I go sit next to tobia and start playing with the broken belt buckle. Such great treasure with many uses,...
Perception on what the weasel is doing at this moment
Perception :
wisk hidden in my shirt stealth
Gax realizes that no one else will do anything and reluctantly steps forward to check the man Tobiaal has beaten to a pulp. Although he knows little of healing he will examine his wounds to see if there is anything he can do to stabilize him. Perception and Healing .
If Gax sees any obvious way to help him he will. As he checks the man he says to Jherrine I can do nothing for the man with boils or the madwoman. Summon the nearest temple healer. Lives are at stake.
Walking over to Bullpup
Dracula once called me and said he had a belt buckle like that, he said it was shiny and held his pants up just right. He also said he was coming over to visit you. We responded to him, okay, and then left because the door said someone was coming.
Jherrine looks straight at Gax, ignoring Tobia's comments for the time being. Thank you, she says. Then turning to one of the barmaids that is still on her feat, You heard the man, go get Mother Adrian.
The woman runs off and Jherrine finally turns to the crowd. Those of you not injured in any way, you can go. We're closed for the night. If you have rooms here, they are still open to you, just leave the common room.
As the people begin to move leaving only a few behind, Jherrine finally turns to Tobia, her eyes nearly on fire. No this does not happen every night. Especially not this man. He is one of the few good men here. But a little bit ago, he just stood up and began babbling nonsense. None of it made sense. When that other man stood up and yelled at him they started fighting. That was when we noticed the other things. It all happened at once. But, I caught sight of a man . . . her face firms up, looking even harder, casting a spell just before he left. He cast a spell and touched that man she points to the man with the boils, then ran out. I tried to catch him, but with all that was happening, I could not. He melted into the crowd.
Gax stands stiffly after stabilizing the man, and walks over to join Jherrine and Tobiaal in their conversation, still limping.
What did the man look like? Give as much detail as you can. Species, appearance, age, dress, anything could be important. Where you able to hear anything he said?
to Kharn
I would like to meet this Dracula, maybe he has more buckles!
Turning to Jherrine I say,
Melted...into...the...crowd. Sound Painful. Was he able to pull himself together? I giggle and then continue to play with the belt buckle.
Jherrine thinks for a moment. Well, he was tall. She looks up at Gax towering over her, Like you. He was a half-elf--which explains the tallness. He had pointed ears and . . . um eyes of some sort. Oh, I don't know. Those half-elves all look the same. Besides he had the hood of his cloak pulled up so I couldn't see a whole lot. The half-elf thing ought to narrow it down for you though.
When she hears Bullpup, Jherrine turns to him, looking at him with a strange glint in her eye. You dwarfs, you always have the strangest humor.
Was he a local? Did he by chance have any friends or acquaintances around with him? Did you see which way he ran once out the door? I toss her 3 gold these should cover the mans hurts. Those that take care of their packs are also good to keep around.
We once met Dracula behind a tree while we were out walking in the forest, but he was not there. He was not there again a few days later... We told him to go away, but he then called and said he had fish sticks and marmite. After that we said his pants were on upside down and that his belt buckle was a muffin and we left. Later that day we got a letter saying he had a cup of rusty satan.
Jherrine sneers at Tobia, then addressing Gax says, I do not know him and there was no one else talking to him, but he could still be local. No, I didn't see which way he went. Last I saw he was heading toward the fountain across the street, but he could have easily turned after that.
Gax limps slowly toward the door and looks out toward the fountain. Perception . If he sees nothing threatening Gax will proceed to the fountain. When he arrives he will stand in front of the fountain, and cast detect magic aiming it towards the fountain. He will maintain the focus long enough to pick up the strength and location of anything magical in a 60 foot cone in front of him. Then, he'll rotate the area of effect of the spell slowly so that he can detect any magic within a 60 foot circle of himself.
Gax feeling the strongest aura from the fountain examines it more closely. Perception As he does he attempts to understand the power of the fountain Spellcraft and thinks back about what he knows about magical fountains Knowledge: Arcana .
There is a lot you don't know about this fountain. The only thing you can really tell, is that the aura has to do with conjuration.
Gax impulsively sticks his hand into the fountain holding it there for a few seconds. If nothing happens, he'll use the hand to cup some water to his mouth and drink it.
As you stick your hand in the fountain, you feel nice cool water surround your hand. When you lift it to your mouth you feel a little refreshed. It definitely quenches your thirst.
Jherrine stares out the door at Gax. She cocks her head to the side. What is your friend doing? If he was thirsty, I would have happily gotten a drunk for him. We use that same water, so purity shouldn't be an issue.
Hmm. Gax says quietly to himself. He takes a final look around at the fountain (Perception half expecting something more interesting to have happened. If he sees nothing he hobbles back to the inn.
As Gax hobbles back to the inn Jherrine offers him a drink, It's on the house.
Oh drink...., on the house....., really? I take a a tankard of ale pour it on the floor, look back at Jherrine, say thanks, and being slurping the ale off the floor.
I like on the house!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, the house, drinking on it. WHAT does the house have to say about it. HMMM... The house says DON'T DRINK ME.
Gax takes the drink from Jherrine and says Thanks politely. He takes a long drink from the tankard.
Jherrine stares at Bullpup and Kharn, head tilted. Then she shakes her head, turning her eyes to Tobia. She pulls her eyebrows together and purses her lips. Finally she looks at Gax. Her face relaxes a little. She even steps closer to him, or farther from the others, you're unsure which. She looks up at him and asks with a slightly worried expression, Will your friends be staying long? I sure hope n-- She cuts off abruptly then coughs into her hand. I mean, I'm sure they've got more important things to do? she says with a question.
One of the barmaids comes running up the street with a tall dark haired woman. Her plump form moves surely through the crowded street. This must be Mother Adrian. As she comes hustling inside Mother Adrian turns to Jherrine, What happened? Hart here could barely get out a coherent word. She needs to be stuffed with woolwart root if you ask me.
Jherrine retells her story, and the woman moves towards the man on the floor first. As she passes by the barmaid that's still lying on the floor, though no longer cackling as much as before, she says out loud. Stay away from her until I can look at her. And the other ones. She nods her head toward the other two men, who have moved over to the corner together, though it seems to be all the man with the boils doing.
Gax looks down at Jherrine and tries to smile but as he does the stab wound in his side spasms causing him to nearly drop his drink. As the cramp relaxes away he does manage a smile at Jherrine, but it's a little world-weary. I don't think we'll be staying long, he says looking over at the odd pair of Kharn and Bullpup. We have business to be about. Perhaps they will be able to find other lodgings.
Gax turns to Mother Adrian.
Madame Healer, I've been both beaten and stabbed in the last couple of hours. I hate to trouble you when you have other charges to care for, but would it be possible for you to heal my wounds? asks Gax in his most polite tone.
Alright, let me see what I can do. Mother Adrian gets up and goes over. She takes Gax roughly by the arm guiding him to a chair. Sit down. Quickly. She places a poultice on his arm. That's about all I can do for you, now leave me be.
You heal
Gax thanks Mother Adrian. Feeling the healing effects of the poultice he relaxes visibly. He sits down and takes another sip from his drink. To Jherrine he says What do you know about Veklan Stonefist? I'm new to town and I've heard... things about him.
Jherrine stops. The room goes silent. Finally Jherrine says, Never heard of him
Sense Motive:
Of course, never mind then. Gax finishes his drink and stands and addresses his companions. We ready to go gentlemen?
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Perception
Durren claps Averin's shoulder and nods towards the strange horned man "Did you see that too? Seems interesting if nothing else, would you care to check it out? And you know how much I enjoy meeting members of the rarer races" Assuming Averin agrees, Durren lets his curiousity take over and he walks into the inn, looking for the horned man.
Perception is +5, so it's an auto success.
Averin watched incredulously as the man, thing, whatever it was did something to the fountain and then went back inside. "Yeah, let's go see what's going on," Averin said, he added, mostly to himself, "I wonder what he did to the fountain."
Before he went into the inn, Averin stopped at the fountain and looked into it. He was about to dip his hand into it, but didn't, not wanting to risk some unknown tampering. He followed Durren into the inn, and looked the scene over, preparing to defend himself if need be.
As you walk into the inn, you see a very strange sight. There's a woman lying on the floor laughing, being attended to by a large woman barking out orders. A nervous gnome stands talking to the man you saw outside, and near him stand two dwarfs, both small and childlike, one of the two licking his drink off the ground. Also lying on the floor is another man, completely unconscious. With two men, one covered in strange pustules the other staring blankly, nearby.
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Durren walks into the inn, smile upon his face. Even though he's a drow, nothing about his expression or demeanor looks mean or evil, and his build looks closer to the human who walked in with him than to an elf. He has a polished set of scale mail that clearly has Iomadae's symbol upon it, and a finely crafted longsword sits at his side. He looks around the inn until he notices the horned man he saw earlier, then waves and heads over
Durren notices the unconscious people and immediately makes his way over, kneeling down and checking his condition
Heal
"Are you allright? Does anybody know what happened here?"
You can see that the man is stable. He has been tended to as well as could be without magic.
Averin's eyes went wide as he looked over the wreckage that had been a tavern, finally he'd seen enough and announced loudly, "What in Hell's name is going on here?!" He waited for a response, not knowing how else to proceed. No one else seemed to notice the disarray, so he could only assume that something had already been done.
Gax looks suspiciously at the newcomers trying to assess their equipment and weapons. In particular, he's trying to determine whether they match Jherrine's description of the attackers, but is also trying to size them up. Perception
He attempts to straighten up to his full height as to be more imposing, but the pronounced limp as he turns to face the men robs this of some of its effect. Although he's not trying to scare the new visitors, Gax's natural bent towards theatricality takes over, and he speaks in a dramatic near-whisper.
The owner has closed the inn for the night friends and I suggest you leave. There's been an attack and people here have been afflicted with a black sickness, so it might be better if you seek other lodgings.
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Durren puts a calming hand upon Averin's shoulder "Now it seems whatever has transpired is over, maybe we can help clean up a little"
A look of concern grows upon Durren's face "A sickness? Well...if I'm not intruding then maybe I can help. I can't speak for my friend Averin, but I'd wish to offer any assistance I can give"
Durren notices his limp. "Oh what happened? Here, you just need to to put some more pressure on the wound for a bit, then..." Durren trails off, talking about how to keep the wound so it heals faster.
heal
Durren binds it tighter than before so the leg can take more weight, but not so tight it's uncomfortable.
Averin's wrathful concern seemed to deflate somewhat, considering how calm everyone seemed to be acting, though he still couldn't dismiss them yet. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what sort of witchery you were doing to the fountain." He said, setting his gaze on Gax.
Gax has had a rough day and he's not inclined to pick a fight with helpful strangers, and let's Durren help with his leg.
I've done nothing to the fountain. The man who attacked this place was last seen near that fountain. I merely cast a spell to open my inner eye - to see if I could detect any trace of his foul magic.
He sighs a bit wearily and continues. The truth be told we don't know anything about who attacked this place or why. My magic has given me no insight into the matter - but...
Gax lowers his voice to try to ensure none but Durren, Averin and Gax's own companions can hear him speak and continues ...but these dwarves, the strange man talking to himself and I were recently contracted by... an important resident of the city for a job... and I can't help but wonder if the attack had something to do with our new employer...
As he was speaking Gax watches Durren and Averin's faces to see what their reactions to this information is. Sense Motive (Durren) and Sense Motive Averin .
These calculated bits of information released, Gax finishes, ...well I probably should speak no more of this to strangers.
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Durren, knowing nothing of the going on's and also being an open book, has quite a curious and concerned look upon his face upon hearing about the trouble. "An attack?" Then realizing the horned man was being discrete he lowers his voice "See Averin? He's just trying to do the right thing. Well I hate to prod more than I should, but perhaps we can help. If you wish us away just say the word, but I'd like to see if we could aid you." Durren finishes with a smile and offers his hand
Averin seemed to relax a little at the claim that Gax hadn't done anything. He didn't know if he believed the man, but he did seem to accept the offered explanation. He couldn't help scoffing as he looked over the people that Gax had pointed out, "A motley crew if ever there was one." He said. "Though I suppose it is a rather serious matter if what you say is true. I am Averin, of Riddleport, no longer a stranger."
Gax's look towards Durren and Averin is calculating. He's torn between his instinct to bring along another pair of well armed and armored people to let do all the fighting, and his suspicion about the timing of their arrival. As Gax thinks back to Henneska's urgency in swearing them to secrecy his instincts towards caution prevail.
Indeed we are an odd company, Averin of Riddleport. Gax says politely, but without warmth. As he introduces himself and his companions he can't resist using his practiced and dramatic stage patter I am Gax Uskelli, occasionally known as Gax the Wise, the seer of the streets, the adviser to Darsdan of Absalom, and student of Eress the fair, among many other titles. As he names his companions he gestures towards them expansively This is Kharn the Lost a man so wise his words seem mad to normal mortals. And of course this is Bullpup the wild, whose strong and indomitable spirit belie his stature. Lastly we have Tobiaal the hare-brai... hare-king, and someone who I'd sincerely advise you to avoid making mad.
The speech complete Gax deflates slightly.
Although we'd appreciate your help, we've been sworn to secrecy, and this matter is a little... complicated to trust a stranger with. If you wish to help, perhaps you could talk to the innkeeper and seek out the man who attacked this place while we go seek a connection between this attack... and the matters we are looking into on behalf of our employer.
Gax begins to walk towards the door and idly sticks his hand in his pocket to grasp his harrow deck.
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Durren gives Gax a long look "Hmm, how about we make a deal? You let us tag along for a bit, and we can help without being told anything you don't want us to know. Then after a bit, you can decide if you want us to stay or go, if nothing else we'll put a little more muscle into your group for a few days. I can respect your oath of secrecy, it's a good trait to have. So therefore I'm given no choice but to prove our honesty. Sound good?"
I will stay quiet but observing what is happening and listening to Gax's words Sense motive Healer Sense motive Averien Sense motive Durren
At Gax's introduction, I bow mockingly and say If i am the king then you must be the herald oh man of words.... that would make Bullpup our n=knight in not so shining armor whose sworn enemy is all rats.With friends with us who can need adversaries.
I then follow Gax