[] Plan Ultima
-[] No way Lutecia would attack Agito, and that sword is new. Well, you've seen cursed objects before...
-[] Grab the sword from Lutecia. Quickly go to a different room, preferably with no one in it, then crush the blade's eye.
-[] Once done, quickly head back and make sure Agito isn't dying, and comfort them both.
We need to get the sword away from Lutecia. Every second the sword is anywhere near Lutecia is another second Mephala whispers to her. But, we kiiinda don't want Lulu to get a gut full of shrapnel, and it would probably kill Agito. Going out in the sun is a no-no, but there'll be other rooms. Agito seems stable for the moment, and Lutecia's too busy cowering to attack her while we step out.
Aftermath wise? Well, Balgruuf will be happy if we destroy the damn sword, since he was stuck just locking it up. So hopefully he'll overlook any accidents.
Lutecia is unharmed physically, but her eyes are wide and locked open, and she has a death-grip on a pitch-black, two-handed, oddly-curved sword you wouldn't think she could lift effectively … but it's bloody, and so is she, so she's used it at least once. On whatever attacked Agito? You bring a pair of warm red bullets into existence, illuminating the area, and Lutecia flinches back, arms shaking as she tries to hold the weapon against whatever threat she perceives.
Flandre doesn't know Lutecia attacked Agito, she thought that Lutecia used the sword on whatever attacked Agito. From her perspective something attacked Agito, Lutecia attacked back but is extremely shaken up by what happened to the point where she flinched from us due to us casting a harmless light spell
Edit: the very fact that Lutecia was the one that harmed Agito is OOC knowledge
...Huh. Well, if that's the case... Dealing with Agito first would be the fastest way to learn that then. Or fuck, Lutecia may attack Flandre while she's trying to wake her up.
Apologies for the lack of response on my part - internet decided to be not-working yesterday, and family stuff meant I wasn't able to get to a place with Wi-Fi. :/ Update will probably be delayed until sometime this evening.
[X] Fix up Agito first, then try to help Lutecia.
7
[X] Try to wake up Lutecia, then help Agito.
2
[X] Plan Ultima
-[x] No way Lutecia would attack Agito, and that sword is new. Well, you've seen cursed objects before...
-[x] Grab the sword from Lutecia. Quickly go to a different room, preferably with no one in it, then crush the blade's eye.
-[x] Once done, quickly head back and make sure Agito isn't dying, and comfort them both.
1
Why wouldn't you be able to? More relevant to the particular course of action, though - yes, Breaking an object makes it explode. Breaking something while Lutecia is holding it is not something you want to do, assuming you're interested in Lutecia's continued survival. (It's also something to keep in mind if anyone wants to revisit the 'Break only part of a contiguous object' plan - Breaking someone's arm is going to have some major repercussions if the target can't heal.)
Hmm ... as pointed out by @Sinarblood, assuming the sword is responsible and jumping straight to Breaking it is OoC and overreacting, so there's that. Granted, Agito did say something about a female 'not meaning to,' and Lutecia using a sword herself when she has magic and Garyuu is weird ... but that's cause to interrogate someone, because Flandre doesn't know what happened, and for all she knows the sword somehow helped in whatever the situation was. There's also the issue of what Flan thinks the sword did, if it actually did anything. Did it influence Lutecia's actions subtly? Assume control of her arms? Manipulate what she's seeing? Replace her, sticking her soul/consciousness/whatever in the blade while the blade's personality is in control? Is the sword even necessary anymore - was it a one-time trap, and now destroying the sword won't have any effect because it's already had its effect? Is it a long-term affect anyway (either a permanent low-key effect or one that causes certain actions at a given trigger) or does it only happen when someone grabs the sword?
Flandre knows there are a lot of things that could be done, and she knows there are tradeoffs involved with different ones in terms of costs and benefits, but she can't figure out what a given item does. She does know that enchanting a sword with 'use the wielder's arms to stab the nearest living thing when it's first picked up' is an easier enchantment than 'overwrite or swap the wielder's mind,' which itself is easier than 'subtly influence the wielder to betray and murder his/her compatriots until the wielder is a living incarnation of Chronic Backstabbing Disorder.'
Chances are if we got to help Agito without resolving Lutecia we will get stabbed literally in the back, surprising us and making us blindly angry at this 'betrayal'.
I feel there is more chance of Lutecia meeting BAD NED with that choice compared to resolving her first, asking Agito what happened while we do so.
After a moment's thought you walk toward the fallen fairy, moving carefully to keep from spooking Lutecia any more. You crouch next to Agito and take out one of the healing potions from Riverwood; it might not be necessary, but you'd really like to know just what happened before you do anything else. You could try and get someone who lives here to come down and help, but if Lutecia and Agito are this far from the inhabited areas of the fort, you have to think they aren't supposed to be here at all, and Agito did ask you to keep from alerting anyone. You lift her up very carefully, mindful of the hole through her, and squeeze her cheeks to force her mouth open. She whines feebly and tries to pry your fingers from her mouth, but she's too weak.
"Drink," you say forcefully, then tilt the flask so a trickle of the potion drips into her mouth. After a few seconds of drinking, she shudders, but your grip keeps the liquid streaming down despite her struggles. Once you guess that she's drunk half the potion, you pull the flask away and let her go as the wound repairs itself. Lutecia is still backed against the wall, trembling, though she's holding the sword closer to herself now, as if its mere presence is comforting. Agito finishes coughing and stares up at you, eyes wide.
"What? But … how did …?" You raise an eyebrow and give her a pointed look.
"It's a healing potion, Agito. It healed you." She flushes and shakes her head.
"No, I mean, I thought … I thought it just … I don't know, accelerated the natural healing process. It shouldn't have worked on me, like you said it wouldn't work on you. And for it to do this much so quickly …." You sigh as she stares down at the manageable wound and winces. It's still quite a bad injury, but she's certainly in no danger of dying any time soon.
"I never said it wouldn't work on me, Agito. I said that it was useless for me - my own regeneration is simply better than one that relies on a potion or spell, especially in this form." You frown as you reconsider that statement - it might not be true during the day, not here. Agito frowns as well, and you growl lightly; you really don't have the time to go over your sister's magic right now, and it's not particularly relevant since she isn't here to help you. "Biological form; I have a heart and brain, I bleed actual blood and have bones, and so on, and I can be affected to some degree or another by things that affect living creatures, like poisons and drugs. Of course, this is a magic healing potion, not just some funny extract of wheat, so I'm not sure what you're having trouble accepting." Her frown deepens, and she's clearly unhappy with your explanation, and tries to fly up to your eye-level, but is forced to stop on your shoulder, holding onto your dress to keep from falling off. "And the reason I'm carrying two of the potions and Lutecia is carrying one is that she should have one on her for emergency use, but in pretty much every case, I'll be close enough and durable enough to not need a potion of my own and still be able to make sure you two can get one if you need it. But I didn't heal you to explain all this to you, I did it to ask a question - what were you and Lutecia talking about that you didn't want me to hear, back at the tower?" You turn toward the magician and take a small step forward as you finish speaking, and you notice Agito flinch. Lutecia brings the blade out a little, warding you - or an unseen threat - off, and you snatch the fairy off your shoulder and glare at her. "Well? How did this happen? Why didn't you warn me before you got carved up? How did you get here?" She blinks and opens her mouth, closes it and shakes her head.
"I … okay, let me start from when we left you. Lulu … she seemed to know exactly what she was doing, how to avoid the guards physically and when she needed to use magic. And she wasn't sneaking or anything, just walking. It was … weird. And she said some other weird things, like how this world wasn't 'kind' to you, especially during the day, and that she needed something else. And … I tried to contact you earlier, I did, but something was blocking me, and I thought it would be better if I stayed with Lulu." You release her, and she tries to float closer to Lutecia, only to provoke the same reaction you did. "Anyway, we made it inside, and after a few minutes, some kid came to meet us. I thought we were in trouble, but he smiled and talked to us. Lulu smiled too, said he could help us. She - she talked about him while he was talking to us, and she was so … callous and uncaring, and it didn't match her expression or how she normally acted, and I tried to get her to leave and go back and find you, but …." She takes a deep breath and lands, then returns to full size. Her injury opens a little, and you pass her the healing potion. She finishes it and waits a few moments before continuing. "He had found some kind of secret door, and he led us to it, but we couldn't get in - it was locked, Lulu couldn't teleport past it, even my flames didn't seem to do anything. Lutecia ended up using her Insekts to filch the key off someone upstairs, and then …. She went in first, then me, then the boy. It felt like … like something terrible, and I tried to get her to leave, but she was at the table, and she …." Agito locks up, shuddering at the memory, and you try to keep from sighing in exasperation. "She'd already touched it, you see, when the boy came in, and he … got too close. She just whirled, and she put the sword right through his heart, and I know she didn't want to do it, because she wasn't smiling anymore, and she was crying. I tried to get to her, to make her let it go, and she," she puts her hand over the injury, "she got me too, but not where she meant to. I managed to push and pull her back here, and then I contacted you, and …." You nod.
"And you wanted me to come in quietly so no one connects us with the murder of someone who's important enough to live in the castle. That would make getting up to the college a little harder than necessary, I agree. So, I suppose the first thing we need to do is get her away from the sword? She doesn't seem to be in real control of herself, after all, and separating them might break the effect - and even if it doesn't, then she won't have a sword." Agito stares at you, then drives her hands against the side of her head before nodding jerkily.
"Ye-yes. And you …." You frown at her as she yanks her head up, apparently unfazed by the blood streaming down from where she gouged herself with her nails. "Destroy it, or get rid of it, or something, but it's wrong, and …." You shrug and turn back to Lutecia, then step back and hold your coat out to Agito.
"Hold this for a moment, please." She stares at you as you begin carefully taking the dress off, and you take it and the cloak and put them away. You nod to her and smile at Lutecia. "Lulu, I know you probably can't tell, but we want to help you, so we're going to have to take that sword away from you, okay? I'll try not to hurt you." You start to walk forward, and Agito jumps, startled.
"Wait! Hey, wa-!" You aren't that far from Lutecia, though, and Agito's dash forward is aborted when her side twitches and she flinches back, stunned by the pain. Lutecia, for her part, doesn't act the way you'd expected she would - far too quickly for such a large weapon wielded by a young girl with neither the strength nor the skill to wield it, the blade goes from vertical to horizontal, but instead of chopping into your shoulder or head, she twirls the blade and lunges, the edge of the sword pointed up, and you're speared through the chest, more or less as you'd planned. Lutecia misses your heart, striking too far to the left and too low, but the sword's heavy curve jams the sword against your ribs as you continue advancing. The pain from the strike is about what you'd expect, but there's something else, a gaping cold, and the blade and Lutecia's arms gleam red. You're close enough to touch Lutecia, and you're glad to see the tears in her eyes - you'd been worried, a little bit, just a passing thought, really, that she wanted you to leave. You put your hands on the hilt and creep them forward, forcing Lutecia's fingers up as your skinnier fingers slide under hers, and then Agito is there to help pry her hands off the handle. First her left hand, then her right, and they fall back as Lutecia finally makes noise, sobbing and trying to scream, and you stagger back, breathing heavily as the void that was trying to eat you abates. It takes a few seconds, but you manage to shove the blade back out of your chest, and it clatters to the ground. Another couple moments, and Lutecia reaches shakily toward you - then pales tries to bury herself in the wall as you lean down and pick up the midnight sword. You feel something whispering at you, but your mental home locks down, metaphysically bricking over the windows and doors, and you turn and drive the sword through the stone wall. It takes you three tries to drive it through to the hilt, and then you stumble back, exhausted.
You blink, not sure if you missed anything. You sit up - your injury doesn't seem to have made any further healing or any worsening, but Agito and Lutecia are both asleep, pressed against the wall away from the sword, and you take your blood flask and drink deeply before taking your dress and coat back out and getting dressed. Lutecia and Agito's dresses are a bit of a lost cause, unfortunately, but that's fairly easy to fix, just need to find some more in their sizes. You glower at the hilt jutting out from the wall. Perhaps it's simply hungry, but that doesn't change the fact that it hurt your friends, so being stuck in a wall is a fairly mild punishment … assuming that people don't simply brick over this whole room so no one can get at it, in which case it would be an amusing punishment. But … maybe it can be reasoned with; and if you're right and it was transferring your power to Lutecia, at least in part, then it could be something useful for her. You could even spar with her!
What do you do?
[ ] Try to talk to the sword.
- [ ] Bargain for its assistance.
- [ ] Learn about it and why it does what it does.
[ ] Leave the sword where it is.
- [ ] Invisibly guide someone from above to the sword's location and let them deal with it.
[ ] Take Lutecia and Agito out immediately.
- [ ] To Ri'saad's camp.
- [ ] Try to find a tavern or inn to let them rest.
- [ ] Other?
[ ] Wait for Lutecia and Agito to wake up before moving them.
- [ ] To Ri'saad's camp.
- [ ] Try to find a tavern or inn to let them rest.
- [ ] Other?
Which Carriage group to join -
[ ] North to Dawnstar
[ ] East to Windhelm
DM Notes: I hope this is as coherent as I thought it was when I wrote it Regarding the choices (because I don't think I can write this in-character) : Flan doesn't consider the sword a threat in its current state, and she believes it's a living(-ish) entity instead just of a life-draining sword, so leaving it is a tortuous punishment from her perspective, particularly since it was 'crazed' enough to attack immediately after noticing potential threats. Ri'saad is the closest thing to a 'friendly face' she's encountered, and he did offer to trade stories at a later time (Flan has lots of stories!), but something in town is less likely to be suspicious if she can hack it; another option might be available, if you want to try something. Ri'saad said there were fewer ships in Dawnstar, but that doesn't mean none, and Flan is confident in her ability to "convince" a captain to take them to the College, or at least close enough.
And as far as the choices go, I ... don't remember when the last time I did multi-choice things like this. so I'll make sure to be clear on it. Each section is counted separately:
[X] Leave the sword where it is.
[X] Take Lutecia and Agito out immediately.
- [X] To Ri'saad's camp.
[X] North to Dawnstar
Voter A
[X] Leave the sword where it is.
[X] Take Lutecia and Agito out immediately.
- [X] To Ri'saad's camp.
[X] East to Windhelm
Voter B
Becomes:
[X] Leave the sword where it is.
2
[X] Take Lutecia and Agito out immediately.
- [X] To Ri'saad's camp.
2
[X] North to Dawnstar
1
[X] East to Windhelm
1
Why am I doing this way? I don't know, it makes sense to me. :/
[X] Try to talk to the sword.
- [X] Learn about it and why it does what it does.
[X] Wait for Lutecia and Agito to wake up before moving them.
- [X] Try to find a tavern or inn to let them rest.
[X] Try to talk to the sword.
- [X] Learn about it and why it does what it does.
[X] Wait for Lutecia and Agito to wake up before moving them.
- [X] Try to find a tavern or inn to let them rest.
Given that the sword managed to hijack Lutecia from all the way out in Whiterun proper and already fed on a soul, we probably can't trust someone else to deal with it just yet. Also, we want to keep an eye on the duo just to make sure nothing else happens.
Also, a kid just got killed in a non-time looping universe. 11/10 would villain quest with Entropy Judge again.
[X] Try to talk to the sword.
- [X] Learn about it and why it does what it does.
[X] Wait for Lutecia and Agito to wake up before moving them.
- [X] Try to find a tavern or inn to let them rest.
As for the carriage groups, I see Flandre being less comfortable with water than beasts.
[X] Try to talk to the sword.
- [X] Learn about it and why it does what it does.
I'd prefer something like:
[] Put the sword in your backpack
[] Wait for Lutecia and Agito to wake up before moving them.
- [] Try to find a tavern or inn to let them rest.
but the other is second best
[X] Try to talk to the sword.
- [X] Learn about it and why it does what it does.
[X] Wait for Lutecia and Agito to wake up before moving them.
- [X] Try to find a tavern or inn to let them rest.
Yes, maybe you were a little hasty, getting the sword stuck like that. You take a breath and cautiously wrap one hand around the hilt before lowering some of the protections - only enough that you can communicate with the sword, not enough that it would be able to take you over. You hear a faint laughter echoing through the channel into your mind and sigh.
"Hello? Can you understand me?" You wait for a moment - and then you tumble, even though you're standing upright and your feet never leave the ground. You shake your head and stumble forward, and your hands catch the table to steady yourself … and then you jerk back, fully aware and ready to fight, because you're now in your own head, inside the dining room of your mental construct. You shake your head as the worldscape flickers, starting to shift from your old home to the top of a tower overlooking a circular wall with eight interior walls connecting the curtain with the tower. With a surge of power you reverse the change, locking the worldscape in its original form, and you glare with outrage at your visitor. The four-armed, grey-skinned woman shrugs and smiles amusedly, and you can't help but feel that she let you win. You take a closer look at the youkai and quash your anger as you realize just how powerful she is. You calm yourself, taking several deep breaths so you can be polite. "Hello. My name is Flandre Scarlet," you say, offering the youkai a curtsy. "May I ask your name?" She smiles and bows her head before gesturing for you to sit at the table.
"I am Mephala, child. And you and your friends interest me." She leans forward and stares intently at you, searching for something. You stare back, seemingly calm and unafraid, but inside you worry, because you can't identify her Eye. Maybe it's because she isn't really here, or maybe she can mask it somehow ….
"How long had you been locked inside that room, Mephala?" She tilts her head as she leans back, then shakes her head and laughs.
"Ah, you are an interesting child, not Aedra or Daedra, not of Mundus; then, you are from the Void? Hm." Then her pleasant demeanor changes, and her light smile hardens, and you're sure even Remilia would admit she wasn't this being's match. "My blade is not so intimately connected to me, young one. It was locked away from me, but thanks to the child you travel with, it was released." You glare at her and growl.
"You mean you did something to Lutecia?" Mephala laughs.
"Of course. The boy lacked agency, and the girl is unprotected still, though not of any particular use anymore, now that my blade is free and beginning to return to its full glory." She gives you a penetrating stare, then smiles. "I think you would be a perfect match for it. Would you like to wield it?" You shudder as you catch yourself actually considering the offer.
"No." It's certainly inferior to Laevateinn, and probably can't stand up to the abuse you would put on it if you actually used it. Mephala sighs, seemingly in regret.
"Ah, and you really would be such a match for it, stained in the blood of deceit and betrayal as you are." Your claws slam into the table, and wood splinters under your rending grip. The youkai's smile grows at your outrage. "Oh, and that you lack trust - your own or others' - that makes you so very ideal. Still, perhaps instead of you, I could ask your twin …." She looks to the side, toward the door, and you realize she's talking about Headless and hurl yourself forward, eager to throw her out of your head no matter how superior she is to you - and as your claw rakes across her chest, shattering flesh and bone, your reality reasserts itself, and Headless flies across the room in Mephala's stead. You're yanked out of the mental construct and stumble back from the embedded sword, and you glare up at it, ready for murder.
"Leave my blade be, little Sithis." You freeze and tremble as you speak the words, recognizing them as neither a request nor an order, but a simple threat, a statement that fulfilling your desire would be the last mistake you make. You nod and edge away; you won't hinder Mephala here. Of course, neither will you help her, and you do your best to move Lutecia and Agito a few rooms away without too much disruption. Then you sit back in a corner to keep watch, console Giltless, and do your best to make sure Headless is okay.
You just hope that Mephala really is gone from your mind.
Lutecia jerks awake and bolts to a sitting position, head swinging side to side as she looks around. "Agito? Agito!" You wait until she's facing away from you to conjure a few dull red bullets for her to see, and she whips around. When she realizes it's you, she stumbles up and forward, trying to run to you, and you dart forward to catch her when she trips. "Flan! Flan! You - I - Agito - I -" You press her face into your chest and hold her in place as she starts breathing too quickly and shallowly, stroking her hair as she cries.
"It's okay, Lutecia. I'm fine, you didn't hurt me. And Agito's just over there." After several minutes of sobbing, and soothing noises from you, she unwraps her arms from around you and sits up. You titter and use the ragged sleeve of your dress to dry her face, and she almost starts crying again.
"I … I'm sorry, Flan. I … I …." You nod serenely and put your fingers against her lips.
"I know. Agito told me what happened. Let's make sure she's okay?" Lutecia jerks up and spins, almost falling in her haste to see to her friend. Even in the ruddy light of your danmaku bullets, you can see her pale, and she frantically searches for her gloves until she finds them and pulls them on. As she puts her hands over Agito, you can see that the fairy's injury has gotten worse over the hours, and you scold yourself for not considering the possibility of infection. Fortunately, Agito's eyes blink open after a few minutes, and she sits up, disrupting Lutecia's healing, almost sending the magician into another fit of tears.
"Hey, Lulu! I'm fine! Really, see?" She jumps to her feet and pulls Lutecia up, then swings around, and you relax. Lutecia, however, takes her opening and lunges at Agito, catching her in a crushing hug.
"I'm sorry, Agito! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I - I hurt you, and it's all my fault, and -" Much as you did, Agito puts her hand over Lutecia's mouth to silence her. You cock your head to the side and move closer to one of the doors in the sudden quiet.
"I'm fine, Lulu. And it's not your fault, not at all. Right, Flan?" They turn to look at you, and you scowl as you identify the faint echoes as armored people rushing about. You turn back to them and dismiss all but one of your bullets before gently pushing them back toward the imprisoned blade.
"Right, right, not your fault." They stiffen at your curt tone, and you stifle a snarl as you lift them and fly through the rooms and hallways. "Unfortunately, it seems someone is interested in searching this place, so we need to move. And if neither of you has a suggestion, I'll try to backtrack and get us out covertly, okay?" They relax a little, at least until you pass the sword's hilt, when Lutecia tries to scramble away from it. You move a little faster, take the turns a little more roughly than you normally would with two passengers, and you make your way back to the inhabited part of the lower level, near where you came down. Unfortunately, there are guards here, a lot of them. "Thoughts?" You give them several seconds to come up with something, then sigh gruffly. "Fine." Your clones slip out and creep away, one going closer and the other two moving off to the side and back.
"I. AM. MEPHALA!" Stone bleeds as your clones radiate power with their cries, and the waves of terror combine with the youkai's seductive voice. The guards, almost to a man, run in fear or collapse in terror as the echoes of your clones' voices bellow through the darkened halls. Only one man doesn't succumb to panic, a tall man with a neatly-tied beard and a shaved head, wielding a huge sword and armored in scales, a horned pauldron on one shoulder. He brandishes the blade and charges toward you, screaming a warcry of his own - at least until your clone grabs him and hauls him into the darkness, slamming him against wall, ceiling, and floor until he drops his weapon and goes limp. You have your clone leave him, beaten but alive, on the floor near the door. Killing him would be a simple matter, and you'd rather like to - but you can't shake the feeling that any deaths here would help Mephala in some fashion, and you don't want that. With the confusion caused by the fleeing guards, you're able to get Lutecia and Agito out an upper-floor window and onto a nearly inaccessible roof, out of sight and safe for the moment.
"Mephala?" Agito gives you a questioning look, and you sigh and lean against the wall.
"Youkai. Demon … god … thing. I guess. The owner of that sword and the one who caused this. Lutecia, do you think you can teleport us somewhere down by the tree, or farther, and out of sight?" Fortunately, the sun is setting, so if you do need to do something, it shouldn't be too difficult. A long moment passes, and you open your eyes and look at the magician; you catch her head turning a little, and you wonder if she was looking at you. Did you make another mistake? You start to sit up, to say something else, when a purple triangle begins spinning below the three of you - and with a dark flash, you're all leaning against the dead tree. Fortunately, no one is around to see you arrive, and you're able to spend a few minutes relaxing. When it's time to leave, you make sure to have Lutecia and Agito put their coats on, to hide the blood on their clothes, and you make sure Lutecia washes her face in one of the streams near the tree. And then, with no objections from magician or fairy, you lead them down into the city in search of a place to eat and rest.
You find one, a moderately clean inn not far from the marketplace, and lead your friends inside. You're almost immediately run over as a woman hurries her daughter out of the building, and you recognize the girl as the one you encountered earlier, who seemed sick. The woman is either scolding the girl or worrying over her, and she seems to have recovered a bit from then. You get Lutecia and Agito seated near the fire, across from a fairly pretty blond man who seems to be a bard, and head for the woman who seems to be in charge. She babbles something at you and you sigh.
"Yeah, I wish I understood what you just said, or felt confident enough to butcher everyone in the city, but I'm not sure Lulu would like that," you say, and she stares blankly at you. Fortunately, the woman is pretty bright, and when you start pantomiming what you want for yourself and your two friends she nods understandingly. She makes a few gestures toward one corner of the room, away from the windows and doors, and begins collecting a few things for you, some bread and a dessert of some kind, along with some fish and bowls for the common stew over the fire. You take out a few of the coins you have and give her a questioning glance, but she folds your fingers back over them and shakes her head, then holds up one finger - you'll only get charity this first time, it seems. You smile and nod your head excitedly, then grab her arm and bow your head over it. She shakes her head and smiles, then tussles your hair before sending you off with your bounty. As you walk away, you start wondering why she's being so kind, then bury the thought - it doesn't matter. You just need to make sure you keep an eye on her, and if she tries anything, you'll kill her.
You sit down next to Lutecia as the bard starts a song that nets him both approval and disapproval, and pass the food to her and Agito. He's not that bad, really, so you're a little miffed that the fight disrupts his performance. Fortunately, the one time the brawl comes anywhere close to where you were sitting, a steel-clad woman happens to be in the way and joined the melee, sending it back away from the fire and into the interior of the hall.
"I wonder what they were fighting about," Agito says as the innkeeper calls the bard over. You shrug.
"They were drunk, probably. More importantly, Lutecia." The magician hunches over and looks apologetic. You hug her and nuzzle your cheek against the side of her head. "Oh, you're fine! However, we do need to get our next move organized. Do you want to wait for the Windhome carriage to get here, or do you want to see if we can still get on the Dawnstar one in the morning?" You sit back and she looks down at the floor.
"There aren't ships at Dawnstar." You shake your head.
"No, there aren't many ships at Dawnstar, and none that go near the College. But if it's a port town, there'll be something we can use, and I'm certain I can convince someone to take us over there." She flinches at your remark, and you sigh quietly before looking at Agito.
"We'll probably have to pay, which is something to keep in mind - and the longer we stay here, the more likely we'll be to find some way to get more money, even if it is just … well, mercenary work, like Flan suggested before. And if we go to Windhome, we can try to find that Ralof guy." And there'll be things you can maybe fight on the way up, if what Ri'saad said was right! You tap your forefinger against your lips, thinking, until Lutecia wraps her cloak around her tightly and burrows against your side. You glance at Agito to see that she's as surprised as you are.
"I don't know! I don't, I …." You stroke her hair as she trails off, wondering what it looks like to an outsider.
"You don't know what to choose?" She nods against your stomach. "Alright, how about this? I'll decide. I'll pick one, and you won't need to do anything; I'll make sure we have the money to pay for it, I'll make sure we get on the carriage on time, and you won't have to worry about it at all, okay? Is that alright with you?" You talk to her as soothingly as you can, and after a moment she nods again. You glance up at Agito, who just shrugs. She doesn't seem to have much of an opinion, either.
"Th-thank you, Flan." You start to pull her up, make sure she's really fine, but stop when two girls drop to sitting positions in front of you. You glower at them, and Agito slides closer to Lutecia. The girl with short hair sits in back, rocking slightly, and her eyes are glazed just like the girl from before. The other one, the red-head, is bright-eyed and smiling, and she definitely seems interested in all three of you. She babbles quickly, barely taking the time to breathe, and only stops when it seems obvious that none of you are paying attention, and she frowns at you. You glance at Agito.
"I don't suppose you know who she is?" Agito shakes her head, but the girl's mouth drops and she tilts her head as she stares at you. She recovers after a moment, then clears her throat and puts her hand over her chest.
"Babette," she says, tapping her chest. "Babette." She holds her hand toward you, palm up, and looks questioningly at you.
What do you do?
[ ] Make her go away.
[ ] Keep up appearances, pidgin-talking with Babette.
[ ] Ask Agito to let you communicate telepathically with her.
[ ] Carriage to Dawnstar
[ ] Carriage to Windhelm.
Regarding the choices (because I don't think I can write this in-character) : Flan doesn't consider the sword a threat in its current state, and she believes it's a living(-ish) entity instead just of a life-draining sword, so leaving it is a tortuous punishment from her perspective, particularly since it was 'crazed' enough to attack immediately after noticing potential threats. Ri'saad is the closest thing to a 'friendly face' she's encountered, and he did offer to trade stories at a later time (Flan has lots of stories!), but something in town is less likely to be suspicious if she can hack it; another option might be available, if you want to try something. Ri'saad said there were fewer ships in Dawnstar, but that doesn't mean none, and Flan is confident in her ability to "convince" a captain to take them to the College, or at least close enough.
