"Well then let's get moving."
"Before we split up, I'll need to place a spell on us that will link our minds and keep us in communication with each other."
He turns to Mortifice. "Is it all right if I use that metamagic rod of yours to make it last longer? Either way, I'll require a few minutes in a relaxed environment to prepare the spell."
"After we finish up here, I'll show you that inn and we can get some rooms. You can take all the time you need while we unload our things."
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"When did that start?", Tanith demands. "Who does one talk to learn more about all this?"
The big Kordite looks up at the poster of the warriors battling a chimera again.
"I think I'd like to have some words with whoever is in charge."
The cleaner simply shrugs again, "You can talk to Master Dardenell, but he won't be in until later. I jes clean the place, sir." With this, the man turns his back and goes off to move some filth about a bit further away.
Tanith nods and turns to the group.
"It sounds like we're going to have to return if we walk to talk to Dardenell. Let's get those rooms so Sol can prepare his spells."
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"Beware. It is always watching."Mortifice is taken aback by the suddenness of the man's actions and the mysteriousness of his words. He tries to maintain his composure though and does not yet attempt to remove the man's hands from him.
"Two copper, sir, if you can tell me: What is always watching?"
The old man's face becomes genuinely puzzled, "I'm sorry, sir, I don't much understand. What is watching?" He really doesn't seem to have a clue about what he just said.
Tanith leads the party down Istivin's streets away from the massive Circus until a smaller, but significantly more modern building, comes into view.
The big Suel beams at the sight of the barely maintained two-story structure. Several of the windows sport boards over broken glass and an unconscious man is sprawled outside the building's faded double-doors.
"That's it", he says, "the House of the Tabard."
"In the years between my mother's passing and my leaving to join the war, this place was like a second home."
"Looks cozy. Guess we'll be staying here a while then."
"That's it", he says, "the House of the Tabard."
Solaufyn quietly grits his teeth at the sight of the rundown building with the unconscious man outside.
"You're a man now, Tanith. A legend-in-training, a paragon of righteousness in the making. You deserve a few steps better than this place. Let's stay at the Gryphon's Arms instead. I've been told that it's the nicest of Istivin's lodgings, a perfect fit for individuals like ourselves. The people of Istivin can't look up to you if they don't see you, and they certainly won't see you here."
"Seriously, they literally won't be able to see you. The windows are all boarded up."
Tanith looks at Sol incredulously.
"Why would you want to stay there? This place is great. The ale is cheap, there's fighting all the time, and if the entertainment is lousy the patrons beat the tar out of him."
Seeing the elf's lack of humor about the situation, the Kordite relents.
"Alright, we can stay at the Gryphon, but you're missing out."
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The group makes its way back across town, towards the Trade Gate and the Gryphon's Arms. On the way there, you pass through Qualtaine Square, the commercial and geographic heart of the city.
Bounded by three gates, warehouses to the northwest, and tenements to the east, Qualtaine Square bustles with traffic. To the north stands a statue of Heironeous, seemingly guarding the long row up the steep hill known as the Promontory, atop which sits the imposting, black-walled Krelont Keep, home of the Marchioness and her court.
Several businesses and temples alike face the square, with swarms of customers and worshipers milling before them. Yet all this is dwarfed by the cathedral that looms to the northeast. The largest and most beautiful structure in town, the temple’s walls are festooned with statuary and glittering golden inlay. An intricate bell tower rises above the main entrance and prominently displays the sun-shaped symbol of Pelor. At the south side of the temple is a network of scaffolding swarming with laborers making repairs to some of the iconic statues. Hundreds of flowers and bouquets lie in heaps on the ground below, seemingly marking an impromptu memorial. Nearby, an old woman wrestles with a handcart piled with bouquets of wildflowers obviously gathered from outside the city. As pedestrians move around her, she calls out “Flowers for Pelor?”
Tanith forces his way through the crowd, making his way to pile of collected flowers.
"What do you make of this?", he asks aloud.
Tanith spins around looking for the source of the sound.
Solaufyn smiles in reply to the old lady. "Flowers? That's very nice..."
Some noise grabs his attention.
"It's just flowers..."
"I'd love a flower, ma'am."
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Sol and Mortifice instantly pinpoint that the loud crack is coming from somewhere over by the scaffolding where the workman are making repairs on the Temple of Pelor. Flynt's hearing, honed by years of hunting, allows him to target the source of the noise more precisely: a wooden support at one end of the scaffold is about to give way as a heavy stone block begins sliding out of the facade of the building. To make matters worse, a worker is standing on the ground directly below where the block is about to fall.
Tanith looks around in confusion, "What was that sound?"
He puts a reassuring hand on Boris's broad back.
Flynt sees the worker oblivious to his impending doom, races towards him and attempts to tackle him out of the way.
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Like a flash, Flynt breaks into a dead sprint as he tackles the worker out of the way. The two go crashing into a group of poles, which clatter to the ground. A split-second later the large stone impacts with the cobbles of the street and explodes with an enormous thump, shattering into a thousand pieces. Tiny bits of rock and marble shower Flynt and the worker, knocking many other folks over, and a huge cloud of dust rises up. As it begins to settle, a fine dust covers everyone in the vicinity, making them resemble the many statues on Pelor's temple.
"What in Pelor's name was that?" shouts one of the other workman. "Hurric, are you all right?" Within seconds, people nearby start running towards the workman, while others quickly back away from the temple, afraid of something else breaking off.
Flynt gets up and starts coughing out dust. "You alright?" He says helping the man up. He starts dusting himself off afterwards.
Tanith spots Flynt as the archer breaks off from the group and heroically tackles the worker to safety. He's shocked when the stone falls nearly crushing many nearby.
Tanith studies the contruction looking for any other potential hazards.
Mortifice heads over to the man to check for injuries even as he looks around for further signs of danger.
"If you were paying any attention, you would have noticed that was about to flatten you." Flynt points to the debris that used to be the large stone.
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Mortifice heads over to the man to check for injuries even as he looks around for further signs of danger.
[dice=Perception]1d20+0
Mortifice makes it over to the workman and begins to evaluate him. As far as he can tell, he seems to be in decent shape, although he may have suffered a few bruises from being hit by debris
"Is everyone alright?", Tanith shouts to Flynt and Mort.
He continues to study the construction.
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"If you were paying any attention, you would have noticed that was about to flatten you." Flynt points to the debris that used to be the large stone.
The workman's eyes grow wide as he sees the pieces of fallen marble and masonry where he was just standing. His face goes white as a sheet and his knees begin to buckle as he grows faint.
"Don't you dare faint on me. Just learn to pay attention." Flynt will look up and try to figure out what caused the collapse.
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The workman steadies himself on Flynt's soldier, taking a few deep breaths. He then looks up at the young Rhennish man and grabs both hands to shake them, "Thank you, thank you young man for saving my life! I don't have much, but whatever I have is yours, you just need to ask."
A few other workman come climbing down from the scaffold. One of them shouts, "Cyram, are you allright? I can't believe this happened again! This town truly is cursed!"
Flynt will look up and try to figure out what caused the collapse.
Perception
1d20 + 22 ⇒ (5) + 22 = 27
The block seems to have fallen out of the structure from at least 50' up. Even Flynt's eagle eyes can't make out much fine detail from that distance.
"You're welcome. You don't have to pay me anything. What makes you say the town is cursed?"
Tanith has Boris stay put and rushes over to the scene of the accident.
"By Kord, you could have been killed Flynt... good work!", the big Suel finishes with a grin.
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The workman talks to his coworkers, assuring them that he is fine and unhurt thanks to Flynt. They in turn begin clapping the Rhennee on the back and shaking his hands, thanking him profusely for being so observant and quick.
Cyram (he finally introduces himself to everyone) then remarks, "It's why we are making these repairs on the temple. Two statues came loose last week and killed five children who were playing before the temple. That's what the flowers are for, to mark the site of their death. It was a terrible thing."
"Really now? I think maybe you all should take a break from repairs for the day and have some drinks."
"Yea, probably. But I had to save the guy from himself. And speaking of drinks, I need one. Or maybe three."
"I'm sorry for your losses", Tanith says in a rare somber moment. "A drink would be good."
He glances up at the construction again.
"Have there been other accidents like these in the past?"
"Perhaps just bad luck."
"Everyone make some space, I'm going to climb up there and check it out."
The big Kordite rests his pack on the ground and starts to hoist himself up, causing the whole frame to creak in pain.
"Maybe you should let me do it. I think it's out of your weight class." Flynt cracks his fingers and leaps up to start his climbing.
Tanith steps down and notes how the frame seems to breath in relief.
"Perhaps you're right."
Solaufyn takes a few moments to dust himself off with prestidigitation. He cheers for Flynt's bravery, then gets quite mortified at the talk of children dying.
"Five children? Heavens, that's horrible!" he says in reaction to the news.
While the others speak with the workers, Solaufyn glances over the temple, admiring the beauty of its construction, as well as any works of art.
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While the others speak with the workers, Solaufyn glances over the temple, admiring the beauty of its construction, as well as any works of art.
Nothing looks amiss from Sol's casual glance at the architecture, but then again, the block fell from over 50' up, and it's hard to get much detail of that area from the street.
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Flynt climbs the scaffolding up to where the block fell out, high above Qualtaine Square. From up here he can see most of Istivin, which doesn't look very big from this vantage point. Krelonnt Keep on the hill called the Promontory to the north is easily the town's most dominant feature. Other easily recognizable buildings are the large fortress-like structures at the Trade Gate (to the east) and Brink's Gate (to the west), along with the Circus (to the south).
Looking at where the large block fell out, it seems the wooden supports holding it in during the construction were weakened somehow.