Yarubu

General Summary

I told Dinu of what I planned, and he agreed it was the best course of action. He said he was concerned by the matter of the dream as well. Davina asked if she'd be needed, and I told her support would always be appreciated. Octaviu joined us as well.
We picked up, - or rather, Davina picked up - Ya'Rubu's trail in the woods. We travelled through the brush until the sun began its descent. We eventually came to a small copse deep in the woods. A strange tune came from even deeper in. It was Ya'Rubu's voice, singing meaningless words to a tune I'd never heard before. Occasionally he broke it to speak one sided conversations to the trees. I could feel my skin crawling.
"Is he talking to us, or the forest in general?" Davina asks. "Oh, oh? In general? Has the general returned? Be at ease, sir!" Ya'Rubu's voice echoed back from the copse. Octaviu whispered to Dinu, "Hey, pretend to be the general." Dinu frowned, then stepped forward, "It is I, the general! Ya'Rubu, come out and speak with me!" His voice came out somewhere between authoritative and awkward. Ya'Rubu appeared in front of us, and spoke to Dinu, "Well, general, how's the battle going?" "Very well," Dinu replied, "How are you doing out here?" "Not well, not well at all," He shook his head, "We're under seige." "You're under seige? Who's attacking you?" Octaviu asked. Ya'Rubu looked at him knowingly. "That's not good..." Dinu nodded along sympathetically, "We were wondering if you've made any new friends, lately..." "I don't know, have I?" Ya'Rubu said with a sharp smile. "We think you have-" I started. Ya'Rubu cocked his head, "You think, now?" "Maybe it was... An old friend?" Davina suggested. Ah, this is going nowhere. Ya'Rubu muttered about 'old friends, new friends, I wonder...' and walked right up to Davina, sticking his face in hers. She didn't flinch, and he didn't stop. I was concerned he might try something when he broke out laughing. He fell backwards, rolling into a seated position.
"What can I help you with?" He smiled, less sharply.
I started, "We had a weird dream the other day. We thought you might be able to pick that apart." "Indeed I would," he nodded, "I'd be delighted to counsel you on this. Come into my hut..." He got up, and walked into the copse. We followed as he lead us deeper in the forest, into a clearing. He stepped in the middle of the clearing, then turned to us expectantly. Before I could shake my head, Davina was playing along. She followed him, brushing an invisible cloth from the doorway. She gasped, "Come on in, guys." Octaviu and Dinu followed her lead. They stood in a circle in the middle of the clearing. I sighed and got my chance to shake my head. Nurhetics... Dinu told us over our minds he sensed no exiled magic. Octaviu showed us his view of the "cabin". It was just the clearing, but I could feel Davina and him discussing what they saw. I tuned them out. Illusions or some sort, then. I rolled my eyes and stepped in. My vision swam and I was inside a bar, surrounded by gamblers and drinkers. The bar tender, Ya'Rubu, nodded, "Hey." I sighed, "Hey."
"Now then, let's begin!" Ya'Rubu said, clapping. My vision swam again, and I could feel the homunculus stirring in its flask. It felt volatile. Close to bubbling over. I brushed a hand against it. Ya'Rubu faded before me, shifting into a small child. It hurt to watch, so I blinked. "Ah, how cute!" Ya'Rubu squealed, "What is it? Where'd you find it?!" I ignored him for the moment, and mentally told the homunculus to calm down. It obeyed, slowly returning to its inert state. Seems it dislikes illusions as well. Ya'Rubu was still going, "I want to play with it!" He pushed closer, his voice childish and pleading, "Can I have a goo too?!" "N-" I cut myself off, a plan formed, "Actually, how about this, you answer our questions, and I'll let you examine the homunculus for a time?" He was still a mage, after all. Surely he'd be tempted by the promise of new knowledge. "Alright," He nodded, "Can I have a flask too?" "Uh, yes...?" I said, a bit confused. I pulled one of my spare flasks from my bag and gave it to him. He took it, and stared at it for a moment... Then he broke out in terrible childish wails, "I wanna goo, I wanna goo!" He stomped his foot for emphasis. "Davina....?!" I called, "You're good with kids, right?" Davina attempted to calm him. I put the flask away, telling it to stay calm. I could not have it exploding when we're supposed to be holding an interrogation. An interrogation? Is that what this was supposed to be? It was going incredibly poorly, if so. Maybe we should have just tied him up... I was pulled from my thoughts by the voice of an old man, "Oh sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Three questions and what?" Ya'Rubu had shifted to an old man. In our link, Davina panickedly asked us what she should ask him. "Just ask him if he knows a Gaudema before the child comes back," I told her. "Do you know of a Gaudema?" She asked. "No, no... But you should check under your pillow for gifts from the tooth fairy, you should. It'll be juicy, real juicy," He shifted again to a large armored man, "It'll be real juicy, I tell ya."
"I don't think we're getting anything here..." Davina said over the link. Dinu tried one last time, "Can you at least help us find the one who gave us the dreams?" The illusions faded like candles under glass. "Well I told you three times to check your pillows," Ya'Rubu, himself again, said with a pitying smile.
"And I have noted it for when we return," I said, with much more pomp than was required for the situation, before continuing, "Now then, we have one last question. We've heard there's a spy here for the exiled mages, spying on us and others at the outpost. You wouldn't have happened to have... Noticed anything, would you?" I searched his face, but it revealed nothing. Well, even if it had, could I trust what I saw? He seems the best type of actor, the one who believes his own lies. Ya'Rubu hummed, rocking as he thought, "Well, I don't know who they are, but I could help you find your way through the fog..." His eyes snapped open, "But first, check your pillows! I can't do anything without the fetishes..." Oh. I get it. Alright. "Of course, as soon as we get back we will..." I assured him, "And we'll bring you the... fetishes." "Why would you do that? I'm coming with you!" Ya'Rubu said, skipping back the way we came. "Oh. Of course you are..." I sighed, following the mad jester out of his hut, but not before sharing a look with the others. Davina shrugged. Octaviu still seemed engrossed in the illusionary hut, but he caught up with us quickly. Dinu kept pace with Ya'Rubu, a thoughtful expression clouding his face, "Ya'Rubu, what does the naked circus mean?" "The *what*?" Davina gave Dinu a horrified look. I think my face may have been the same. Ya'Rubu didn't so much as flinch. "Oh, you'll have to tell me... I'll listen, if you want," He sounded very amused, his words rolling off his tongue. Dinu blinked, frowned, and fell silent. Davina picked up his slack, "Wait, you didn't see the sultan and the pillows and the-" "A sultan? I saw a dirt hovel-" Octaviu interrupted. "It's all illusions..." I cut in, "He likely pulls something from our minds and shows it to us as if it were real." "Oh you're good, you're good..." Ya'Rubu told me. I don't see why, it's a simple logical conclusion. Creating something from nothing is already a large draw on magic. Making four different somethings from nothings is absurd. Much easier to just pull a scene from one's mind, I'd imagine. ...Then again, creating that whole illusion was absurd. It's clear that something being absurd would not stop Ya'Rubu from doing it... I was interrupted from my mulling by Dinu slowing down. Davina was giving him a confused look, and his face had turned red. Davina picked up her pace. I joined her. I don't know what the naked circus was, but it sounded like torture. Large screaming crowds, animals, and nudity. I shuddered.
"Oh, right," I remembered my promise, and held the flask out to Ya'Rubu, "I did promise you could examine it..." "Oh, I didn't want to see that," He skipped ahead. Right, of course.
We each went our own ways to our beds. I found a black painted fingerbone beneath my pillows, wrapped in leather and black twine. It smelled dark and sweet, like rotten fruit. Ominous. That must be the tetherpoint for the dreams... The spies would've had to have access to the mages quarters, the barracks, and where ever Octaviu keeps to... That narrows things down considerably. I reached out to the others, and they said they found much the same. I told them I was working on a theory and the bare details of it, but anything further points help. Davina said she would ask around for any suspicious people moving around.
She found nothing. We reconvened with Ya'Rubu. It was long and painful, but we got the gist of what his words and the meanings behind them. He told us that the bones were calling cards of the the Red Eyes, and that we're lucky we didn't find their other calling card. He did not tell us what their other calling cards were, of course. He told us the Red Eyes were 'Ghosts' from down south. Another magical tradition - an offshoot of Nurhetics, in fact - shrouded in mystery. There's no proof of their existence, beyond stories. No one knows how to find them. No one knows exactly what their practice entails.
"So there's ghosts watching us?" Davina said, surprisingly incredulous for someone who learned of the existence of god just a few days ago. Probably rightfully though, considering... "Not literal ghosts, I suspect..." I said.
"So, what should we do guys?" Octaviu asked. I was about to answer, but Ya'Rubu beat me to it, raising two fingers, "Two things!" "Nothing! Or...." He lowered a finger, "Go find them." "That was the plan, eventually," I nodded. "But you said they were ghosts?" Davina said again, "How are we supposed to-" "-Not... Literal ghosts. Just hard to find, from the sounds of it," I stressed. I was very sure I'd figured out Ya'Rubu's ramblings, but... Well. Let's just say these Red Eyes better not be real ghosts. As fascinating as it would be, I don't have the mental space to deal with ghosts being real, for the moment. Davina sighed.
Tasks: "Tell Jduji that Errol has tasked us with meeting the council"? Gets us leave? Find red eyes. Find the spy. Return to the council for research.

Report Date

08 Jul 2023