Another Walk in the Graveyard - Pyrin and Kem

Set after the events of Something New, Something Waiting and Temple Run

Co-written alongside Caliban (Pyrin) with a bit of help from willemf

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Pyrin hears a voice in his head as he goes about his business late in the evening:

“Pyrin Branch. This is The Hekrati.” There’s a short pause, “Just fucking with you. It’s Kem. Where are you? We should talk. Twenty five word reply.”

"Caltrops, and...Ball Bearings, please." It was a good thing the store manager had turned to head to his stockroom; as Pyrin's talon had raced to his rapier as the voice rang through his head. His beak furrows, but straightens out as Pyrin's hand returns to his side. "Bard. Daring Heights." The response is short, curt, and distinctly hiding a tinge of irritation.

A second message comes through, “Can’t do many of these. Care to be more specific? I’m near town. Could meet at the Cannonfodder Café?”

"Fine. Be there in 10 minutes." The store manager comes back, Pyrin bowing his head before trading his coin. Then something stops him, juuust before he leaves the store, and he turns back to the store manager. "...You wouldn't happen to have any...Poisoner's kits, would you?"

As Pyrin arrives he sees Kem’s pony, Jili, and his caravan tied up outside the café which in turn looks out over the graveyard. The human himself is sat in a window seat of the café looking down at a cup of tea. He doesn’t seem to have seen Pyrin. The caravan is unattended.

Pyrin makes his way into the café, taking a seat opposite from Kem with no word for a greeting or a 'How do you do.' His eyes bore into the Bard, a distinct crack on his beak visible now- a new little change in visage. Arms crossed, he waits.

A voice from behind him says “And there’s me thinking you couldn’t resist poking that beak into someone else’s business if you got the chance.” Kem walks past him and sits down in place of the illusion of himself that he dismisses.

Pyrin's brow furrows. He takes his hat from his head, placing it onto his lap. A few more deliberate moments of silence as he denies Kem the satisfaction. But then he remembers something Erron had told him, and he lightens up a little. Though, he'd keep what that was to himself. "Unfortunately it would seem that the Hekrati didn't exactly want to keep paying my tab."

“That’s a pity. It’s been pretty useful having free food everywhere I go.” Kem slides a plate of pastries onto the table as he takes a seat. “You have another run in with them?”

Pyrin watches the Pastries slide over. He looks back to Kem. "Along those lines." He sighs, before clasping his talons together. "You wanted to talk to me. I imagine it wasn't about offering tea and pastries." He looks down to the pastries, picking up a knife on the table and gently nudging it to ensure it is in fact a Pastry, and not an illusion.

As Pyrin reaches out with the knife Kem pulls the plate back towards him, "Damn right I wasn't offering tea and pastries. The counter's over there if you want to get your own." He picks one up and takes a bite, his eyes rolling back in his head at the relief of sating his hunger. "I wanted to talk about what we saw over there." He nods toward the graveyard.

Pyrin watches his eyes roll back into his head, and leans slightly into his chair. "I see now why you chose this place. Well, what is there to discuss beyond the fact that we awoke a massive, biped horror akin to something written in a Monster Hunter's tome. And the beautiful knowledge that, well, it's out there. Somewhere."

"Yes. That. So... is that all you know about the situation?" Kem finishes the pastry and starts on a second one.

"We can also discern that there are four parties involved in our little escapade. The Hekrati, the De Silvias, the Von Walds.." He spits the words out with disdain. "And of course, the Skaragos themselves. After all, Ribcracker seemed to have his own agenda to follow."

"And you'd dealt with the Hekrati before right?" Kem raises an eyebrow, "You'd met their leader before?"

"Yes and No. I hadn't met their leader, but I had encountered an asset of the Hekrati. Him and their High Priestess talked, evidently." Pyrin pauses, before deciding to get the cards on the table. "I'd encountered an 'agent', a man- Warlock, perhaps, who'd been performing kidnappings for the Hekrati for the sake of I assume sacrifices. He was...taken to Port Ffirst. He had told us that in confessing to us, he would be silenced." Pyrin considers things. "I have to imagine that they caught him, tortured him and retrieved the information regarding myself and the other's I had been with- thus how that High Priestess knew of me." Pyrin's eyes flicker to the side, into the cafe. He reaches down to his hat, inspecting it seemingly. "We should go. Is there anywhere private we can continue this?"

"Are you thinking a park? An inn room?" Kem pauses to think for a second, "I doubt they like temples. I bet the Temple of Waukeen rents out rooms."

Pyrin turns his head to the Caravan outside, visible through the window. He then turns back to Kem who simply says, "No."

Pyrin turns back to the window. A small smile etched his beak. "Hmph. I shan't pry. Perhaps the Graveyard then."

"So we could go to a temple or we could walk, at night, through a graveyard to avoid being kidnapped, tortured, and/or sacrificed." Kem looks down at the pastries and gets up to leave, "Probably can't bring food to a temple. Let's go."

Stepping outside, Pyrin reaches into his coat, and deploys a small disc. Intricately, it expands to form a lantern as the two make their way into the Graveyard. Ignoring any baiting from Kem for the meantime, he keeps his awareness to just make sure that they have some privacy.

Interrupting any spiel Kem may or may not have been on, after all he wasn't listening, Pyrin speaks. "Right. We're alone."

“…The Soldier was an odd one for her but-" Kem stops as Pyrin interrupts him. “Whatever. You’re too young to hear the rest of that story anyway. Yes. We’re alone. Any more precautions you want to take before we can have a simple conversation?”

"The Hekrati have been following me for the past few weeks. I have to assume the same for all of us. Mendal, Finnegan, You and I." A pause. "Perhaps me more than the rest of you. But this place, as far as I am concerned? No one to hear us but the dead."

Kem smirks, “And why is that? What makes you such a threat to them?”

Pyrin shrugs. "Perhaps it's a latent hatred of Aarakocra. Or perhaps they just don't like me being… persistent."

“And what has that persistence uncovered? What do you know about them?”

"Fuck all."

Pyrin continues, "Beyond an association with Fiends to a degree. I mean, I'm not particularly wise to this matter, but Warlocks- pact's don't just come willy-nilly. So, I have to assume that the fiend association is more than just a worshipping deal- I have to assume we have Demons and Devils actively in play." An idea crosses Pyrin's mind. One which he shudders at.

Kem raises an eyebrow, “What is it? Come on, I know when someone’s holding back.”

"It's...an idea. An idea of pure madness." The lantern changes colour to a deep orange; more akin to fire than the white light it had illuminated the pair in. "My second ever..."case", if you will, involved assisting a "Paladin of Tyr". Long story short, I and a few others made a short excursion to the Hells, specifically Malboge, where I had the...dubious honour to meet an Archdevil. Glasya.” He pauses, “I toy with the idea- it's frankly suicidal to even consider it more than a glance and I reckon it only makes a true conclusion far more difficult to obtain. But I simply wonder if this little fiend cult is on its own? My knowledge of the Hells is admittedly, limited. But I imagine that different devils have their own cults. And I wouldn't be surprised if they were at odds with one another."

“Well that’s certainly a story. Your point being that there are more cults out there? Of course there are. Places like this swarm with them.” Kem begins to look annoyed, “So you don’t know where they’re based? How many there are? If that high priestess is available? Anything like that?”

"I didn't suggest going after other cults. I had meant to suggest we take our inquiries to the highest level. To ask the damn Archdevil herself.” He shrugs, “But I also realise that such an idea is incredibly difficult- to plan, to execute, and to even get anything close to a straight answer."

The questions Kem followed up with did manage to curve the Aarakocra's beak a little into a smile, and cause him to exhale a little in humour. "I certainly hope the stereotype about Bards and attempting to court anything attractive and with a pulse isn't true. I can understand courting is appealing but, not everyone needs to be courted. Or is appropriate to be courted. Gods know, I saw a half-elf try and court an Archwyrm the other day."

“Good for them, but did you not see her? Doesn’t matter. So, you want to go up the chain to find whatever being they’re worshipping and ask them questions about this cult? If you’re not joking you’ve lost your mind. Maybe, instead of planning a trip to the hells you could, you know, do some of that detective work you’re so proud of?”

"I'm working on it. Following two mad cult- sorry, Fourteen random cults is quite a time-costing endeavour. Cults, Curses, oh my.” Pyrin rolls his eyes, “Now, brass tacks. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Kem goes to answer the question but then stops as he processes that last remark, “Fourteen cults? Curses?”

“It’s a strange amalgamation of cults- perhaps a pantheon of sorts. They all seem to share a numerical value, an animal of note, and a liquid which they revere. So there was one regarding an entity it called “The Deepest One” and was associated with the number twelve. It was also associated with Saltwater for its liquid. And these curses, they seem to be associated with these cults. I met an associate a while ago, who had a curse/brand of sorts of a Crow. I’m not too sure of how these curses work, but they require something of the bearer for the effects to be lifted; though temporarily.”

Kem’s eyes light up at this information, “Okay yeah forget the thing I was going to talk to you about, we’re talking about that and everything you know about it. Does this one ring any bells?” He turns his hand over and reveals the mark on his palm to Pyrin.

Pyrin’s eyes widen as he sees the symbol, but it’s more so with interest than hostile suspicion. “As a matter of fact; it does. This is very interesting- how did you acquire this?”

Kem smiles, “Let me tell you a story. The cast; a pirate witch, a thief who makes terrible life choices, a pocket sized person with no voice, and a mysterious Sk-”

Pyrin lets out a sudden and deafeningly loud ‘CAW!’ - breaking Kem’s stride as he begins to tell the story. Some of the corvids in the Graveyard respond in kind, before quieting down themselves.

“That’s just rude.” The bard rolls his eyes, “I found it in a book in a hag’s library. Happy?”

Pyrin smiles. “Content. A Hag’s library- did this Hag happen to have anything to do with Rats, or acid? Mention any cults or…warrens?”

“I didn’t stop for a chat, but…” Kem sighs, “Their name is the One Who Gnaws. Their number is nine, their beast is the rat, their liquid is acid and their metal is rust. Their cults are the Nine Warrens, they will chew through the world and swallow it whole, they are hunger made manifest.”

“They’re a charming lot. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of their worshippers.”

“Oh? Now that is interesting. I think it’s time for you to tell me a story.”

Pyrin looks into his lantern, then steps to the side, looking into the distance. The lantern changes to a hue of green as he begins to speak- carefully pausing now and then, should Kem try and interrupt. “We’d been contracted to sweep a quarry by some Circles of creation. Three of us- myself, a Thief and a Druid. We entered this tunnel where we found identical markings to that-” He gestures to Kem’s hand, “Albeit in the dirt. We found the tunnels filled with Rats and bones. We finally came to a room where a massive rat-thing; scratch that... Something which had been a rat, waited. It was huge, 5ft high and tried to take a chunk of me. We killed it, but then got waylaid into a tunnel fight with some cultists- who we dispatched. After that, we fled the tunnel, since the rats within had taken poorly to us killing their masters.”

Kem holds his hand up, “Wait… was this the second half of last week? Is that why I felt like shit?”

"Could have been. Interesting, so that's some form of mental bond. Did you feel a striking pain- like you'd been stabbed and pierced by arrows and blades several times? Or just general discomfort?"

“The latter I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear. Where was this tunnel?”

“A quarry, just outside of Daring Heights. It was being used for the construction of the House of Creation, for stone and material. I imagine they’ve likely finished the clear up- and if they had any sense, sealed up that accursed tunnel and burned it out.”

Kem ponders this as he finishes his last pastry, “I can’t decide if that’s a good or a bad thing. Who was ‘The Deepest One’ attached to? Oh and it sounds like you’ve met Dee’arna if you’ve encountered The One and Many.”

“No one- to my knowledge. We escaped having anything put onto us. Dee’arna, the name rings a- Yuan-Ti? Wore a hat?” The claws of his talon click together as Pyrin inquires.

“That’s the one. Gets in everyone else’s business just like you.” Kem smirks, “Except she’s, you know, fun.” He pauses, thinking to himself, “And hot.”

“Hm. That curse, she didn’t mention- The One and Many? That…oho…” Pyrin hurriedly holds out his lantern to Kem, reaching within his coat for his notebook; “When I first learned of the ‘Deepest One’- I was within a temple, which had a mural of the ‘Deepest One’ battling a crow. If my notes are correct; I think the Crow is the sigil of the One and Many. Why didn’t this occur to me sooner?!” He chastises himself, shaking the lantern to further gesture Kem to take ahold of it.

Kem, having finished his pastries, has taken out his deck of cards and is absent mindedly messing with them so he summons a Mage Hand to hold the lantern.

“Thank you.” Pyrin says, not looking up from his coat. He pulls a small tome, flicking through pages before turning it to Kem.

“These are all the chants I’ve yet studied, and note the one about the ‘One and Many.’”

Pyrin continues, “All the chants and mottos of the different cults seemed to involve the destruction of the world- except for the One and Many. ‘He will write the world anew. He will change and be changed.’ Sure, it wasn’t great that the world be written anew- but it was a very different approach than to gnaw the world, or to drown it in blood- explicitly calling for its destruction.”

“Yeah, but come on that’s just metaphor right? They’re not actually going to destroy the world.”

“Hopefully not. But regardless whether they do or they don’t- the cults they form are a danger. And I don’t suppose you want that curse on you till the end of time, do you?”

Kem shrugs with a smile, “If it offers me the ability to see the end of time I’ll consider it.”

“Look Pyrin, I came to you looking for information on something you know ‘fuck all’ about, but I was thinking of getting a few others together to talk about this whole curse thing and those notes seem pretty good. You’ll get some answers and so will we. Sound fair to you?”

"Sounds good. We need answers." Pyrin turns to leave. He makes a few paces, before waiting for Kem. A bit rude to leave him completely in the dark. "My lantern please. And...thank you."

Kem floats the lantern over to Pyrin with his Mage Hand, “I’ll be in touch then. See you around Pyrin.” He winks as he dismisses the spell and nods as he disappears off back to his caravan.

Taking the lantern, Pyrin triggers a small catch; causing it to return to a small disc. And in a moment, the Aarakocra takes to the skies.