RP: Soft Skin

Thought maybe some like reading that :) The change of perspective is whenever Cain me or Stephen wrote. Marokin is in his room, plucking away here and there, trying out different chords and their combinations. He takes a break and takes up his hand to wipe away the sweat. Before the back of his hand can reach his head, he stops. The skin in his face fades from the usual colourful orange to a much lighter version, closer to how the skin of human looks like. He stares at his arm. Holding his breath for a bit. Then tossing the lute onto the bedroll, he starts rummaging through the backpack in which he holds his adventure gear, throwing the contents left and right until he holds the box of matches and tinder wood in his hand and has placed a torch on the other side. He starts working away on the tinder and as soon as there is a slight flame his eyes flash and the flame starts bursting. He grabs a torch with his left and sets it ablaze.Then striping back the clothes on his arms he starts gritting his teeth. A sizzling sound is to hear and a choked off growl as he pushes the side of the torch into the skin. He only manages to push it there for 4,5 seconds, having fiendish ties and being used to heat certainly helps with that, but then he throws the torch down, stamping it out and holding his arm, cursing vividly in his mother tongue. He takes out Adolfo's finest, holding the cork in his teeth and pulling away the bottle, poring some on the wound and then into his throat. As soon as the pain cedes a bit he picks up one of the cleaner clothes and rips of bit, drenching it in the alcohol and wrapping it around the arm. Resting it on the side. Watching it peculiarly before dozing off. When he wakes up it is dark and he looks at his arm.... ... and finds the strange glow is still there. Marokins face first fades to the colour of human skin, then boast back to a well saturated red. He searches through his clothes for the robe with the longest sleeves, cursing and ventures out into the city. He looks frequently behind him and might appear a bit paranoid to the regular person, trying to swallow down the curses he is only successful for most of them. From afar he can see the crowd gathered around Cain. You see Marokin dropping by again one evening. He is wearing a robe with particularly long sleeves. Cain, I have a request, and I don't know if that is possible. Could you grant me one of those bottles of this holy water of yours? Or perhaps two? Is this water by the way drinkable? Or do you poor it on yourself? You did so apparently on Sharleen... And he looks at you awaiting answer. Cain:I do not see why you would need to drink it but the reason I through it on Sharleen was to use it as a material for a casting. I would not mind giving it too you but please tell what do you need it for? Marokin looks at you intently for a second. It is a rather personal matter and to some sense it is also my curiosity. So drinking is possible? I will not desecrate it, don't worry. So please, would you? And he looks at you, and you can find a tinge of impatience in his face. Cain says: Its a strange request but... I guess I can spare some he holds out a vial for you to take. If this does not help with whatever it is feel free to come back.You can sense that Marokin is somewhat relieved. Thank you. And I hope that will not be needed. I will share however if I gain knowledge from this experiment and think it is worth it. Marokin returns to his room, throws the robe into a corner and takes off the bandage. Yes, Traveler, I know I have not been given enough thought to you lately. But please make this work. You know a wanderer has to be independent. Lets see what this thing can do.He opens the vile. Looks at it... Not really to our tradition, I suppose.... and starts poring a bit on the patch of skin. Observing, whether there are any effects. Another cloth is turned into a bandage and the bit on the skinpatch gets drenched in the holy water. The rest he drinks. Checking some hours later again whether anything changed. The wound seems slightly better, but there is still something bad happening, this has only slowed it down. The next morning Marokin looks at the skin patch, annoyed, groaning. Tymora, give me luck. He can be seen at the temple the next morning, and he approaches Cain. More, Cain, I need more, much more. Here. And he hands you 23 gold. That is all I have right now. How much an you give me for this? Oh... and... He pulls out the Dagger with the crystal in the hilt that you found in the Sithi cult layer. Take this. One of the poor persons walks up as usual, expecting to receive healing but Marokin shoes him away. Can't you see we are busy right now? Bugger off! He looks back at the baffled Cain. How much can you give me? Cain closes your hands on the items Marokin: As soon as you close Marokins hands you see his face twist in a sign of agnoy and he pulls back and you see him swallowing a curse, in his eyes appear pupils that dart at you. Cain: Sorry friend I did not mean to harm you M: Tudod, hogy nincs bocsánat, hiába hát a bánat. Cain: You see on his belt five vials of Holy water he starts pulling them off and holds them in his hands in between his fingers and holds them up. Each of these normally costs 25gp a vial but the brothers now allow me to get them for free I do not wish to use them as financial gain, they are all yours but I wish for you too tell me what is the problem so I may be able to help you effectively than drowning whatever it is in holy water. Marokin: What is it with you holyman? He points with his left at the scrollcase. You trust me with your life. Trust me with mine, damn it. And the colour of his face turns a bit redder. Then he holds still and it returns to its normal orange. 25 a vial you said? This dagger sells for at least 100 I was told, take these and he takes the purse and the dagger and strechtes them out with his left hand. that should be about the price. I don't want to hear that I were to owe you something. So take the damn coins and give me those vials. Cain hands you the vials and tilts his head curiously. I do not like to ask for favors just send me more lore if you happen upon it is all I ask that should be worth these vials to me. I only seek knowledge not monetary gain keep your items. Once again come back if you need any more help if five vials does not fix your ailment no amount more will. You will need greater healing then. Marokin takes the vials, when he passes the poor man his eyes flash red and he snarles at him, sending him off scared. Cain precedes to search for the man to see what he needs and treat his wounds. Marokin returns to his room. Repeating the process, doubling the dose. Trying to then play his lute but realizing that the charring of his arm left him at a lack of mobility due to the seizing pain. He continues reading instead. Looking through papers, turning pages with his left hand. Help me change what needs to be changed. Thinking of the Traveler and then of his right arm. The pain lessens and the condition does not appear to be spreading, but after a few hours the pain returns again, though less than before.

Marokin wakes up in his room from seizing pain. When he opens his eyes and looks to his right he falls back. An eldritch flame appears to be on his bed. It is following him as he roles to the side. That is when he is realizing that it is his arm that is burning, his arm that is in clothes. Marokin pulls back the clothes but feels no heat emitting from it. He runs his fingers through it. Nothing. Then his gaze falls on his arm. Or more on what is left of it. His bone is burning in green eldritch flame and the water he is poring on it does not seem to influence it. Having run out of all the Holy Water he tries to extinguish the flame by wrapping clothes around it. At first he can feel some resistance as to where the flash used to be, but then the clothes lie on the bare bone. As he is doing this, the first sunrays start to spread and the flame vanishes. Marokin puts on the widest robe he has to cover his entire arm and heads off to the Lodge of Light. Some of the workers look at him but he does not notice any of this. Before he knows he is on the step of the Lodge of Light and as he wants to knock on the door he is caught by some magical aura and an alarm is sounded. It is only now that he realizes that his building indeed has an outer and an inner door and apparently someone has put a seal of protection there. But protecting against what? Why protecting against me? He uses his tail to knock at the door and as he does so the door springs open and an old man looks at him. He disables the ward pulling Marokin inside while uttering the words: "What are you?" Marokin is hushed downstairs and replies: "I came to seek Cain." The old man asks a young boy to bring Cain who is in the upper city and the boy rushes off. Marokin ask the man to swear to not tell anyone about this incident and of what Marokin is going to tell him. The old man states that he is not really bound by an oath, though he once took one. After the reassurance Marokin tells the man of having a problem with his arm and starts unwrapping the clothes. Recapping of what he has tried to get rid of it and that the holy water did have some limited effect, but it appears to be only slowing the effect and not stopping it. Cain arrives and sees Marokin, who's skin looks oddly pale, almost human. Cain greets the man as Brother Oswald, at which Marokin remembers: "You were the one Ulrich was talking about, you two seem to know each other..." Oswald nods but when he looks at the arm he states: "Skarn's Fire, there is nothing we can do about it. Not even chopping your arm of will help for sure." Marokin looks at Cain: "Promise me not to loose a word about this." and Cain replies: "Not unless it endangers somebody else." After a bit more inspection and checking some books he sights with relief: "It appears to be only Fireplague. A lessor form of Skarn's Fire. You can be cured if the creature that caused this on you is slain. However, it must be done quickly. These creatures drain power from their surroundings and once it has enough power it will transform into Skarn's Fire, and then you will be lost." He sends out word to Ulrich and starts talking to Cain, pressing the issue of such a creature existing and that it needs to be vanquished entirely, all of it must be dissolved in Holy Water and any other creature that was already infected and turned must be vanquished. Ulrich arrives and he and Oswald begin preparing some Sigil. When seeing Ulrich Marokin states: "Oh Ulrich, I wanted to ask you some questions, can you tell me about Larkspell?" Bu he receives barly an answer, he then turns to the two brothers: "Do you have a shrine for the other gods here?" They confirm and he hands out a Dagger with a Emerald in it. "Take this one to it." And he starts a player to the Traveler. Upon hearing that name, Oswald says, "the Crocked one, eh?" Ulrich looks at Marokin: "Master Marokin, you must move now, questions can be answered later." and they shove him into a sarcophagus. Marokin fades out of consciousness and only feels how his body starts to be surrounded by Holy Water and that two voices are chanting something in unison, which he cannot understand properly. The sound follows him and he suddenly see's himself on an misty plain. There is a pass in the stone that is calling out to him and he follows to sensation. He looks into the passage and when he moves forward something grabs him by the arm and turns him. He sees a crocked man smiling at him, "Let's have a game shall we?" He pulls out a deck of cards and deals both of them a hand and sits down on the floor. Marokin looks at the passage, the man snips his fingers, and both pick up their cards. After some rounds the man gets up and starts dancing and sing a song. Being usually the one that is playing Marokin just listens intently and after the first round of verse and chorus tries to join in with his flute. They spend multiple hours like this. At some point the Tiefling looks at the man and asks: "Old man, who are you? Tell me your tale and perhaps I will retell it. Or for that matter, tell me any tale. And I may tell you mine if you wish to hear it." I would award 1337xp to Stephen for RP :)

Marokin spends some time listening to the tale of the old man and also asks the Tiefling a bit about his affairs. He appears to Marokin to know a bit too much about certain things that he had encountered. But when he wants to ask him “How do you know of this?” the crocked just says: It is your time to leave, but a part of you will rest here. Marokin looks confused and when he opens his mouth to question the meaning of the statement the old man just says “I gave you something back that you forgot here last time. It was nice seeing you again.” His eyes open and he can still feel his body drenched in liquid. When he opens his mouth to talk and shout he immediately has to close it to stop the water from running in. Then he feels that he is ascending, out of the water, or more the water leaving his confinement. He realizes that it is Ulrich and Oswald who are staying outside. The water keeps running and eventually the sarcophagus is opened. Marokin gasps for fresh air, but even the air outside the casket is stuffy. After some time he looks at the old men. “I am alive! Does this mean this was a success?” and while he looks at his arm he sees a crust around the part that had turned to bone. “Yes master Marokin” says Ulrich, “but it may take some time for you to recover.” Oswald whispers something to Ulrich and Ulrich nods back at Oswald. “Some things might remain changed… Interesting indeed.” The old brother looks at Marokin: “Go now, you must hurry, it was already attracting too much attention as it is.” and starts shoving Marokin towards the door of the room. “How can I repay this debt? Ulrich, I have a lot of questions left I want to ask you. And also you, Oswald, it was, right?” “All in good time. Now, move.” And Oswald shoves Marokin out of the room to the stairs. They walk upstairs and Marokin leaves the building. When he is walking back to his room at the Mermaid, his knees appear to be weak and here and there a person looks strangely at him. However it is not unusually often, considering what the Tiefling is used to. When he enters in the early hours only Adolfo is in the room and notices Marokin. “Ah, Master Marokin. A new style? I like it.” And Marokin hushes up to his room.