Plots: Serious, silly, random, oh my!

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

Sirius is mostly able to gather all the tiles back in the box with his big claws.
"Well now you'll be able to sleep. Probably." he says as they carry the box back to camp.

Unless with the box being delivered to a Seeker the ghost reappears to distribute a new one immediately. Then no one will get any sleep.

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

Well thankfully Khannie's paws are equipped with OPPOSABLE THUMBS so she's able to get any of the tiles back into the box that Sirius has any trouble with!

An exciting development for sure.

Then?

It's back to the tent!

Now with a little box of weird dominoes maybe.

...Khannie for her part is going to sleep in this morning. There's a good chance that Zebes or Jace are going to have to wake her up.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

"Hey. Hey Khannie. Wake up."
Khannie will find her uncle sitting on her chest.
"Good. You're finally awake." Zebes says in that unscrupulous tone he uses sometimes.
"Wakey-wakey, eggs and turkey sausage Khannie. We have a breakfast to eat and a dungeon to run." Smells like breakfast.

[Gullara]

[Hot Spring Aftermath]

"Okay good." Hopefully Calanthe has the same level of recollection or this will be really awkward. "I'm trying to decide if we're in trouble or not. I guess we won't know till she wakes up." Sakura looks down at the sleeping bunnygirl.

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

This definitely could have been much worse.

Khannie could have woken up on a cart with a bunch of rebels instead of in her tent. But then again that joke has been played out before already, hasn't it?

"Nng..." Khannie grunts.

Not the most eloquent reply by you try getting woken up all of a sudden by a tiny dragon sitting on you.

The zoroark rouses, stretches, and gets herself dressed. Starting, of course, with her human teen illusion. Because of course that's the most important than to be wearing! A few minutes later she emerges from the tent, following the scent of breakfast.

"There was a weird ghost in the woods last night," she comments. Not including herself, of course.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

"Oh yeah? You go and yell at him to stop haunting the place?" Zebes ask as Khannie leaves the tent.

Jace is making breakfast of course. And singing of course. Though more quiet than usual since there's other people on the grounds still asleep.
"There will come a soldier who carries a mighty sword/he will tear your city down, o lay, o lie, o Lord"

"Good morning Khannie. I hope you're hungry. I have breakfast for you. And one other thing when you're done."
Khannie might notice the long package that Jace has next to him, which he managed to hide all this time thanks to his handy haversack no doubt. But she can't open it until she eats her breakfast!

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

"Not exactly? He asked me if I was a seeker of knowledge and I said yes and he said a riddle and gave me a box fulla weird dominoes," Khannie admits.

Which sounds like a puzzle of some kind.

Getting told a riddle and given some puzzle items right before going into a mysterious ruin definitely sounds like some adventurey puzzle nonsense. There's probably going to be quite a bit of weird puzzlely nonsense on this trip. But that was kind of what Khannie was expecting! Ancient puzzles and mysteries and stuff are cool. That's the FUN part of adventuring; learning neat things and finding neat things. Not blowing up monsters.

The monsters you gotta blow up are more the speedbumps you have to overcome to GET to the fun part.

"Yeah I'm hungry! It smells great dad. What's in the box?"

She's getting all sorts of boxes isn't she? Answer or no, she settles down on one of the logs near the campfire. Sure they could use folding chairs or something but logs are WAY more authentic camping seats.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

"It's just a little thing. I know I said I wouldn't spoil you with magical presents. But I get bored when you're not around. And this one isn't really magical since I blew most of the magic budget on your birthday gift. But your wizard education has been sorely lacking one thing. It's something you ought to finish on your own, but I thought I should get you started."
Jace explains cryptically as he doles out a portion of breakfast for Khannie.

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

The birthday gift which is, at this very moment, hanging up near the tent waiting for the time to begin DOING ADVENTURE STUFF!

Khannie wears her cloak quite a bit. Personalizing your uniform at PREP is basically expected from the students and Khannie's cloak is her very important bit of personalization. But today it'll be getting used for what it was MEANT for! Adventures!

"That sounds cool," Khannie replies as she eyes the box and grabs a paper plate for her breakfast.

She's already puzzling through the hints she's being dropped.

What is her wizard education missing?

She's got a familiar. And a spellbook. And even a cool wizardy hat from Braon.

...is it a wand? Or maybe a staff? It looks more staff sized to her. There are some wizards at her school that mostly do wands but as far as Khannie is concerned wands are lame. Some people can pull it off like Victoria does, but for the most part nothing beats the sagely image communicated by a cool staff.

Regardless! She begins digging in. And pondering things. Pondering how her life has been unfolding compared with her father's.

"...dad do you think you'll ever visit your hometown again?" she asks.

She may be curious what her grandparents are like.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

The breakfast is unsurprisingly good. Jace specializes in breakfast food.
"No, Khannie. I don't think I will. I've never heard of anyone from my particular version of Golarion winding up in the Nexus. The way doesn't seem to be open. But it's something I've had a long time to think about. I have a family here, and that's enough." Jace says somberly, yet with a smile to her.
Though his hand does drift to the dagger on his belt.

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

And Khannie unsurprisingly devours it.

There's nothing in there that she isn't fond of. And surprising no one she packed some of her favorite sweet chili sauce to pour all over the eggs. She may be pretty iffy about the whole being a pokemon thing, but her maniacal focus on particular flavors that coincide with her personality traits are probably the most pokemon thing about her that she doesn't actively shun most of the time.

"What were grandpa and grandma like?" Khannie asks between mouthfuls of eggs.

Seems like this is a good backstory vacation.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

"Mother is a kind woman. She always put up with my magical nonsense more than Dad did. But they did both try. Even if Dad was always more strict. They're good people. And they taught me to sing." Jace winks.
Ah, so that's who Khannie has to blame for that one.

[Murkus]

[Hot Spring Aftermath]

"Okay good." Hopefully Calanthe has the same level of recollection or this will be really awkward. "I'm trying to decide if we're in trouble or not. I guess we won't know till she wakes up." Sakura looks down at the sleeping bunnygirl.

[Hot Spring Aftermath]

Adir pulls himself over next to Sakura on the bed, his eyes on Calanthe. Slooowly they track back up to his wife. "...You're... not freaked out. Or anything." Adir rubs his head. "How are you feeling?"

[Gullara]

[Hot Spring Aftermath]

"Um, I don't know." Sakura gives Adir something of a searching look. "I mean, I'm not freaked out if you're not. I was worried that I should've been, uh, a voice of reason last night." She rubs the back of her neck. "I guess it's kind of a relief in some ways." He face burns saying that.

[Earl of Purple]

Fetchquest
Vanity

"Sure thing, honey. Come on girls, let's leave her be." The three doppelgangers will undress and give Mary the dress and shoes before they turn and leave at this point, the sympathetic link they'd established dissipating. All the changes they'd made beforehand to Mary's body will stay, as she tries the dress on (if she tries the dress on). It'll fit perfectly, though unlike her school uniform it's not enchanted to shift with her. Same with the shoes; they'll both only fit so long as she maintains this form. Or one similar to it.

The window can't be opened easily; it does have a latch and it's not locked, but it's been a very long time since it was last opened and the window frame has been painted since then. It's stiff and the paint needs to be cracked and broken before it'll shift.

Wrath

"I know. 'S why they're lettin' me rest. Mat don't need me, she's... she's better'n me in every way. She don't gamble away basically everything. We... I lost the rent. Next month, we gotta find somewhere else, but... I already spent our savings, pawned everything of value 'cept her sword. I couldn't do that, it means so much to her. Now it's gone anyway. I... I think he's at a warehouse? He's not here. In the building, I mean. They took me everywhere t' show me why fighting wouldn't do no good." Unless there's a secret room he doesn't know about, anyway. He doesn't seem to care about her hand on his shoulder, and has barely looked at her.

Greed is a good place to make money on bets, but a poor place to hold a victim of kidnapping. It was very busy, and whilst they were all distracted they'd probably notice a squirrel tied to a chair.

[Ironsmith]

[Fetchquest]

"Yeah, you've been a freaking idiot." Tahara agrees bluntly. "But that's not what I'm talking about. Mat's been plumbing the underworld looking for ways to help you. When my friends and I caught her, she was trying to sell a tape of the girls' locker room to some creeps to pay off your debt. Which, you know, is messed up, but she's clearly scared of losing you. Imagine what she'd go through if she actually did."

The trash witch puts a hand on Boorab's shoulder. "Take it from me, Boo. That's not something you want to put her through. If you really want to do right by your little sister, be there for her." She flashes him a little smile. "I'm bailing you out of this one. Gonna try to get her sword back, too. But no more gambling, got it?"

Meanwhile, Tahara's trying to recollect if there's anybody in Greed who seemed abnormally interested in Boorab's fights; a bookie or a scam artist or something. Then she remembers she has roaches all over the place by now and she can just check.

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

Singing would have to be important if you worked at a tavern, right?

Frankly Khannie hasn't ever been in a tavern before. The Nexus has Trog's but she's just... never been in there. Even though Inari's has a permanent mirror portal that leads there. Maybe when she gets a little older she should drop by?

"That sounds nice," Khannie concludes as she polishes off her eggs and gets to work on the sausages. "Did you learn how to cook from your parents, too?"

They must fix food at taverns, right? Even if taverns are mostly for getting beer.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

"A bit of that, yeah. I had a lot of odd jobs in town over the years. Couldn't keep any of them. I think my record was four months before I became an adventurer." Jace explains with a dopy shrug.
But hey, at least he didn't have to fill out a resume each time.

[bc56]

Fetchquest
Vanity

Mary does put on the dress and shoes. She spends a few moments examining herself in the mirror. It's a bit much, but she looks good anyway.

The stuck window doesn't bother her much. "It's a little stuffy in here, I'm going to get some air," she says, in case the doppelgängers are listening. Then she unlatches the window, grows a claw to use in chipping off the sticky paint, and opens it up.

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

Life was easier back in the day when getting a job required a firm handshake and little more. No filling out of online nonsense required! Khannie, thankfully, hasn't had to suffer through any of that nonsense yet. There's a pretty good chance that she isn't going to be the sort who works for corporate interests so probably she won't have to worry about that EVER!

What a lucky girl.

"Was it because you kept blowing stuff up?" Khannie asks as she polishes off her breakfast and picks up the long box.

She shakes it first.

Because of course she does.

Then comes the task of opening up to find out what's inside!

[Earl of Purple]

Fetchquest
Vanity

The doppelgangers make a noncommital sound in response, but are mostly communicating amongst themselves. A mix of low-level telepathy and shapeshifting, waiting for Mary to come out and show off so they can be supportive. The window opens, and it doesn't take long for Mat to squeeze in. The squirrel clambered up the wall very easily, knowing exactly where to put her feet and fingers to support her weight. "Thankyou. Where's buggy? And... have you grown? You look different." Mat frowns a little as she looks Mary up and down, examining her new clothes and improved form.

Wrath/Greed

Boorab winces at the news of what Mat's been up to when he wasn't paying attention, because that really is messed up. He nods wearily, though whether he's able to keep up with that remains to be seen.

In Greed, there's a few individuals that Tahara's roaches might find. First is a brown-skinned goblin wearing a tailored suit, a long sword slung over his back with a brass acorn-shaped pommel; he's grinning wide and changing money for tokens. Second is a dwarf wearing chainmail and leather, encouraging people to bet on one of the fighters as it's 'a sure thing'; he's got an earpiece in, hiding amongst his hair but not covered by his helmet. He was encouraging people to bet big on Boorab when Tahara was up there. Third, a human slouched in a corner, gazing at a laptop in front of him and occasionally pressing buttons or wiggling a mouse.

[bc56]

Fetchquest
Vanity
"Shh. There's three people outside this door that aren't expecting you. This is all part of distracting them... And I thought it looked good... Tahara's downstairs looking for Boorab. We just need to get past these three and the receptionist." Mary keeps her voice down and motions towards the exit from the closet. "Unless you have an idea for how to explain your presence and let us leave peacefully, we're gonna have to fight."

[Keeper]

[Spring Vacation]

Life was easier back in the day when getting a job required a firm handshake and little more. No filling out of online nonsense required! Khannie, thankfully, hasn't had to suffer through any of that nonsense yet. There's a pretty good chance that she isn't going to be the sort who works for corporate interests so probably she won't have to worry about that EVER!

What a lucky girl.

"Was it because you kept blowing stuff up?" Khannie asks as she polishes off her breakfast and picks up the long box.

She shakes it first.

Because of course she does.

Then comes the task of opening up to find out what's inside!

Spring Vacation

"Mostly that, yes."
Inside the box is a smooth cut oak staff. An actual wooden staff, not a wizard's just yet. Though it does have a wrap for holding it. There is a notable hole in the top where a fancier head might be mounted...
"I think a wizard ought to customize their staff themselves. But if you don't end up picking up spell-craftsmanship, I can always do the work after you finish your design."

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

Frankly that isn't a terrible reason.

If you're working for a merchant they probably don't want their wares getting blown up. If you're working for a farmer they probably don't want their chickens getting blown up. None of those things are desirable.

Anywho!

Staff.

Khannie smiles when she pulls it out of the box, holding it in her hands in giving it a good heft.

"Y'know when I would play in the woods with Brinika and Cheasadh and we went on adventures and things I would illusion up branches to look like a wizard staff," she says, fondly recalling the games with her friends. "What makes a real wizard staff, anyway? Most of the wizard spells I've learned so far don't really need something like this for channeling."

Her wizardry is on the simple side, after all.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

”Not really sure. Wizards where I come from usually just use little components from their pockets. They don’t cast through rods and staves. Those are supplementary. But I did make sure I gave it a proper core for doing that if you want to.”
Jace reaches into his bag and pulls on a glove. With a flick Jace’s rarely-seen staff appears in his hand. A regal thing of ancient wood and bronze, its head a spinning orrery.
”Mine really just has lots of extra spells stored in it so I can draw on it when I need to. It’s also a bit of a status symbol, I admit.”

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

The really COOL wizard staffs store extra spells AND increase saving throw difficulties! Of course Khannie doesn't really 'get' that sort of mechanical stuff. She just knows that she needs to make her illusions convincing enough to trick people. And that's more a matter of playing to expectations than it is just making the magic STRONGER as such.

It's all about crafting something that's believable.

Or, better yet, something that someone WANTS to be believe.

Khannie waggles the staff around in a magical sort of way and makes some magicy sound effects. Because who WOULDN'T do that with a wizard staff?

"So how does it get the extra spells stored in it? Is that something I've gotta do?"

Sort of like how the hat that Braon gave her can remember one specific spell formula.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

"Usually it involves carving runes and getting a nice magical relic to stick on top and those are used to set what sort of spells you can cast with it. Or something like that. Like I said, nothing works the way it does at home."
[properly speaking Jace can't even make staves but no one wants to take seven feats just to be able to make all the various kinds of magical nonsense items.]

[Ironsmith]

Fetchquest
Wrath/Greed

Boorab winces at the news of what Mat's been up to when he wasn't paying attention, because that really is messed up. He nods wearily, though whether he's able to keep up with that remains to be seen.

In Greed, there's a few individuals that Tahara's roaches might find. First is a brown-skinned goblin wearing a tailored suit, a long sword slung over his back with a brass acorn-shaped pommel; he's grinning wide and changing money for tokens. Second is a dwarf wearing chainmail and leather, encouraging people to bet on one of the fighters as it's 'a sure thing'; he's got an earpiece in, hiding amongst his hair but not covered by his helmet. He was encouraging people to bet big on Boorab when Tahara was up there. Third, a human slouched in a corner, gazing at a laptop in front of him and occasionally pressing buttons or wiggling a mouse.

[Fetchquest]

Hm. Well, that dwarf is the one that looks the most suspicious; he's clearly communicating with somebody, presumably somebody with inside information. But out of an abundance of caution, she's going to have her roaches stick to all three of them until she can eliminate them as suspects.

"Okay, here's what I'll do." Tahara stands up. "I'm gonna go back upstairs and see if one of those creeps can lead me back to your boyfriend. Then I'm gonna rescue him, and when I do, you're going to leave. Okay?"

Not waiting for an answer, Tahara turns and heads back up the stairs, stopping just long enough to wave at the twi'lek (they're going to be great friends by the end of the night, she can tell).

[Rebonack]

[Spring Vacation]

Obviously a single feat for being able to craft magical items is plenty since magical items ALREADY have a pretty high resource cost even without requiring a giant heap of feats.

Anywho!

"Maybe we'll find something cool to stick on it in the caves?" Khannie muses as she gathers her very important adventuring gear!

Like her staff (already holding)!
And her cloak (now being worn)!
And her hat (seated on her head and looking pretty wizardy)!
And of course her lantern of Darklight (holding that one in her free hand)!

All Khannie is missing is one of those nice long white beards and she would definitely look the part of a wizard!

"Okay! Everyone ready to go explore the puzzle cave?"

She sure is.

[Keeper]

Spring Vacation

As is tradition, Jace wears his whole outfit when he goes on an adventure with Khannie even if he doesn't think he'll actually need everything. The cloak, the bracers, the gloves, the boots, the belt, the dagger, the goggles. And the haversack, of course. His staff is palmed back into his glove.
The pan is presidigitation'd into being clean so it doesn't get food all stuck to it.

"Yup." "Yup." "Yup." "Boof."