"EVA! EVA! HELP! THE MONSTERS ARE HERE TO GET ME! THEY BURNED ME! HELP!" A scared young voice screams into the night, barely heard outside the barn due to the storm.
"Elena, Lineera? Is this darkness caused by either of you? Can you please release it?" She called out to her friends as she slowly made her way.
"Timmy, I need you to calm down for me. I'm going to try to come to you." Eva stepped inside the barn carefully, and feeling in front of her to make her way to Timmy. "Keep talk with me okay? That way I can find you. Where does it hurt? Where did you get burned?"
There's a pause after Eva calls out, then the darkness subsides, seemingly drawing itself back into the far corner, revealing Lineera curled in a fetal position, drawing in uneven, shuddering gasps of air. Her hands remain over her ears, though she's now curling her head downwards to try and hide her face from the storm.
As the darkness subsides, the barn is lit by a large fire in the center of the area, and the horses are all beginning to kick their stalls hard as they smell the smoke. Timmy is in a pile, hunkered against a stall door, holding his arm which is obviously red from a burn.
Timmy see's Eva and Elena, and he is up and running pell-mell into Eva (the closer of the two). "EVA EVA EVA MONSTERS WERE GONNA GET ME!" The 11 year old is almost as big as Eva, and nearly knocks her down.
Eva grabbed hold of something to steady herself before she pulled him close, taking a look at his arm to see how bad of a burn is on his arm. "It'll be okay, Timmy. I won't let the monsters get you."
She looked to Elena, "Elena, can you create water? We need to get the fire out. I'm getting Timmy out, and fetching his father."
Lineera pushes with her hands, keeping her legs curled up and makes her way slightly out of the corner, enough to get a view of the fire. Leaning her head just enough to cock one eye at the glow, she reaches out one hand, keeping her ear to the outstretched arm, keeping it covered, she begins casting and causes a small torrent of water to manifest over the fire.
Waiting on Elijah before I go any further.
"Elena, Lineera? Is this darkness caused by either of you? Can you please release it?"
"It's not me!" - Elena answers Eva, still puzzled about the whole situation. Hearing the child's cries, she calls out - "Is someone else there?... Little Timmy? Is that you?"
Just when she is about to step into the darkness to try and figure out what's going on, the unnatural blackness recedes and fire erupts in the center of the barn, which is promptly put out by Lineera's quick actions in a matter of moments.
With Eva busy comforting the young child, Elena comes over to Lineera and squats down near her. "Hey, hey..." - She says softly, trying not to upset the drow even more - "What happened? Are you hurt? You can talk to me..."
Lineera sits curled and unresponsive to Elena for several moments, before huddling even tighter, murmuring in a barely audible way. "This is pathetic..." Staying quiet for several moments longer, she whispers again. "I'm fi- ...I'm not hurt. Is Timmy alright?"
Elena turns for a moment to look at the frightened child holding on Eva for dear life - "Well, he's scared out of his mind, but he's not hurt." - Turning back, she smiles at Lineera - "I'm sure Eva will manage to calm him down, she seems to be good with kids!"
Trying to put an hand on Lineera's shoulder in a comforting fashion, Elena lowers her voice and whispers - "We may have our... Uh... Differences, but we are friends, right? You can tell me... What's the matter? Why did you run away like that?"
Lineera seems like her focus might be a bit addled, as she hones in on one detail. "You... think of me as a friend? A small smile appears on her lips, though she still refuses to raise her head.
Eva looks over Timmy's arm, and it's a nasty burn. .
Lineera manages to get the fire out, although the smoke smell and the thunder have all the horses spooked now, they are still making nervous noises and kicking their stall walls restlessly, especially after a thunder boom.
"What?" - Elena raises an eyebrow - "Of course we are friends! Don't you ask questions like that! We ca-" She is suddenly interrupted by a loud neigh from one of the scared horses, kicking restlessly in its stall.
"...Please hold on a moment." Elena tells Lineera, then she gets up, approaches the horses and focuses her divine energy into soothing waves of power.
When she's done, Elena approaches Eva and checks on Timmy, to make sure that he's fine. Seeing the nasty burn, her hand flies to her mouth as her eyes go wide in surprise - "Oh, you poor thing! I had no idea, I'm so sorry... Here, let me take a look, it won't hurt, I promise!"
When she's done, she pats the little boy on the head and gives him a bright smile, then goes back to Lineera.
Three of the 7 horses calm down, but the other 4 are still upset.
Timmy's arm heals over, and his expression calms down as well.
The old woman, tired of standing in the rain, leaves the relative calm of the fierce thunderstorm for the pandemonium in the smokey barn. She hobbles in with the flapping raven hot on her heels. Her tone carries crotchetiness like a badge of honor. "What is all this falderal!?"
Mahb surveys the situation with her one good eye and turns the other on one of the snorting horses, chiding it like a school-marm. "You - nag - stop this foolery."
Eva had been reaching in her pack for her potion when Elena came over and healed Timmy's arm. She looked up at Elena, "Thanks." Looking back at Timmy she gave him a smile and a hug. "There, that better?"
Elijah keeps and eye over the surroundings, squinting over thundering and pouring rain outside. "Is the boy alright?" He peered out into the darkness not sure of what to think about the situation.[
As the party calms down the child, and puts out the fire, and get's the horses settled (they don't seem to like Maahb at all), it takes a good 30 minutes to get the burned things cleaned up, the child settled and calm again, and the horses settled (the boy seems to have a way with them, getting them all settled down one by one, running from horse to horse, petting one, giving one sugar, one an apple, slapping one on the nose and calling it a moron, and so forth).
Poor Pyewacket finally takes shelter in the old church bell tower, trying to keep an eye out for Tommas, but he doesn't see the young man.
"...As much as I'd like to keep searching, it seems the weather is against us. I think we should take shelter, compare notes." Eva made the suggestion, looking out at the lightning and the rain. She could tell Lineera didn't seem right at all.
Elijah shook some more rain from the collar and shoulder of his coat. "I agree with Eva, lets get our bearings before we drive head long into this. Inspecting the grain of wood is about as important as the cut." Rubbing his nose from the cold weather, he shrugged his shoulders to knock any remaining drops that hadn't saturated him.
The hag glares out into the darkness in the direction of the cemetery, leaning on her walking stick. She weighs the urgency of trying to track Tommas - particularly given his course and perishing prints - against the resolve of his allies.
Mayhaps Tommas is a necromancer, a thrall, or a doppleganger... There are better spells to handle those possibilities than I have now and daylight is to our advantage.
After a moment, Mahb nods her assent to the change in plan. She turns on one of the horses and waggles her stick in its direction. "You've cost us precious time, horse. If this delay begets sorrow, I'll have more than hard words for you."
She wrings out her sodden hair onto the hay lining the floor and looks to Eva, "As we walk, tell your concerns. The storm will cover your words, I think."
"What?" - Elena raises an eyebrow - "Of course we are friends! Don't you ask questions like that! We ca-" She is suddenly interrupted by a loud neigh from one of the scared horses, kicking restlessly in its stall.
"...Please hold on a moment." Elena tells Lineera, then she gets up, approaches the horses and focuses her divine energy into soothing waves of power.
When she's done, Elena approaches Eva and checks on Timmy, to make sure that he's fine. Seeing the nasty burn, her hand flies to her mouth as her eyes go wide in surprise - "Oh, you poor thing! I had no idea, I'm so sorry... Here, let me take a look, it won't hurt, I promise!"
When she's done, she pats the little boy on the head and gives him a bright smile, then goes back to Lineera.
Lineera's frown returns at the mild chastisement, and offers a small "Sorry..." Before letting Elena tend to Timmy and the horses. Once she returns, Lineera begins, finally seeming to have gathered her thoughts enough to converse more collectedly. "...You're probably going to think this is s-stupid, but... well... I'm afraid of lightning, and thunder. I don't know how you all handle it really, it's just so loud and bright. Well, I'm probably the only one who cares about the light. But I don't know, maybe it just takes getting used too, I've only saw rain for the first time... ten years ago? ...Well, it doesn't seem that long to me. I'm one-hundred and twenty-seven years old by the way, twenty-eight in a couple of months." Lineera derails for a bit as she loses herself in thought, but then seems to realize she's off topic and reels herself back in. "But anyway, that's why I ran, that last strike was just too close, too loud. It just startled me is all. I'm sorry I ran like that, I didn't mean to hurt Timmy."
Lineera sighs as her breathing remains erratic, but somewhat slower than before. "You should all just leave without me though, I'm no use to anyone like this. I'll just stay here and wait for the storm to pass."
Elena's father, as mayor, would have a wine cellar, which would be fairly insulated and keep most of the storm sounds out, and all the light flashes.
Additionally, the church would have a crypt under it, which would work much the same.
Elijah shrugged following Lineera's comment "Everyone has their vices, my father's was the drink. Only thing to do is to face them when your good and ready, doing so when your not will only reinforce your fears. All in the mind in the end."
Eva gave Mahb a nod, "I'm sure the storm will." She moved to check on Lineera, hearing the tail end of her comments. "Lets go to a cellar. The thunder will not be as loud there, and you won't be able to see the lightning."
Elena listens to Lineera's explanation with a surprised look on her face. "Oh! I'm sorry I had no idea... But, well, you have nothing to worry about, you know? I mean, sure lightnings can be dangerous but only rarely, during big storms, and even then you should be safe inside..."
Realizing she is starting to ramble, Elena stops fro a moment, before giving her friend a bright smile - "Look, how about this? My offer still stands, let's all go to my house and rest for the night, ok? I don't think we'd be able to get much done tonight anyway, and I think we could all benefit from a little rest."
Getting up, she offers Lineera her hand - "Come on, let's inform the others, get Timmy back home and then go to my place. You can even stay in the cellar if you truly want to, no thunder will ever reach you there!"
By the time the group is at the Mayor's house, they are all soaked again, but Timmy seems to have been calmed down, and he's keeping the horses calm again. He is home, just in the barn to keep the horses calm. Once it's explained that it was just Lineera afraid of the storm who made everything dark, the boy puffs up, strutting about how he wasn't afraid of the storm, and he pats Lineera on the hand, explaining to her slowly that storms are nothing to be afraid of.
Back to the mayor's house though, ends up with the entire group soaked and bedraggled, and even Pyewacket is unable to attend, the wind and rain too hard for him to leave the church bell tower to join. So he can keep a watch out, kind of.
Elena's father welcomes them in, and arranges for dry clothes for all from the pile he has stored for such occasions. It's traditional that the Mayor take in strangers and stragglers during the stormy season. "Well, everyone dry off, and yes, you may stay in the cellar tonight if you wish. You'll have to bed down on the floor. No drinking the wine. If you find the children, I'll let you all have any bottle you want from it." He wags a finger at the group as they sit around in the cool cellar with blankets wrapped around them and ill-fitting clothes on their bodies (other than Elena, who has clothes here). "Now, Margaret is making warm soup for you all, what have you found out?"
Lineera stays quiet as various people attempt to console her, though she attempts to smile at Timmy, which turns more into a grimace. Once offered, Lineera takes Elena's hand and allows her to lead the dark elf by the hand to the Mayor's house. Through the short journey, anyone who looks under the hood will realize the elf keeps her eyes closed tightly the whole time, and consequently stumbles more than once along the way.
Once inside, Lineera doesn't take long to accept the mayor's hospitality, setting down her pack, she first takes of her cloak and finds a place to hang it. Once done, she removes and asks for a place to set her arms and armor. These tasks taken care of, the immodesty of her choice in fashion is readily apparent. Holding her borrowed change of clothes in front of her, she briefly addresses the mayor to thank him for the borrowed horse, then she quietly excuses herself and finds a secluded spot to change into the lent garments, quickly leading to her being much better covered again.
When the group makes there way down to the cellar, Lineera takes her pack with her. Setting down the pack Lineera sits, seeming less frightened, but exhausted. When the mayor asks them for their findings, Lineera brings out one of the bottles of strong ale found in the wagon, and requests a cup. Once received, she fills the cup, murmurs a short prayer over it, and drains the whole cup. Then, she refills, and sets the cup to the side, and the bottle towards the middle of the group.
"We found this bottle, amongst other things at the wreckage of the tax collector's carriage." She stops to let the somewhat confusing point sink in for a moment as she takes a more sedate drink from the cup, and continues. "I'm afraid that we also found signs of what I was concerned of at the site. We were beset by a small group of the undead. We dispatched them without difficulty, we're all fine, but I'm afraid that it was indeed a necromantic cult that took the children." The dark elf stops to take another sip. "There was blood in the carriage driver's seat, I believe the tax collector very well may no longer be amongst the living. I know of some magicks used to control the mind, and I believe the tax collector may well have been used as a pawn, the dispatched once he was no longer of use."
"Otherwise, we also found a broken amulet at the site of the wreckage, it bore the same insignia as the symbol on the windowsill. I believe Mahb still has it. It doesn't seem to be magical as far as I can tell. Lastly, we also found a trail, leading into the woods from the wreckage. Seeing that we'd already encountered danger, and there was no telling how far the trail was, we headed back at that point."
Finishing her second cup, Lineera reaches and fills the cup a final time, before putting the cork back in it and setting the bottle far away from herself. "That's about it, as far as we found at least. There was something odd about Tommas, but I think Eva and Elijah would know more than I would."
Mahb casts a skeptical glance at the offered clothes, taking only a towel instead. She dries her clothes as best she can, going from sodden to merely damp as the rags stick to her boney frame.
In the cellar she sits to one side, deathly quiet, and watches the mayor's reactions to the news closely... looking for any signs that he knows more than he should.
Eva was swallowed hole by the shirt she wore, it was like a dress on her, the sleeves covering her hands. She giggled some finding her appearance humorous.
Once down in the cellar, she waited for a moment before telling some of what she knew. She was cautious, but the longer she hid what she knew, the less chance they had finding the children.
"The sign marked the Carevin's window as well. I suspect this is all for a magical ritual. Did you not notice it was a boy and a girl that was taken? And children are known to serve as the power-sources, even hosts for the summoned entity, in certain rituals."
"Our kidnapper is a magic-user, an arcane one from what I can tell. One to mark the windows, and one, to put the children to sleep. So they would not wake during the kidnapping."
She paused for a moment, before looking to the Mayor, "Has the watch seen anything odd at night? Anything out of the norm?"
She was leery of mentioning to much of Tommas yet. That he had seen a shadow of some sort, but then had changed his story when she had gone to see him with Elijah. Maybe some of the rest of the watch had seen something?
After changing in dry clothes and a brief visit to the kitchen to say hello to her mother, Elena gets down to the cellar with the others.
She keeps nodding all the while both Lineera and Eva recap their findings to her father.
When they are done, she speak up - "Once more thing! That trail we found near the wreckage that Lineera mentioned, heading to the northern end of the forest? That's exactly where those city folks found and eradicated the old kobold infestation... Since what we fought were clearly kobolds... Corpses, raised from the grave, there could be some clues up there to lead us to the culprits!"
Oliver listens as the tales continue, and his eyes narrow and he looks at Elena with more and more... fatherly upset... is the politest way to put it. "Elena? Dealing with undead? And you Elijah, letting her?" The man seems very upset about the undead, and especially his only daughter fighting them. "You and I will have a discussion about this, Elena, later." His nostrils flare.
Ebonlocke, in his younger days, was Sceneschal for the Baron, and it was rumored that he was the terror of the lesser nobles and courtiers. He supposedly retired to Perdition when he took a wife. Seeing his face now, it's easy to believe he was a formidable weapon in the Baron's arsenal.
Shaking his head, he continues. "No, none of the watch has reported anything, and I asked them all again obviously. I'll ask Jacob, Elijah's second, to gather the rest of the watch in the morning. What's his second? Tommas wasn't it? I'll ask both of them to go through the watch and see if anyone failed to report anything."
He frowns at Elena's outburst, but reluctantly nods. "Yes, the old kobold warrens would make a good hideout. If..." He stresses the word 'if' while looking at Elena. "...you all go there, you should see about permanently collapsing those tunnels if you can do so safely. I always felt leaving that place in one piece was a mistake."
"Elena? Dealing with undead? And you Elijah, letting her?" The man seems very upset about the undead, and especially his only daughter fighting them. "You and I will have a discussion about this, Elena, later." His nostrils flare.
Her father's displeasure with her behavior so blatant, Elena feels her throat close and her cheeks redden. "B-But we... I don't... I-I... I'm sorry..." - She stutters meekly, her eyes cast down in shame.
"Elijah was with me, not Elena. We split up to check different leads. He didn't want me going off on my own. Also, was it you who talked to all of them? Or did you have someone else ask for you? This is important." She didn't want to Elijah to get in trouble because he had been with her. She also wanted to know who had actually done the asking. It didn't set well that the mayor planned to have Tommas do any of the asking again. Not at all.
Oliver gives Elijah a look. "I had expected him to be keeping an eye on Elena." He then shakes his head and responds to Eva's question. "I believe I asked Jacob to ask, why? It's normal for me to usually ask Elijah, but he was busy investigating, and I thought, keeping my headstrong daughter from doing foolish things. Why is it important?"
Elijah took a a different shirt and quickly wrung out his nearly soaked other one and set it up to dry. He then proceeded to quietly hang up his coat and followed the remainder of the group. "I had no idea of what was going to be beset against Elena, I was keeping the lonely Eva safe. There are times when I have to take into consideration the safety of the group over an individual." He removed his boots and sat in a chair.
"If anything foul had become of it I would have taken responsibility, but It does looks like she can handle her self quite well."
Lineera watches the confrontation with surprise, thinking back and double-checking her story. She hadn't mentioned that controlling of the undead, she was sure of that, so it was with that in mind, she interjected. "Mayor, I was watching over her in Elijah's stead. And the necromantic arts, even if most misuse them, are my specialty, she was in good hands. She's was just far too good a follower of Erastil to simply turn her back to those abominations. But with my help and expertise, we made quick work of them, it's alright, we're fine!" Lineera finishes with a small if somewhat forced smile, putting a hand on Elena's shoulder. Hoping to defuse the tension, and at the very least take the blame off of Elijah and Elena a bit, Lineera tries to verbally shield them as she took responsibility.
Oliver listens to Lineera, and gives both Elena and Elijah a look that quite obviously indicates that the idea that his daughter was left in the 'protection' of the resident drow necromancer does NOT, in any way, shape, or form, make him feel better about this situation.
"I see..." He tells Lineera, his voice not exactly filled with approval.
Oliver listens as the tales continue, and his eyes narrow and he looks at Elena with more and more... fatherly upset... is the politest way to put it. "Elena? Dealing with undead? And you Elijah, letting her?"
...Oliver gives Elijah a look. "I had expected him to be keeping an eye on Elena."
Mahb's words are as chilly as the weather, "So our one fighting man is a nursemaid to ensure your girl sees no risk... while the rest of us fend for ourselves, face the danger, and recover the children. Is that a father's plan or a mayor's plan?"
Oliver stares at Maahb for a moment, then gives a wry grin. "The father's, of course. Did you expect any other response from a father?"
Mahb bobs her head like a bird, "I 'spect your thoughts are those of any father and that is a right thing... But as the village's leader you are step-father, if not shepherd, to all these folk. Sometimes the right path for all is not the safest path for one." Having said her peace, she settles down and begins unknotting her tangled hair.
"Something's off with Tommas. I also heard two stories about something he might of saw, and they didn't exactly mesh." Eva pulled a sleeve up so it wasn't covering her hand again. It kept falling down. It was distracting too.
Oliver's eyes narrow. "What do you mean, something's off with Tommas? I'm not questioning your judgement, Eva, but I will need something concrete to accuse someone in town of being involved, especially someone who was born here. A wrongful accusation would ruin someon's life. Please give me details."
Oliver seems very upset over this, not upset with Eva, but with the concept of Tommas being involved. Well, anyone in town that is.
Elena fidgets slightly while she listens to her father talking with the others.
"...I can take care of myself." - She mumbles to herself, quietly enough so that her father wouldn't hear her, her eyes still cast down in shame.