Daniel joins Janos in the Kitchen.
Good mourning my friend. The cold night seems to have found you. I hope you are sufficiently rested.
He lays the Masterwork Longsword on the table.
A fine weapon with a little cleaning. You are a far better warrior than I, and would use it more often than I while I cast my spells. Would you like to carry it?
He looks around the table, The spread is impressive Aklaid. Will the others be joining us for breakfast? We should make our plans for today.
"Oh, I did not prepare all of it, Me and the Girls all did."
Daniel, somewhat embarrassed, bows.
Apologies. I did not mean to misplace my thanks.
Daniel sits down but does not begin to eat. He merely waits for Janos to respond and for the rest to join them for breakfast.
"Well you all did amagnificent job," Rhia responds descending the stairs.
Janos sets down his tea and examines the blade. "You're right. Fine construction." He tests it out using a single hand and then trying it in two hands. Finally he nods. "Impressive. Not quite as powerful as my axe, I'm sure, but it has an elegance and...it's made to kill." He takes the scabbard and rigs a baldric for it, slipping the blade over his shoulder.
"No weapons at the table please."
My apologies, Miss Alkaid. Janos, you wear it.well.
He looks about as Rhia joins them. Shall we discuss last nights events with Miss Lorrimor?
Janos smiles guiltily as he takes the sword back off and quickly places it with the rest of his things. When he comes back, Rhia has joined them. "Good morning, Lady Van der Geist." He makes a small bow with his head. [b]"Yes, where is the young Miss Lorrimor?"
Kendra:
you her from the kitchen
"I'm in here."
Rhia leads the men into the kitchen to meet with their host.
Our sincere apologies for leaving our return so late last night Miss Lorrimor. We were....delayed unfortunately by the events of the evening. Our Mat was quite shaken....in any.....actually has anyone seen Matrim this morning?
Daniel pause for a bit, confused, though Matt did not strike him as an early riser, the rogue did seem a bit unsettled last night after the battle.
"Good morning, Kendra. I hope our activities last night did not keep you up too late. I apologize for our tardiness. We ran into some...unexpected difficulty." Janos takes another sip of his hot tea.
The professor was certainly into something. We were attacked by a mob of Undead skeletons and zombies in the cemetery.
Everyone hears a knock on the door.
"Expecting any more guests Kendra?"
Daniel immediately gets up, clearly on his guard.
Kendra?
Kendra:
"Not any that I know of?
But then given the event of last night someone might want to see you all."
Feeling perhaps overly protective, Daniel grabs his shield and readies it as he heads towards the door, but keeping his sword in his scabbard, he answers the door.
Hello?
Catielda snaps to attention at the sight of the cleric with his shield. Her hand up like she was about to knock again. She brings it down and gives a short bow of respect.
I apologize sir for distrubing you at this hour, I am Catielda Maroviggion, summoned here for the reading of Professor Lorrimor's will, I would have been here much sooner but was delayed...this is the Lorrimor's resisdence isn't it?
The armored half elf women asks a bit sheepishly, at first she had been worried about what the late Professor's will entailed but now being 'late' something she had no good excuse in her eyes for being so was making her a bit nervous. In her other hand she has the letter she received informing her of the Professor and the will.
"Yes, sorry for the interruption." The Aasimar woman stood at the doorway in her robes, her golden hair flowing down past her shoulders. "According to this letter, the professor's will is to be read, and I certainly would not want to miss that. Me and the professor were, shall I say, research partners? We collaborated on many a project, mostly through letters."
Marius approaches the Lorrimor residence just in time to see a man standing in the doorway, shield in hand, as if barring it from the intrusion from the two women standing outside.
"Ahem," Marius begins, clearing his throat to draw attention to himself "Is this the Lorrimor residence? I am Marius Allesvorloren and I believe Mistress Kendra Lorrimor is expecting me." He lowers his hand toward his rapier, just in case there will be trouble.
Remaining in the doorway, blocking entry, Daniel calls over his shoulder, Miss Lorrimor we have some late arrivals
Janos stands up, looking over Daniel's shoulder. "Who are you? I'm afraid you have missed the funeral." The half-elf is clearly wary at the new faces and protective of Kendra.
"We missed it? That is a shame. I would have gotten here sooner, but I only received the letter recently."
The young cavalier drops her shoulders for a moment at the news provided by Janos. But maintains her professional stance, in the face of the Iomedae Cleric before looking over to the Aasimar and Marius. I agree. she nodded at the Aasimar to acknowledge her I owe my way of life to the Professor.
Hearing the young woman's words, that Lorrimor was responsible for her way of life, strikes a chord with Janos and his stance visibly softens. It probably doesn't hurt that she's a half-elf as well. "Daniel, let them pass." He looks over to Kendra. "Or at least allow Kendra to invite them in. If the Professor has been as instrumental in their lives as he has in ours, then we should at least allow them to pay respects."
Apologies.
Daniel steps back.
"Thank you." The Aasimar says to the Cleric as she walks in. She looks at the Cavalier, "I believe we all owe something to the Professor if we find ourselves here right now."
"He was truly a great man, and it appears that even indeath he has a rare ability to draw interesting people together." Rhia says with a smile.
"Welcome
Catielda follows in behind the Aasimar and smiles "Thank you, I wish this meeting could be under happier circumstances" She stands off to the side to let Marius in as well.
"Please, join us and share your memories of the Professor."
Daniel follows everybody into the living room. He does not remove his shield.
Forgive my coldness, but it has been a difficult and surprisingly dangerous 24 hours. How did you all know the professor again?
"The professor and I were working on some research some old tombs that might have held some ancient artifacts of great magical power. We only ever met once, but we communicated through letter frequently. I opened this last letter expecting an update, but, as you all know, did not get a update on what I would have liked." The Aasimar woman says, not pausing at all as she explains her story
"I met the professor when I was a young girl, my father put me out of our home, and Professor Lorrimor offered to take me to a nearby orphange. On the way I found I quite liked riding on the back of the caravan horse." Catielda pauses and smirks pulling back her hood and grabbed her cloak pulling it around to show the Order of the Shield. "Instead of an Orphange, Professor Lorrimor must of pulled some strings because he had me enrolled with the Order of the Shield's Cavalier training school, and I've grown up in the Order since."
She sighs and then continues. "Last thing he told me was he'd one day ask for a repayment on my debt, and I hadn't seen him since...until I got the letter. All things considered I'd say he has a right to collect, the Order has been the only time in my life I've known a kindness. The alternative is a lot less rosy."
Daniel had had the honor of meeting a Shield Knight before.
Truly, the professor and the gods smiled upon you. The Shield Knightsare among the finest defenders of the common man ever seen. To few are those willing to stand for those with nothing.
As Catielda relates how she was abandoned as a child, Janos closes his eyes and shakes his head. "My father left me too, but before I was even born. But it wasn't until my mother died that I became an orphan." He looks Catielda in the eyes. "So I know the pain of being abandoned like that. I wonder what it would have been like if Petros had been there instead of Alicia." He sighs. "But perhaps by that time, the pain had been done already."
Kendra:
"Well, Welcome to my home, and please come in.
The will has already been read, and it does ask a request of everyone."
"What did it say?"
she quotes the will word for word
I, Petros Lorrimor, being of sound mind, do hereby commit to this
parchment my last will and testament. Let it be known that, with
the exception of the specific details below, I leave my home and
personal belongings entire to my daughter Kendra. Use them or
sell them as you see fit, my child.
“Yet beyond the bequeathing of my personal effects, this
document must serve other needs. I have arranged for the reading
of this document to be delayed until all principals can be in
attendance, for I have more than mere inheritance to apportion. I
have two final favors to ask.
“To my old friends, I hate to impose upon you all, but there are
few others who are capable of appreciating the true significance of
what it is I have to ask. As some of you know, I have devoted many
of my studies to all manner of evil, that I might know the enemy and
inform those better positioned to stand against it. For knowledge
of one’s enemy is the surest path to victory over its plans.
“And so, over the course of my lifetime, I have seen fit to acquire
a significant collection of valuable but dangerous tomes, any one
of which in the wrong circumstances could have led to an awkward
legal situation. While the majority of these tomes remain safe under
lock and key at the Lepidstadt University, I fear that a few I have
borrowed remain in a trunk in my Ravengro home. While invaluable
for my work in life, in death, I would prefer not to burden my
daughter with the darker side of my profession, or worse still, the
danger of possessing these tomes herself. As such, I am entrusting
my chest of tomes to you, posthumously. I ask that you please deliver
the collection to my colleagues at the University of Lepidstadt, who
will put them to good use for the betterment of the cause.
“Yet before you leave for Lepidstadt, there is the matter of
another favor—please delay your journey one month and spend
that period of time here in Ravengro to ensure that my daughter is
safe and sound. She has no one to count on now that I am gone,
and if you would aid her in setting things in order for whatever she
desires over the course of this month, you would have my eternal
gratitude. From my savings, I have also willed to each of you a sum
of one hundred platinum coins. For safekeeping, I have left these
funds with Embreth Daramid, one of my most trusted friends in
Lepidstadt—she has been instructed to issue this payment upon
the safe delivery of the borrowed tomes no sooner than one month
after the date of the reading of this will.
"and that's the will."
"So, will you three be joining us for the next month here in Ravengro?"
"It appears so. I'm Valtyra, by the way. I do not believe we were all introduced."
Forgive my rudeness. I am Daniel Arissen, humble cleric in Imodae's toil against the dark.
I have pledged to remain for the month and further to give aid in discovering the truth behind the professors death, such as it is.
Catielda was surprised in some ways that she wasn't the only one of her kind that had been orphaned at such a young age. She snapped to attention again as Kendra spoke and listened to what the will entailed. She let the weight of her task rest in her mind until Janos broke her train of thought. "Yes sir, I have every intention of making sure the Professor's will is carried out" She then rubbed her chin and looked at Daniel "You mentioned the last 24 hours have been dangerous, could you fill us newcomers in on what has occured?"
"My name is Janos Ardeal. My mentor and I live in the swamp where she studies herbs, potions, and their healing potential. She's a hedge witch and she helps out the local villages when people fall ill. The professor would consult with her and I at times." He bows his head slightly at each of the newcomers.
He looks at Daniel and Rhia and then back to the three others. "If they're staying the month, I suppose we should tell them what happened. The Professor always had interesting and well-prepared friends. Do any of you have expertise with the undead? It seems the Petros may have gotten himself into something over his head."
The newcomers enter Kendra's home.
"Undead? I have never encountered any, but have read a little about them. Are they common around these parts or the work of some deranged necromancer?"