Sour Stomachs - Campfire

General Summary

All events that transpired here are from the Discord Campfire Channel
The sounds of the bustling kitchen are muffled in the private dining room of Whitehall. As Hagren tells Gwen to check for poisons Raijun's eyes dance around the room for invisible foes. Myra, feeling guilty about making light of Raijun's situation, has donned her thinking face. "Raijun, what makes you distinguishable from others on the street?"
"Well I would say my strong cheekbones and sterling mus-" sees the brow start to raise, and starts to answer seriously "They know me well, they know my face, they know how I walk and talk. I'd need to look completely different!...maybe if I was a girl they wouldn't know," he jokes.
"Well" nodding at the potion she gave you earlier "that will make you look like whatever you want for ten minutes but unfortunately that's as much of a duration as I've gotten right now. I can do it a couple times a day but 30 minutes does not a day make. Tell us about the person who found you again?"
The moment Myra asks Raijun to describe him, you can see his eyes sharpen. Myra takes out her notebook and opens to a new page. 
"He was another captain, his name was Dio, and he was my least favorite person in the guild." "Painfully ambitious, and a major thorn in my side the entire time I was there. Really took taking 2nd to me in our games every year personally...and had a crush on my sister I think..." he starts to go on about the ninja drama as he warms up some tea. " And then I cracked him in the face in front of everyone! He got so embarrassed he swore revenge and left the guild for like 3 weeks![/color]"
"Raijun focus I need detail. How tall is he? What color are his eyes? If he had makeup in his hairline he probably dyed it but what length was it? Is he human like you? Noticeable scars, markings, or traits?"
"Oh no he's an aasimar of some kind, his eyes glow gold but he has special disguise magic from his assassins' training. Last I saw him, months ago, his hair was short. He's like my height but an inch shorter for sure. I was taller!"
"I thought you said this was the person who found you?" Myra questioned.
"He was in disguise when we spoke. I was so busy trying to do something nice for the refugees of the city I didn't think to scout first."
Myra's head snaps up excitedly, "Oh! The thing you used the other night when sparring with Adama! Make a small version of him if you can."
"I cant simply make bananas pop up out of thin air and then make em smaller" Raijun says, visibly confused. 
"No no not the fruit ninja part. The part after that. You did something to make me and Adama see a spectral bear?"
"Oh yeah this spell," makes a bear again. The bear is doing the wardens dance.
"Yes! Not exactly sure how you're doing that but I'll worry about that another time... Now focus! Make a version of the man you saw"
The bear changes into a larger aasimar man, well muscled, angry looking. You can see he is actually a few inches taller than Raijun, with jet black hair tied back in a traditional ponytail, and one of his hands has a bad burn scar on it. The gold glow in his eyes punctured by darkness
"That scar, can you show it larger?"
He makes the illusion as his hand entirely - looks to you to be some sort of acidic burn from the spread and shape. 
"And this man is different than the Sicarius you mentioned previously?" Myra at this point is hastily writing notes, her eyes never leaving Raijun or the illusion yet her handwriting remains in elegant lines.
"Sicarius is one of the 3 leiutenants under Iroh, and his son, was a warlock on my team. He is an immensely powerful shadow sorcerer... Acid was one of his favorite...motivators, shall we say"
"Did he and this Dio have an altercation at some point?"
"Quite the contrary, Dio is his personal guard dog. Jumps when he says jump, stabs when he says stab..."
As Raijun explains this, you see see his expression sours at the mention of either, but not Iroh. "I tried to tell him that guy was fucking crazy and that's what started that fight I told you about. Also, I always thought Sicarius wanted Iroh's throne. They never seemed to agree on tactics." 
"So the lap dog of the man who likes to play with acid just happens to have an acid burn? Perhaps there was more going on than you suspected. Can you show us this Sicarius?"
This time, the illusion is sprawling, you see a purple robe with silver and black accents, the man is wearing black gloves with strangely lg and sharp fingernails, his face hidden by a silver mark, but his eyes glowing eldritch green. In Raijun's illusion, he is seen choking out some student darth vader style for failing a practice routine.
"Well that's... Disturbing... Raijun when you saw Dio did he touch you or point at you, did he do anything vaguely magical?"
"I was one of the few lucky ones to avoid his wrath, Commander Iroh never let him touch me for whatever reason. "
Not getting a sure answer Myra turns to Adama, "Do you have the ability to detect magic today? I'd like to ensure he hasn't been marked, hexed, or magically tracked as far as we can tell." Returning to Raijun, "Raijun how long ago was your failed mission?"
"About a month before the docks where I met y'all. And I don't think I was, I didn't have much direct contact with him being in the martial school."
"Have you checked to make sure you don't have anything on your person that was not there before? I have heard of higher level tracking magics that can rely on an object as the focus."
"Well I feel like I would've seen it by now, given the small amount of clothes and armor I have"
"It could be small or slim will you just humor me and check."
Raijun takes off ninja vest and turns around, "anything on my back?" Raijun's back is bare crosshatching his back are scars amongst, some clearly a whip.
"Nothing except memories and the 'kick me' sign Adama left back there the other day" Myra pauses while inspecting the scars some only recently healing, "Raijun. Who did this?" Myra carefully traces one of the longer scars.
You can see Raijuns eyes light up with ideas to get back at Adama, but the zeal fades when Myra mentions the scar. "Ahh well that was when I learned not to talk back to the lieutenants.." Even just touching it carefully, he jumps back a bit.
Myra withdraws her hand as if Raijun's back was burning, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." Clears her throat, "Well at least most of your scars seem to be easily hidden. They didn't get your pretty face."
Raijun puts back on his bro vest. "Well Im glad someone else thinks so" He smiles, but you can see talking about the scars makes him think about those times again. "Maybe I should pass without a trace and follow you guys from a few feet behind while we move to the ship?"
"Wouldn't skulking and staying separate play into their hands and be exactly where they expect you to be," Myra asks. "Besides having not yet checked in with Thompson's captain we don't know if they are ready to go or if we need to pick up further previsions."   "You're right...im curious Myra...do you have any make up on you?"
"Of course I have makeup but we have some work to do first. If that dog was connected somehow they could have your scent and your scent is rather ... Potent right now." Pulls out a small vial of oil and a small kerchief with a bar in the middle, "after dinner we will see if Jimmy has a place for you to clean up. Two drops from the vial into the water and use the soap well. I can work on coming up with something that can be used slightly longer term, I'll need to ask Mama if they have any citrus I can use. We'll need a different outfit for you as well. Your clothes will smell strongly of you and if they've made you they'll be looking for you in this."
"....are you....are you taking me for a make over?!" Excited ninja squeals. "I need a hair cut too!"
Myra turns to Hagren, "Do you think you could send one of your boys (the kobolds) back to the store we were at earlier? I'll give them a gold if they do the job I need them to deliver a note and some money to Theadora for a rush job on the piece I requested."
Raijun, opening the kerchief, "Is this that soap thing I hear so much about? Maybe I should change color schemes too"   Myra, glancing up from the note she was writing, "What colors are you thinking?"
"Hmm, not really sure, any suggestions? We could go jet black, maybe with silver accents"
"Yes, cause nothing says 'I'm not a ninja' like dressing in all black. I'll just keep what I had requested." Returns to writing her note.
"What'd you request?" Raijun asks quizzically, trying to peep over your shoulder before remembering he can't read
"You'll see." Signs the two notes closes them and pulls out a seal and piece of wax. Motions for Spryg to come over, mutters something and a very small amount of flame comes out of Spryg's mouth heating the end of the wax. She presses and seals the wax with the signet ring.
Hagren whistles Trenchcoat and tell him, "Miss Myra ask for your assistance, follow her instruction as if it were me, but no body else."
Myra hands Trenchcoat two letters, one at a time "This is to go to Miss Theadona at Goblindales with this," handing him a small pouch. "I will know if any of this doesn't get to her. This," handing him the second letter, "Is in case any of the guards stop you on your way there or back. It will only be useful tonight. You get paid upon receipt of my item 1 gold. I've marked the one in case you get stopped with an X for your ease of finding it."
Raijin looks at Spyrg with the same look that any heated rival would give, "Sneaky dragon always one step ahead of me" "Thank you for all these efforts you are making. I'd be in trouble without you." turned to Myra
Myra turns to Hagren, "What tipped you off about the girl with the dog? She seemed like a little girl to me."
"It felt too convenient of a situation, these ninja warriors can blend into anything and anyone."
"But to what end? Just to mess with Raijun? I think you mentioned smell earlier. That's definitely a possibility I suppose."
"I'd say to kill him in the most agonizing way."
"As we've proved it's not poison, is that to say prove that he can be bested by small dogs and bruise his ego so badly he relents?"
"Or putting a mark so he can be scryed?" 
Myra's face drops back to seriousness, "Yeah... That's what I suspect too"
"Don't underestimate these assassin type people. They can kill you where you stand." as Hagren answers with paranoia come through his speech.
"Hagrens right," Raijun comments. "I wouldn't underestimate these guys, they work for important people and take out powerful individuals..."    Adama looks through his magic book, studies his spells and begins to ritualistically cast detect magic, as he utters every word of the verbal components he feels several pings around Raijin, one for his weapon, one for a few of his items, but nothing engrained inside him, nothing attached to him... Adama looks intently at Raijin, wondering how and more specifically who he has after him. As the final words are uttered. Adama’s eyes flicker white and he sees the magic, he feels where it flows from, he glances at each of his teammates and slowly takes them in, on Myra he notices her ruins, on Hagren he senses an item, then he looks towards Raijin, and though he can’t detect any unusual magic, he senses he’s been tracked/bugged/something is off, being that it’s not magic he can’t put his finger on it, but he notices, he decides not to mention it and merely say, “I don’t detect anything out of the ordinary magic wise.”
Myra releases a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. "Great, see Raijun. So we are back to dog equals smell, if that really was them. Which means we are also back to you need to take a bath to smell less."
"More like disguise the smell then bathe." Hagren quips.
"One will be easier after the other."
"What smell?" Raijun asks blankly. Myra lifts his arm, then quickly lowers it again as he gags. "Ok fine I will go bathe."
"May as well wait until after dinner at this point," Myra sighs, "we need to get you some spare clothes or you will go from smelling as you do now to smelling, slightly less as you do now. Let's discuss the other issue, we can hide your scent and get you clean but if you keep going around as Raijun or a Warden it won't take them long to find you again."
"So I'm gonna need a codename then huh..."
"Try a name name."
"How about Nighthawk....the third."
Myra rubs her eyes with her hands.
"Arym Woodstag" Raijun says, in a regal voice
Myra laughs, despite herself. "I think your getting closer. You said you recognized this guy because of his gait and the way he moved right? What's the opposite of how you move Raijun?"
"Klutzy or like not graceful I guess. I move like a graceful cat," he preens with a pep in his step as he strides around the room in an ADHD moment, knocking over a book. "And yes in a sense, Ive done enough missions to recognize that limp when he plays an old guy"
"Yup catlike... But like a cat you slink Raijun. You scan a room and look for the darkest corners and gravitate towards them. You round your shoulders to make yourself look average, like you've come off a long days work. You keep your head down and look out of the corner of your eye."
Myra walks up behind and unrounds Raijun's back. She straightens your neck until you are looking straight and picks up her journal from the table and puts it on your head. "Now try to walk"
Raijun tries to balance it on his head as he takes a few steps forward. You notice at full height he is slightly taller than Myra.
“Did Raijin have his blood taken, hair or skin by the cat?” Adama inquires.
"The dog licked him but when I pulled him off he didn't seem injured," Myra replies. "Raijun you ok from the dog attack earlier? And," comes up and snatches the book and whacks him lightly in the shoulder, "while your ability to belly dance with a book on your head is impressive it will not help you not get noticed. Raijun everything about the way you move says that if you stop moving you'll die. Think about it like... Like if you got paid to stand still and the more you move the more money you lose. Go stand over there." Points across the room.
"Preposterous I say, I can definitely stand still." He goes to go over to the corner but gets distracted. 
"Raijun focus!" sighs as Myra repositions herself so she's in a straight line from Raijun "Ok first rule pick a place to look, this time it will be at me. I know you know how to watch things out of the corner of your eye so you should be fine. Pick a goal and walk towards it. Do it like I have something you want and no samba this time."
Raijun tries to walk in a straight line to Myra, but wobbles. "Gods this is like walking for the first time." You can tell he just wants to spin in circle, shimmy or slide around.
Raijin reaches Myra who resets his back position as it was starting to creep forward, "Good start, what I wouldn't kill for a couple of bigger books for your head." Looks at the rest of the group, "Anyone else have books to contribute?" returning to Raijun, "Now pick a spot on the wall and go back. If it helps think of the floor as trapped everywhere but in the line you are walking."
"The floor is lava, I love this game!" Raijun is improving at walking in a straight line slowly but surely.
"Do that like 4 more times and you get to go to the next level." Turns to Adama, "What was your thought on the dog? If they were using magic to track him wouldn't you have seen it?"
Glancing at Raijun, "Back straight Raijun. What do you think about Shaw? I took shadow and removed letters unit it seemed like a reasonable name."
"I am Arym WoodStag, proud ranger king of the northern woods of Nightwell!" He corrects her with his best impression of what he thinks royal people talk like.
Myra's eyes roll, "You can't be a Stagwood, the name is too new and people would know. And you can't take my mother's family's name because you're not elvish. Also you can't be a king in fact you can't be anything higher than a knight or baronet or people will know." "And you can't make up a new house without a ceremony. No, what we need is an old house. Also my full name isn't Myra so your missing a few letters Mr. Arym."
"Damn I really put some thought into that one too. How about Ryu Hayabusa then?"
"We should maybe avoid names that sound too similar to Raijun? And again need an old family. Maybe we could convince James to lend you his last name."
"Kuai Liang?" Minor illusion's an ice fist over his hand, "Or as they call me in some circles....Sub-Zero"
Myra, actively ignoring Raijun's suggestions now, "If we could get you a token of his then it would make the part more believable."
"How about Urza of Argive?"
"Have you used any of these on missions previously?"
"Nope, It was the identity I was planning on using to have a normal life, before I met y'all."
"And you chose to instead use your real name because....?"
"I once spied on Veldakens, who reference an Urza off hand as the inspiration for their work, I guess he was a planes traveling arch mage millennia ago. Heard a pretty badass story of how he stopped an insatiable enemy from taking over his realm through a noble sacrifice of himself to disrupt the ethereal plane ensure those he loved would never meet that date." And then he smiles at you, that malicious smile of his, as he says "Guess you could say he was the original warden of the weave in a way." "In fact Myra, he was actually an Artificer..."
"I think if Jimmy's willing to let you borrow his last name you should take it. It would be better to be a third cousin in an established house. You can keep the first name though."
"Yessssss" Starts doing the robot, "Does compute"
Myra sighs, "Ok focus. This next part will be harder. You are used to walking with as little impact on those around you as possible. It allows you to slip into places because no one notices you are there. If you are going to pull off this act you have to give the exact opposite vibe. You are there because you belong and you are entitled to it. There's no side stepping, no dancing around someone. If someone is in your way they will move or pay the consequences." Myra positions her self between Raijun and the others, "Convince me that I need move for you to get by with nothing but the way you walk and the look in your eye."
Raijun decides to focus, stands the shoulders back and out, holds the head high, and listens to her previous instructions...and then he begins to walk with authority, muscularity flaring as he power walks towards her.
Myra watches Raijun approach and about two steps before he reaches her he sees her give. There's something unexpectedly sad in her eyes, Raijun glimpses, as she pivots dropping her gaze and getting out of the way. "Good. That was, really good Raijun. Now practice with Hagren, Adama, or Tintreach."
You see him go over to Adama and try it before you get a chance to tell Adama it's for practice. You see Raijun get lifted off the ground and go flying into a wall.
"Adama we are guests try not to break anything."
"Like my ribs" Raijun groans
As Raijun goes flying, the leather strap on Myra's journal comes undone as it falls to the floor beside him flipping to a page about 1/3rd of away into the book. To Raijun, it mostly looks like math and gibberish as it's in a language he doesn't understand, but in the bottom righthand corner he spots a drawing of a face. Raijun holds it upside down for a minute until he sees the face and rights the page, the image is small but clearly Gwen. Myra tries to grab for the journal, "Oh sorry Myra, curiosity got me, but not like I can read it anyways" Raijun hands it back willingly "Working on your freehand art I see."
Myra grabs the journal, her face is already crimson, rebinds it and puts it back in her bag. "Yeah something like that," she mumbles.
"You seem embarrassed, it was a good drawing, can tell its Gwen. Does she know you sketch her?" he asks with a friendly but malicious smile.
Myra's face turns a deeper red, "No... I mean it wasn't...I mean she doesn't... I mean ... It's not just her... I... Please don't..." The end of her stammering is a soft plea.
"Well it obviously makes ya uncomfortable so I won't tell. But Im just curious why your stumbling over your words - this is art!"
Myra laughs as Raijun calls the doodle art, and won't look him in the eyes. As color in her face starts to recede, she softly mutters, "No. It's fine. My sketches, they just aren't ready for others. I mean they aren't for others. Goodness I can't talk."
Raijun puts a hand on her shoulder, "well I think its good, would love to see more if you ever want to share. I am an excellent model," as he strikes the Warden's pose, causing Myra to blush again.  "....wait a second....you did draw me didnt you?"
Very softly in a higher pitch then normal, "Well. I mean... yes."
"Oh gods I wanna see let me seeeee please please pleaseeeeeee"
Backing away, hand protectively over the bag of holding where the journal now resides. "Oh gods no. No no no no no. Maybe some other time? I mean we should be eating. And making sure you don't get murdered by a clan of Ninjas who you kinda used to work for. And discussing what other things people need to do in town. And stuff..."
"But I wanna seeee, pretty please? I won't cause trouble for a whole week I promise!" He's taken off the ninja mask holding it like Puss in Boots, rubbing the dirt with his boot sideways.
"I don't think that's possible given the guild of ninja assassins part...."
"Whatever you want, I will do, if I can see my portraits!"
"Who said there was more than one?" Myra asks while cocking an eyebrow, "Maybe some other time Raijun."

Report Date

21 Dec 2020

Happens During
Unlikely Meetings - Lion's Crest