Yamelle 2026/05/10(Sun)05:48 No. 1126572 ID: 54055d
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It’s unknown how much time has passed, but the boilers should be low on fuel and would peter out soon. The expecting mother wiggles her toes as if regaining feeling again. She lets out a contented sigh and rubs her belly.

Drying off, the air seems a tad chilly. A brisk waft of wind dances on her fur.

Yamelle: OoOoOh! That’s odd. I wonder if Dama has left a window--

Yamelle 2026/05/10(Sun)05:49 No. 1126574 ID: 54055d
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Wuh--? Oh dear! The front door is wide open! Snow has been drifting in for some time!!

Now how did that happen?

>>1126574
First, look for Dama. Upon inevitably finding he's not here, get dressed for the cold weather and go out looking for him.

Close the door then check for wet footprints, gotta make sure the house is secure before anything else

was that last knock the door being kicked open? how rude
shut that before the whole building freezes.

oh no, someone's snuck in for a late night bath!

Nope
You just had a bath and it's freezing outside

If you think it's worth risking your child being stillborn... well, I don't think you or Dama would prefer that risk.

Shut the door quickly, then huddle up near the fire.

>>1126579
Makes sense.
Close the door, warm up quickly.
Solve the mystery once your not shivering.
Maybe a dreasing gown? Gotta be onemin ma's size

>>1126574

When the yearning for brittlechips consumes thee.

Yamelle 2026/05/11(Mon)03:32 No. 1126617 ID: 54055d
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Oooooh rats! Hubby better still be around. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence! Doors swing open by themselves on accident all the time! Yeah! She wouldn’t want to venture outside leaving the kids alone in the house!

>Close the door, warm up quickly.
>shut that before the whole building freezes
>Shut the door quickly, then huddle up near the fire.
Ma closes the double-doors and makes sure to lock it. Her nips do feel quite chilly--she enters the basement to warm up by the furnace. A towel traps some of the heat as she ponders.

Yamelle: Can’t be burglars--not that we have expensive merchandise. And where would they go? The villagers will recognize our stuff if they sell it on the black market!

Yamelle: Hmm... does Du-Gar even have a black market?

Yamelle: I shouldn’t overthink and get too worried; it’s a nice neighborhood after all.

Yamelle: Even if someone came in unannounced it’s probably all just a misunderstanding.

Yamelle: I should poke around the house just in case. A bird could’ve swooped in!

It doesn’t sound like anyone’s walking around; the floor can be squeaky for this old house. All silent inside. Wind’s blowing, though--whistling outside.

Yamelle 2026/05/11(Mon)03:33 No. 1126619 ID: 54055d
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Once dry enough she ascends the stairs out from the basement.

>[...] check for wet footprints, gotta make sure the house is secure before anything else
Gasp! Footprints?! Oh no, did she remember to sweep the vestibule? Why hasn’t she noticed them before? Were they her own? They trail back into the baths.

Cautiously, Yamelle follows the lead. There’s a light sloshing noise beyond the changing rooms.

Yamelle 2026/05/11(Mon)03:33 No. 1126620 ID: 54055d
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>oh no, someone’s snuck in for a late night bath!
Strange... who could it be?

Ma doesn’t recognize them. Looks to be one of those hairless choops-- not very common up here in the mountains. She looks old. Very old. ‘Wonder what’s going on there.

Is she lost?

Yamelle: Uhm, excuse me? Hello? Ma’am? Can I help you with anything?

Yamelle: It’s... quite the hour!

Yamelle 2026/05/11(Mon)03:34 No. 1126621 ID: 54055d
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She slowly faces Yamelle. Her eyes are dim, possibly cataracts. Lots of wrinkles and folds in her skin. Is that what we all look like underneath our comfy fur?

And she speaks nonchalantly.

Stranger: Oh, hello.

Stranger: The door was open. I assumed it’s a public house.

Stranger: You won’t mind if I rest my bones here for a while?

>The door was open. I assumed it’s a public house.

Huh, so if the door was open when she arrived, that means there's another person who came in before her if shes not the one who opened the door.

Tell her she can stay since it was our fault for not locking the door. But ask if she saw anyone else when she came in.

quickly search your mind for both 1) knowledge of how important sacred hospitality is in your culture and 2) if there are any myths or legends about witches that could put you at risk if you let them stay the night

also if nothing else, it's probably ultimately up to Dama if she can stay the night

that's fine but, the boilers are off for the night. the water's going to get cold. you shouldn't get a cold soak before going outside at night. Are you staying nearby?

>>1126621
Well I guess it's ok. Tell her how the bath house usually works, and unfortunately that you can't offer her many services right now. You should probably go find your husband and tell him you have a late visitor so he doesn't get surprised.

...were the doors wide open when she came in? Or was she the one knocking?

Damn. A blind old lady? Can't send her packing in the snow.

Explain the wind must have opened the door and the baths are actually closed. She can stay til she dries off, but you and your husband are tired and can't entertain.

>>1126621
She just walked in? Maybe the knocking was wind on an improperly shut door.

Um.
Her clothes.
Find them and rest them on a warm pipe for her.
Thats it.
Youre not just doing it to check she actually had clothes when she arrived.
Nope.
Thatd be weird.

Yamelle 2026/05/14(Thu)05:40 No. 1126793 ID: 54055d
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>Maybe the knocking was wind on an improperly shut door.
>Damn. A blind old lady? Can't send her packing in the snow.
>she can stay since it was our fault for not locking the door.
Yamelle: Oh! Uhm. Well, we were supposed to be closed but it’s my fault for forgetting to lock the door.

Yamelle: Don’t worry about it though! I guess the wind has blown it wide open for you!

Yamelle: You didn’t see anyone else come in, have you?

She ponders, staring at still water.

Stranger: I don’t think I have.

Stranger: My eyesight ain’t what it used to be anyway.

>the boilers are off for the night. the water's going to get cold
Yamelle: Well, I suppose it won’t hurt if you stay a bit. The boilers are off for the night--your bath will be cold or lukewarm at best.

Yamelle: It’ll be freezing outside after a cold soak, you know! Are you staying anyplace in town?

Stranger: Not particularly. I only just arrived.

Yamelle: Oo! Where from? Myrr? Djarjin?

Stranger: No place...

Yamelle: No place?

Stranger: I’m a wanderer. ‘Haven’t had a place for as long as I can remember.

Stranger: Although in some aspects, when you roam the world you’re always home.

Stranger: I’ve slept in harsh weather. Plenty of times. Slept in rain, in snow.

Stranger: After a time, it didn’t bother me much. When you consider we were once a blanket of frost, the cold can be comforting--it’s a return to what we once were.

Yamelle: Gee, I... I can kind of see that perspective!

Yamelle 2026/05/14(Thu)05:43 No. 1126794 ID: 54055d
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>Her clothes. Youre not just [finding them] to check she actually had clothes when she arrived. Nope. Thatd be weird.
Yamelle glances around the immediate vicinity for any clothes shed from her guest. Nothing, really. Maybe she stashed them all in the changing room. If she had arrived naked, well, that’s a different situation.

Stranger: How much longer?

Yamelle: Hmm?

Stranger: The child.

Ma places a hand on her stomach.

Yamelle: Oh! It’ll be any day now! My third! Probably my last one. Three seems like a nice odd number!

Stranger: Hrmm.

There’s a slight smile on the elder’s lips.

Stranger: May I?

The stranger has a palm out, close to Ma’s belly.
• Sure
→ Get to know the stranger
→ Stand around in awkward silence
→ Make it quick. Ma has a hubby in a toasty bed to share in
• Uhh, no
→ Look but no touch, okay?
→ No one needs to hear your life story
→ Ma is real tired and should go to bed already
→ She might be a witch! No cursing the baby!
→ Oh my Goddess, you can’t just ask someone to feel their gravid belly.
• Insist the guest to hurry her bath
• Ask her questions

well, might as well get to know her i guess. until things get too cold, anyways

>>1126794
Ask which place she hung her clothes so you can hang them on a pipe so theyre toasty warm when she finishes her bath.
Its awfully cold out there.

Its a good excuse to... stay out of reach.
You can chat while you do so.
Get to know her.
See if that odd feeling that shes radiating can be smoothed out and maybe then itd be nice to let her feel.

That's too familiar for a stranger. You'll have to get to know her first.

>>1126816
This.

Sounds like a fae creature. Sure why not. She’s been recognized as a guest so they shouldn’t do anything heinous due to hospitality

Well, if she was going to do any harm she's had plenty of time and chances at this point to do so. So sure, why not. Get to know her some more.

"Ma'am, it's impossible for me to be a saint; I run a business.

So, please don't take this the wrong way, but... today's bath is free. My baby is not."

No, you are not taking away this life, you supernatural she-bitc-!
I mean, I don't like being touched by strangers much, may I ask what's your name and who you are?

Yamelle 2026/05/20(Wed)04:46 No. 1127023 ID: 54055d
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>That’s too familiar for a stranger. You’ll have to get to know her first.
>Ask which place she hung her clothes [..] It’s a good excuse to… stay out of reach. You can chat while you do so
Yamelle: Oh, uhm. A-Allow me to hang your clothes in a warm spot first! I assume you left it in the changing room, yes?

Yamelle quickly scoots away to the aforementioned room. Sure enough a pile of tattered traveler’s clothes had been dumped on a bench. A gnarled walking stick and a pack basket lean against the wall. She still calls to the stranger while collecting her garments.

Yamelle: So, uh, how long are you staying in town?

Stranger: Hmmgh.

Stranger: Until I’m ready to move on, I suppose.

Stranger: I don’t exactly have places to be.

Stranger: The path has sent me here.

Yamelle: Well there are some nice spots to go! You should visit the temple tomorrow! Zimir is our priest; he’d love to hear about your travels.

Yamelle: There's a delivery boy who can help you to the next village. He should be here in a few days if you would rather give your legs a rest.

She doesn’t respond.

Yamelle 2026/05/20(Wed)04:56 No. 1127024 ID: 54055d
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Yamelle lays the elder’s clothes over a warm pipe, spreading out like hanging on a clothesline. A short time passes in the changing room. Ma still speaks loud enough for the stranger to hear.

Yamelle: So how old are you, if you don’t mind me prying?

Stranger: Heh heh heh.

Stranger: I haven’t paid attention to my age, to be honest.

Stranger: I can remember certain points of my life.

Stranger: I remember...

Stranger: Holding my mother’s hand. We had to leave our home and marched many days with neighbors out of Gardim. Forced out.

Stranger: I didn’t understand it at the time. I may have been four. Or was it ten?

Stranger: The Emperor would seize the territory into what may be San-Sar today; he had the Constellation on his side. Although, I heard a civil conflict arose but I’ve moved further north since.

Yamelle ponders her history lessons; that sounds well over a century ago if she speaks of Emperor Eif-Jafan. Maybe a smidge longer! Chupians can live to be 120; 90 years would be the average lifespan.

Yamelle: Wow! That’s some life you have! Ya-know, I’ve just moved here about seven years ago!

Stranger: Say, while you’re in there could you bring me my kit? It should be somewhere in my pack basket. A small, square pouch.
>a. go straight for the kit, not being too nosy in her basket
→ look through the kit first
→ don’t look in the kit, and bring it over
>b. sift through her pack thoroughly; you’d want to know what else she may be carrying
>c. don’t bring anything to her, make an excuse you couldn’t find it (or didn’t hear her)

>1. talk more about yourself
→ talk about your family
→ talk about the village
>2. ask more about her
→ ask why she became a traveler
→ ask her name
→ ask if she has a family
→ ask which goddess she reveres
>3. don’t say much else, let her speak

B3

She didn't get invited in during off-duty hours. It's not exactly illegal to rummage through an intruder's belongings. Make sure she isn't carrying any explosives; she might be selling you a yarn about being frail beyond means to get through the night unquestioned and onto her true objective.

Let her ramble on. See what she says about herself, and stop giving her information on how to spin her story unless she specifically asks for it.

just bring it to her, I mean its not like it could be a threat.
Just let her talk, if she wants. a bathhouse should be relaxing

A3

>>1127026
Agreed.
B3.
Need to make sure you have the right kit without opening it. Its... an excuse to be nosy.
And 3 but encouage her, not just passively listen. Let her share what she wishes and let the stories whisk you away for a little while.
Then, if you dont hear anything that creeps you out and if you dont feel too nervous, maybe if babby kicks, let her feel.

Shuffle through just to be safe. Once done we have an excuse. "Wait did you mean a kit of needles for sewing? Or was my assumption bad?"

B1

Sift through her stuff but be amicable.

A. Just grab the kit and don't snoop. She's been kind and polite to you so far, we can return the favor.

1. Talk about the village! Make her feel welcome.

Yamelle 2026/05/31(Sun)04:48 No. 1127363 ID: 330254
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>Shuffle through just to be safe.
>Sift through her stuff but be amicable.
>It’s not exactly illegal to rummage through an intruder’s belongings
>Need to make sure you have the right kit without opening it. It’s… an excuse to be nosy.
Yamelle carefully opens the bag, opening wide enough to see all contents at once. Other than a woolly blanket--there are some odd collections at first glance:
• A bundle of wiry twigs
• A patch of autumn-colored leaves
• A few gnarled sticks of white chalk
• A spool of red twine, and a sharp metal used to cut it
• A couple vials of... clear liquid?
• Patches of chupian fur.
• Canteen.
• One of those old-timey photos! Someone young. Could it be her?
• There’s a cloth wrapping around what smells like hard biscuits.

Reaching in, Yamelle scoots some items to the side. To her surprise and intrigue there’s a crudely carved disk of black stone. Looking at its eroded features she could only describe it like a face trapped behind a veil! It bears its teeth to bite through, desperate to get out. Beside the disk is a long, ivory instrument; one end is a rounded point and the other a small hook. It’s shaped like an awl but the bone has black cracks as if it bled ink some time ago.

Sure enough, there’s a small leather kit no bigger than a wallet. This could be the one! Yamelle plucks it from the rest of the stranger’s belongings and stashes the pack basket in a locker.

Yamelle 2026/05/31(Sun)04:51 No. 1127364 ID: 330254
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The stranger relaxes in the lukewarm pool; the water lines across her cheeks. Her ears pick up Yamelle’s footpads along the gigantic tub.

Yamelle: I hope this is it!

Stranger: Mmhmm. Set it near the edge there.

>Let her ramble on
>encourage her, not just passively listen
Yamelle: Are you enjoying your bath?

Stranger: Meh, it’ll do.

Yamelle: Oh...

Stranger: ...

Stranger: Oh child. I’m not complaining. I know my arrival is an exception.

Yamelle: Hrummph. Child? I’m thirty-two, you know!

Stranger: Heh! And quick to retort like one.

Stranger: If you live to be my age, thirty-two isn’t far from ten. You’ll understand.

Ma silently harrumphs.

Stranger: Aweh, don’t take what I’ve said personally. You’ve been a good host. I’m a hermit--I’ve rarely gotten to know people before I move on.

Stranger: Perhaps it’s hypnosis from long roads, but I can sense something in my travels--whether to stay in one place and for how long. And leave promptly. I can gauge the fates of towns; there’s an aura to it.

Stranger: Hmm.

Stranger: There was a time when villages were personified. There were even doctors to call when houses became ill. When fences grew lesions. When the wells were thirsty. Headaches in the basement. Cancer in the walls. There are ancient books on how to deal with such ailments.

Stranger: The practice has dwindled. You don’t see those kind of doctors anymore...

She sighs. Then snorts.

Stranger: Maybe I’m full of crap. But I've learned to trust my instincts thus far. I felt drawn here, but not in a bad way.

Yamelle 2026/05/31(Sun)04:54 No. 1127365 ID: 330254
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Stranger: Speaking of which...

The stranger leans against the edge of the pool. Her fingers are permanently curled and withered, and they take time to open the small pouch brought to her. She removes an odd morsel, something Ma’s not so sure about.

Stranger: Hrmm. I guess this is the last of it...

Yamelle is curious; leaning further she sees a small pipe and several other herbs stuffed in the kit. The stranger notices and cracks a smirk.

Stranger: Don’t worry, it’s just medicine. And I wouldn’t smoke anything in front of an expecting mother.

She kneads the morsel in her fingertips.

Stranger: This I dissolve on my gums. It helps with my headaches and aching joints.

>a. no objection, let her resume
>b. inquire. ‘is that ALL it does?’
>c. object! drugs of any kind should be outside the bathhouse!
>d. >___

I mean it is her last bit of it, might as well let her take it. She is old, who is gonna deny her vice?

a good bath should sort those ailments. She should save that for later, if it is her last.

b

>>1127363
Okay, that'll do for now.

>>1127364
"Feng Shui, right? That's a discredited art. It did beneficial things, but in an unscientific way. And mysticism is an easy way to control people, especially since they can't make their own counter-arguments about gobbledygook. We're still learning the newer, more empirical-observation method."

C) You have a strict policy against spreading unknown substances in the bathhouse.

>>1127364
Dilapidating. "Doctors" today give cleanliness and hygiene to buildings. Plus it can go deep. People who let their village rot usually have rot within themselves. Perhaps blindness gives you greater sense of smell. With it you see the rot where others may be blinded.

>>1127365
B, but for a good reason.
If it makes her sleepy in a bath this size it would be far too easy to slip under the warm water and risk drowning.
So, ask with a considerate tone, not one of skeptical amusement.

>>1127365

Old lady's been nothing but kind to us so far. And as long as her head stays above the water, there's no concern about stuff spreading about.

Ask her more about these mysterious doctors of old. They remind you of that weird stuff Dama was telling you of earlier.

B, let’s learn more!

B, just wanna be sure it’s good for her!