Side Conversations By The Side Door (Sunrise, Honey, Ellowyn)

"So how did you meet this veshti?"

They probe gently but they can't help how curious they are. They worry for sunrise and her unassailable optimism.

They breathe in the air glad to be outside again.

((Ooc Ellowyn wants to have a look to try and get I to the mindset of the kidnapper not that I think they'll find anything but it's what Ellowyn would do))

The Feytower complex is a sprawling collection of buildings--some massive like the central building where the main library is located, some small and squat. The central tower where Gwynnestri was housed is one of the oldest structures on the site: the original "tower" for which the area was named. They are able to locate Gwyn's fifth-floor room by craning their necks, but the angle is sharp.

The stones are ancient and roughly-hewn, and it's easy to see how fingers could fit in the gaps for climbing if someone were very, very confident in their skills. Concealment is the bigger problem; the paths out here are almost certainly patrolled at night by the tower guard, and the central tower sticks out like a sore thumb. Still, with a black cloak and low moonlight, it could be done. The crime is audacious but not impossible.

Ellowyns neck threatens to crick from the sheer angle they have to tilt it.

"Well it seems it was definitely the pirate who took her, only a pirate or circus performer would have the bottle to climb up that. But I wonder where did he go once he descended. The birds said that the girl was covered with the cloak and I'm assuming he was in dark dress. Still they had to have had transport out of the area quick sharp because someone is going to notice an orc carrying an odd body shaped bundle through town."

They turn and look away from the feytower towards where surely the orc must have gone.

There are multiple gates in and out of the area, but the wall itself which surrounds the Feytower area isn't particularly high--maybe 8 feet at the highest and just enough to keep lookie-loos on the city side of the wall. The outside security is not particularly flashy, which makes a degree of sense: most people consider "invading the home territory of hundreds of mages in order to steal from them" to be a particularly foolish form of suicide. Presumably the cool wards and magical protections are stored inside the buildings, not out here in the rambling gardens.

Sunrise lets out a low whistle, nodding along with Ellowyn's assessment. Fishing one-handed through her things for a notebook, she jots down a reminder to check who was on guard duty that night, then bends to speak to the homunculus. "Psst. Honey, baby? Can you check something out for me?" Pointing, she says, "Someone climbed this wall all the way to up there. Could you fly up and see if there's anything unusual or noteworthy at the window or on the way to it?"

Then she drops her gaze, not looking at Ellowyn as she considers the earlier question. "...I didn't tell anyone I was sick," she says quietly. "It... it messes with your mind, you know, the plague, but I was still enough of myself to know I had it. I guess I just wanted to... disappear. Find someplace quiet to die where someone would find and burn my body, and let the city wonder what ever happened to Sunrise, the tiefling singer."

She chances a glance up at Ellowyn. "I woke up in the temple of Lastai instead. Somehow Veshti had found out, and she thought I had enough potential that she paid to bring me back. She's... odd," she admits with a laugh. "But I like her."

Clearing her throat delicately, she says, "What about you? I notice you're... walking better these days."

Ellowyns heart physically hurt to hear their friend say that.

As her new pet flies off Ellowyn gently pulls sunrise so she is level with them and look into her eyes something they don't do often so sunrise knows what they are about to say is of the utmost importance.

They place a brass hand on sunrises cheek " then I am in veshti's debt because even if I lived to be a thousand years old like the fabled gnomes of eons ago I will never forget you and I promise the city would be worse off without you." That said they smile and then begin pacing clearly not sure how to word the next bit.

"Yes. Its not at all good. Honestly I hate it."

Sunrise blinks at the sudden display of emotion, and for a moment seems to be fighting back a reaction. "...Well," she says, her voice a little thick. "I prefer the way it turned out too, so."

Clearing her throat, she turns her attention to Ellowyn's explanation. "Really? I would have thought... what happened?"

" I say this with the greatest of love but if you finish that sentence with I would have thought you would have been happy I may scream. I know *you* at least mean well..." They finish darkly..

"I don't know exactly but I was walking through the Northside near the sun district because it was getting late. I'd been visiting one of my clients at the market doing adjustments and they took longer than usual. And then pain lots of pain worse than my fall. And then sunlight and leaves and then back but everything was wrong."

She blushes at the first part. "I just meant that it seemed like it was painful, before. Normally I would assume less pain is a good thing."

At the explanation she frowns and pales. "So you don't even know what happened? Whether someone targeted you specifically or whether it was just a mugging gone wrong?"

"I'm sorry friend" their face softens when they realise they've snapped.

They turn to face sunrise " there is less physical pain, yes and I suppose it's better. But my body is not my own there are things that are different things the pain masked that's hard to put into words."

They look around to make sure noone is around and provided there isn't they lift their shirt revealing the binder they where to keep their breasts as flat as possible.

They flush red and look away as they hide it from view again.

"I'm don't feel like me anymore." Their voice a little thick with tears.

Understanding dawns; impulsively, she wraps Ellowyn in a tight hug. "For whatever it's worth, you're still you to me," she says quietly. "But. Yeah. I'm sorry."

They breathe in sunrises hug and a word floated to the surface of their mind, home.

This is how it felt to feel accepted. Its made their limbs feel tingly and there vision goes a little shiny round the edges as they hold on to sunrise.

"I don't think it was a mugging they didn't take anything. I mean they probably couldn't find gold because I don't often carry it when visiting clients for adjustments but they could have taken my cane it's a good wood even the most inexperienced person could have gotten money for it."

They let go of sunrise then and she can see the edge of panic in their eyes. They had no answers and it scared them.

She shakes her head, her worry clear. "But... there hasn't been anything since then? No threats, nobody suspicious around you?" Glancing up, she looks to see how Honey is doing. "When she comes back, maybe we can talk about it while we head back to the house?"

"Can we make one pitstop first?" They walk towards the wall and shake their head nope it was built for more lofty proportions. They jump in vain more to expell some of the nervous energy than to see if they can look over the wall.

"Sunrise can you see over this blasted thing is there enough space to park a small cart or something? And no nothing it's eerie i don't understand. Was it murder for the sport of it? was it because they thought no one bother bringing back a gnome from the outside that moves around a lot?
Did they watch me? for how long? was it opportunistic?"

They shook their head and decided to watch for honey to distract themselves while sunrise presumably check out over the garden wall.

Honey obediently flies up to Gwynnestri's window and peers around, but nothing seems out of the ordinary to her; the sensations and sights Sunrise receives back are that of a normal tower which has been subjected to rains since the kidnapping. Still, she can confirm that there are finger and toe-holds for an ambitious climber.

The creature, when finished, flies back down to Sunrise's arms.

Sunrise obediently moves to the wall to check. [OOC: can she see anything? She's not particularly tall for a tiefling.] "I suppose the good news is," she muses as she looks, "that if you don't have anywhere to even start looking into it, then there's no use wasting energy by worrying about it."

Sunrise is not, in fact, tall enough to see over the 8-foot wall, but Honey is able to fly up for a peek. Grass and pretty little trees dot the area around the wall for about a twelve-foot stretch of lawn before meeting the city roads which wind around and past. A cart could be parked somewhere, certainly.

"And yes, there's room for a cart," she finishes when Honey makes her inspection.

Ellowyn nods.

They begin heading out of the feytower complex turning to sunrise "about that pitstop? Marta she brought me back and woe betide anyone who tried to stop her. From what I hear she left many a terrified bureaucrat in her wake..." Ellowyn chuckles heartily at the thought.

(Ooc I have we confirmed where Marta lives I'm assuming the sun district?)

[OOC: Yes, the Sun District, in one of the slightly more 'modest' upscale neighborhoods. She's rich compared to the party members, but not obscenely wealthy.]

Sunrise grins at the description. "I like her already. Are we stopping by to see her?"

I need to tell her I won't be able to fulfill a few standing appointments she arranges for me, maybe figure out exactly why I get the feeling she knows more than she let on but if not do a few small adjustments and introduce my only two friends to each other finally." Ellowyn finishes brightly smiling.

"We're headed to the sun district and then... Actually where is this veshti's place? And why don't you tell me more about her" Ellowyn casts a glance at sunrise and wiggles their eyebrows slightly part a question part to make their friend smile.

"Honey is beautiful by the way."

She laughs. "Isn't she? I love her." She pets the little homunculus like a cat as they walk.

"Veshti's in the Sun District too. She's a politician and former courtesan," she explains. "Elven, very beautiful. She can come on pretty strong when you first meet her," she adds, smiling at the memory. "But she's very kind. I'm one of three proteges; she takes good care of all of us."

"Well that's fortitous! And wow sunrise I knew you'd end up with there one day... The sun district, next you'll be telling me your marrying a politician.

She sounds dreamy, what of the other two?"

Ellowyn looks at honey, smiles and waves gently, they desperately want to pet her but knew creatures have their own minds and honey would come when she was ready.

Sunrise snorts. "Oh, I'm not going to marry a politician. I'm going to be one. This city needs change; if I can convince them to accept a tiefling as a leader I'll be able to do just about anything else."

The longing look is noted; Honey gets a quiet hint along the lines of wanna go say hi?

"As for the other two... well, they're both really sweet. Alysa is this regal elf; she seems like a bitch at first but she's really not, she's just quiet and she's got that kind of face, you know? But she'll walk through fire and ice for her friends. And she's got about a dozen girlfriends," she adds with a smile. "Elinor is adorable; she's a half-halfling, and she's so bubbly! She's got an amazing memory, too. Bit of a hopeless romantic, though - she's got a boytoy from the bad part of town, and crushes on all the famous bad boys and girls. When I tell her about Gwyb and Korogur, ten gold says she's jealous," she confides with a grin.

"Your turn: tell me about Marta?"