Scene #889: House Hunting in Crystal Valley

Owner	Pose
Faruja	Hearing that his love is hurt is /never/ a good thing, and thus Faruja Senra has rushed to the nearest convenient warpgate. The Inquisitor is alone today, his Acolytes all off holding down the fort for the tail end of his office's review. He's dressed in his usual red robes, and holds both a pack slung over his shoulder, and what looks like a jack-o-lantern shaped candy container. If his lover is going to be in pain, then at least she's going to have some candy to munch on! Nevermind the massive number of curatives he has in that pack. For now, he awaits his love at the warpgate to the Crystal Valley.
Ainsley	The super fun part about getting your butt kicked on Halloween morning is that it's hard to do everyday tasks afterward. So instead of walking through the warpgate, the lizard girl putters through it on a hand-powered wheelchair. Ainsley smiles at Faruja, though her face has a couple of white gauze patches on it to protect the raw skin. She doesn't seem like she's in a lot of pain right at that second, and has enough strength to propel herself along. One arm is in a cast, though, by the looks of things, so she's having a smidgen of trouble moving at any useful pace. "Hello," she greets, in a raspy voice.
Faruja	Faruja freezes as he gets a long look at the extent of Ainsley's injuries. He tries to work his jaw, and finding himself unable to speak. After a good thirty seconds of horrified staring, the male is then rushing off towards her. He kneels, and very, very gingerly wraps his arms around her. "Dear Lord in Heaven what /HAPPENED/ to ye!? Whom did this?" He asks lightly, body shivering in fear or anger. Even he can't tell. His tail lashes, and he's already pulling out what looks to be a potion. "Doth ye need anything, mine sweet? Potions? I hath some herbal tea that may help with any pain?" Dotes the rat. He gently touches his head to hers affectionately.
Ainsley	"Oh, calm down," Ainsley tells the unhappy rat, reaching to touch his cheek with the hand not hampered by a forearm cast. She gently pushes the potion away, "The doctors at Medical gave me painkillers, and Jack was quite helpful." She smiles more at him, happy that he's so concerned about her. "Getting my butt kicked is part of the job, right?" she tries to reassure. She points her thumb over her shoulder at the chair's handles. "If you want to help, push the wheelchair. My cast is getting in the way." She seems pretty bright and positive, despite how miserable anyone else would be about all of these injuries. "I can explain as we walk."
Faruja	"But ye art..." Starts the rat in protest as her hand touches his cheek. The portion is retracted, only for his now freed hand to grip hers. But something she says strikes him. "Wait. Jack? She is a medical doctor?" Comes the rat disbelieving. He pauses, then sighs. He gets up, though he still wants to haul her right back to medical. "My sweet, ye art wonderful, beautiful, and /infuriating/ with your stubborn desire to remain in the field!" Pot, kettle. "And I love ye for it! Quite so. I am glad ye art...well. In one piece, at least." He double checks, eye roaming her for any missing bits! He pushes the chair into the Crystal Valley without further complaint. He stops, eye going wide. "...'Tis bloody beautiful!" He says aloud, awestruck.
Ainsley	Ainsley didn't lose anything but an ounce of dignity when she fought that big pumpkin monster. All of her anatomy is still intact. She glances over her shoulder as he walks around it, listening to him talk with a patient and somehow sleepy smile. Might be the painkillers. She looks forward, and begins to use this time her hands are idle to mess with the frayed feathers at the end of her tail. "I had to save several souls that had been trapped by a monster. I doubt you would have had the heart to stop me," she tells him, her smile widening. "The monster was called 'Jack o' Lanterns.' An old spirit who had tricked death itself, and was trying to form an army to fight the realms of Heaven and Hell. Boisterous thing, very ancient, very powerful. But Mercy--" The longsword she uses, "--cut into him like he was made of rotten mulch. I guess the wood element was too natural for his unnatural plant-like form. I cut his fiery soul out of his head, but since he's deathless, he was only weakened and fled, saying he'd be back next year. Terrible creature." She reaches out to touch a crystal as they pass it, watching it chime and turn red briefly in reaction to her magic. "If I wasn't in my life magic attunement right now, I would be a lot more unhappy. It seems I have a stronger endurance when I'm aligned like this." Mostly for more reassurance for him, though it probably doesn't help as much as she hopes. "I wanted to pick a place out here because of the crystals. They contain mana rather well, it could help me better understand why I still leak mana, even when I generate it naturally."
Faruja	There's a sigh of relief. Her shoulder gets a gentle squeeze! That, at least, he's happy about. Turns out Faruja is decent at pushing a wheelchair! She might feel him quiver as his tail wraps about hers. "Bloody right! Ye did the right thing, my love! A pity 'tis still alive. If only I was there, mayhaps the wretch wouldst hath been naught but a blazing, besliced pyre! These Fell creatures art always arrogant, sure of their victory! But with mine avenging angel..." He leans down, and kisses her gently on the mouth. "Who needs fire? I am proud of ye mine dear. Only Faram is deathless. Feh. I see the wretch was a craven as well." The reaction gets a flick of his tail. "'Tis like walking amidst a never-ending mine of magicite. Then mayhaps ye aught remain in it whenever ye go to battle." He doesn't like her getting hurt! Even /if/ he knows how it goes. "'Tis certainly convenient. Hath ye thought of any abode in particular? I am not familiar with these lands. I...well. Mayhaps some sort of abandoned structure we might be able to claim and rebuild? A project, just the two of us." Grin!
Ainsley	Ainsley sighs, rubbing at the cast on one of her arms. She frowns down at the white plaster-colored shell that protects her weakened bones. "The story was that he tricked the Devil twice. He was cursed to walk between Heaven and Hell. He is /quite/ sure of himself, and I am pretty sure I know why. He is some manner of monster that's powered by the legends around him. As long as people know he exists, he won't go away." She taps on the cast, and turns her head as they pass a path. She lifts her arm to point down that direction, indicating where they need to go. "The place is over here," she tells Faruja. Since the manor was put up on a multiversal board of homes, she has no worries about whether it will work for them. But then, why was no price listed? She squeezes her tail on Faruja's, briefly, worrying about it.
Faruja	Faruja /huffs/. His tail lashes. "Then so long as he reminds them, he exists." There's a growl to his muzzle. He mutters something about book burnings. Then he's pushing her where she indicates, the male's tail once more wiggling its way up the back of the wheelchair and into her lap to coil about her own. Much pushing! ~Some Time Later~ And then they're at the manor, and Faruja's eye goes wide. "Ye...Ainsley. /How/ much didst the board say this was?" Yup, the rat is a bit astonished. Deep breath. In. Out. "Surely there is some sort of catch."
Ainsley	It's a stone-built manor with large windows, with a garden made entirely out of plants seemingly made of the crystals found around the valley. The roof is shingled in that light red-orange one might expect from some Californian home. Vines of crystal crawl up the sides of the building. At the front door, a man in a robe can be seen, worriedly fussing with a very large lock on the front door and making REALLY SURE that it is locked. When he spots the two of them, he turns and shuffles toward them at a hurried pace. "Here comes the catch," Ainsley murmurs to Faruja. The young man in the robes clasps his gloved hands together. "I'm sorry for the trouble. The manor is... ah... It has an infestation. We cannot sell it the way it is now, I do not know who put up the ad." Ainsley blinks once, slowly, developing an inquisitive frown. If such a thing is possible. The young man continues, "You see, it used to be the home of the priesthood but it was attacked by crystal demons and hasn't been the same since. It would be far too dangerous to live in."
Faruja	r It takes Faruja good three minutes to realize that there's someone approaching him. When he does? The Inquisitor leans down slightly and whispers. "'Tis bloody beautiful! Ye art a miracle-worker, my love." Cue smooch to snout! Grin! Then, he forces himself to look merely warm instead of utterly excited. He offers to the young man. A brow rises. "...'Infestation'?" He questions, before the young man answers. A snarl rips its way out of his muzzle. Then, his smile becomes a wide, vicious grin. "The Lord, my Child, works in mysterious ways. For ye stand before an Inquisitor of the Holy Church of Saint Ajora Glabados. This infestation, on mine honor, shall end! Now then. Tell me what ye know, hmm? Whom art ye, first of all? And your relation with this place? What of the demons? Hath ye seen them? Numbers? Local lore upon them? Art they safely contained within?"
Ainsley	The young man's face shows a great deal of surprise at the fervor of the holyman before him. He's obviously seen it before, because it makes his back straighten and his expression dull, the kind of thing a trained acolyte may do to prevent, say, a lashing for stepping too far out of line. "The manor was built atop a cavern, and that cavern is where we held the local criminals. But one of them brought in a demonic influence past the wards and it spread to all of the other inmates... We fled when they started breaking out of their cells, and sealed the tunnel down to them. But the manor has since been haunted by their touch." He smiles wearily at Faruja. "I'm a member of the local faith, serving the Crystalline Lady. She protects the crystals here." He shrugs his shoulders, "I cannot give you my name, it is against our code. I apologize. But if you want to clear out the haunting, I will not stop you." He holds out a key, which Ainsley reaches out to take. "You can keep the manor once you clean it out. The disaster happened years ago, we have already moved. Everything inside would create awful feelings for the others, since they would remember the home they lost... We had moved on, you see." He makes an odd motion with his hand, and one of the nearby crystals chime in response. He nods at Faruja and turns to leave. Ainsley turns the key over and over in her hand, contemplating it. "It's perfect," she murmurs.
Faruja	Faruja actually manages a bit of restraint for once, but the look he favors the young man with swiftly turns from 'fellow faithful' to 'faithless heathen'. Squint! It passes quickly, however. He knows how Ainsley feels about bullying and sudden sermons. Deep breath. "Right then. A manor, caverns below...'tis bloody perfect!" Faruja's mind is spinning with possibilities. And /free/? The male leans over, and hugs his lizardly love. Gently. "Perfect." He agrees. He rubs her shoulders. "So let us plan, and get ye rested, hmm? Purging Daemon-tainted areas is never easy."