remarking that maybe he should leave and try to find him on his own. In the end, he ends up breaking down and crying again--He doesn't know what family is like, and the closest thing he had to one was in the army and part of the terrorist group that got assigned to sabotage the Shuixiu Fair, but they either are dead or unable to be reached.
In the end, he walks up to Brooks and asks for the Michael Sending Stone. He stares at it for several moments, before ending up giving it back.
Comments