Keildrithe sighs and his shoulders sag with frustration and disappointment. "Lumbie, you were very brave and you did very well. And my friends, the world is a better place for your great deeds -- we sent two imps and the big badness devil back to Hell with your help. Yes, two imps remain free, including the one that murdered Jirkin... and I don't know if or how we will be able to catch them now, especially with the Artonites closing in on us... but we should not downplay the significance of our achievements."
The bard, badly wounded himself, winces as he kneels beside Raspit and murmurs a few mystical words. His hands glow white, and he places them upon the knockers wounds.
After ensuring that Raspit is on the mend, he sits down against the wall, surveys his companions, and looks at the flask containing the blue healing liquid that he collected from upstairs. "How is everyone? Is... Nicolai still with us?"
Blood covers the right side of Keildrithe's neck and face and mats his hair, and he gingerly touches the ear that he nearly lost. He coughs hoarsely, and more blood dribbles onto his lips. He looks at the floor and shakes his head in dismay, apparently on the verge of crying. "More more could we have done, grandfather?" he asks in a barely audible murmur.
After ensuring that Raspit is on the mend, he sits down against the wall, surveys his companions, and looks at the flask containing the blue healing liquid that he collected from upstairs. "How is everyone? Is... Nicolai still with us?"
Blood covers the right side of Keildrithe's neck and face and mats his hair, and he gingerly touches the ear that he nearly lost. He coughs hoarsely, and more blood dribbles onto his lips. He looks at the floor and shakes his head in dismay, apparently on the verge of crying. "More more could we have done, grandfather?" he asks in a barely audible murmur.
"Nicolai is badly hurt, but thankfully still with us" he answers in response to Keildrithe's question. "It appears lucky that you are still with us, brother - I think you should take that potion to help with that nasty head-wound. There may still be an imp and a winged devil at large."
Ïn response to Keildrithe's whispered words, Laithe moves over to him and kneels down beside the bardic ranger. Resting a hand on his shoulder and speaking in a voice loud enough for all to hear, he says "We did well enough; the war may not be over, but it was an important battle won." With those words, he expends another minor cure spell, hoping to help instill his countryman with a litte strength.
Rising, and still speaking for all to hear, he continues "However, this battle may not yet be over; there may be more we can yet do. I know not if these creatures breathe air, but out in the wild if you want to get something out of a hole, you smoke it out. Hopefully Alton and I have blocked all the exits in which case the devil may still be trapped within the tunnels."
Laithe moves over to the hole through which the imp departed and leans close, flaming sword still out in front. He listens intently, for any sign of the devil, perhaps digging a way out. He also listens for any signs of air flow which may indicate if there remains a way open to the outside.
After a moment, Laithe straightens and begins gathering any flammable items - chairs, rags etc - from around the room. He also rifles through the pile of discarded items in the corner.
Nicholai stirs, blinking painfully and blearily, to the sight of Laithe stuffing the escape holes with flammable items.
"Did I miss sumthin'?" He mumbles blearily. "We decide ta have a campfire?"
He tries to sit up, winces in pain, and settles for propping himself up slightly. Still clutching his bloody and battered midsection, he looks around the room. HE spies the unmoving knocker on the floor. Frowns as he seems to become more focused.
"Did we,... DId we win? Did we get them all?" He asks in a low voice.
NIcholai winces as the distant screeching of an eagle once again penetrates the dilapidated structure.
"Yes I'm alive. Glad to hear you too." He mutters with his eyes closed.
He opens his eyes again. "What happened?" He asks, his eyes intense despite the obvious effort it is taking to even hold himself up.
Ïn response to Keildrithe's whispered words, Laithe moves over to him and kneels down beside the bardic ranger. Resting a hand on his shoulder and speaking in a voice loud enough for all to hear, he says "We did well enough; the war may not be over, but it was an important battle won." With those words, he expends another minor cure spell, hoping to help instill his countryman with a litte strength.
"Thank you, brother," says Keildrithe as Laithe applies his healing touch to the bard's wounds. Keildrithe then quaffs the second potion. While the wounds do not completely disappear, the combined effects of spell and potion do seem to heal the worst of the facial and neck cuts.
Keildrithe stands up again, and turns to face the holes in the wall. Those behind him now see the bloody gashes that the chains made through the back of his studded leather armour.
"Something tells me that trying to smoke out a creature that normally dwells among the fire, brimstone and sulfurous ash of Hell will be a futile endeavour," mutters the Karand. Perhaps one or two of us should hurry outside with nets, in case it should try to dig its way out past the debris? I'll be happy to go... Alton, Pharris, perhaps one of you could come with me?"
Raspit’s eyes flutter open, then he jumps to his feet in alarm … but calms once he is appraised of the situation and realises that the chain devil has been contained in the box.
“We have done well,” he reiterates. “If an imp or two essscaped,” he shrugs, “not sso bad. They’re tricksssy, probably causse a little trouble, maybe kill one or two people … but I think they will flee far and fassst. The big badness,” he shudders. “It iss good that you caught him. If he became big again, and the box could not hold him … then great warriorsss as you are, I fear you would not defeat him. There would be much sssuffering.”
As Laithe moves about the room gathering flammable materials he notices several more rat-holes around the edges of the room.
Listening at the hole the imp disappeared into, he hears no sound of movement or digging. Looking into the small tunnel, he sees that it soon branches out into several tunnels, some perhaps doubling back to join with the other ratholes, some perhaps emerging at the river bank, while at least one seems to stretch a long way in the other direction, away from the bank. There is faint air movement at the tunnel entrance.
"I'll go. Sorry all of you, I fought badly."
Pharris picks up her sword and net and follows Keildrithe. Outside, away from the others she bursts into tears. And takes his hand.
Wiping them away she keeps trying to stay focused. "Mu-mu-, my dad wah-wah-warrior."
By the time they reach the back of the building she is under control again, the flash of emotion over.
Kajetan, do you think the devils require air to breath?
Knowledge (Planes) : +8 (+3 Int, 5 ranks) (1d20+8=17)
Kajetan looks up from his search of the pile of books, unable to let them become tinder.
"Do demons and devils breath?" he repeats the question, "Outsiders do breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep, although they can do so if they wish." he repeats the text book answer.
Nicholai looks up, his brow still furrowed in concentration.
'Good work Wij'! Keep trying.' HE sends encouragement and affection down the empathic link. Then looks to Kajetan.
"I don't know much about Devils and Demons, but that fits what I know about most true outsiders." He nods. He takes another look around the room, and gives a genuine smile when Raspit gets up.
"So, what do we do now? Even if Raspit is correct, and the remaining Imps flee,..." He looks doubtful. "We are still stuck in this town, we have the guards alerted to our presence, thanks to your old 'friend', and we are not in the best condition to be running around town anyway." HE says wryly, indicating his still injured abdomen.
"On the plus side, we DID catch the 'big badness', and a couple of the others. We have not only discovered a nest of moonstruck, but cleared it out, or at least ensured that it will not be a major problem for some time. And we are still among the living. All in all, not a bad day, considering the alternatives,..." He smirks.
"I'll go. Sorry all of you, I fought badly."
Pharris picks up her sword and net and follows Keildrithe. Outside, away from the others she bursts into tears. And takes his hand.
Wiping them away she keeps trying to stay focused. "Mu-mu-, my dad wah-wah-warrior."
By the time they reach the back of the building she is under control again, the flash of emotion over.
Once out of sight of the others, Keildrithe squeezes Pharris's hand gently, and plants a lingering kiss on her cheek. "You fought bravely, my sweet... feel no shame," he whispers in her ear. "There is no way any of us could have predicted what those abominations would do... it is far more difficult to do battle with black-magic wielding devils from Hell that are immune to most steel and iron than it is to confront mortal foes native to our world... Now come, if we hurry, we might still catch the last of them, and then, you can have your vengeance..."
Keildrithe and Pharris leave the cellar (being careful at the doorway, just in case the imp has invisibly slipped back into the room and is waiting at the closed door), head back up the stairs, through the kitchen and the foul smelling laundry chamber, through the crowded entry room, force open the warped front door and emerge onto the night-time street.
The street is mostly quiet, though as the pair of adventurers make their way around the building a small group of masked locals turn out from a side-street and hurry by, sparing sidelong glances at the weeping, red haired warrior woman and the battered and bloody bard.
The pair share a moment in the quiet lane beside the building, then hurry around the back, down the slope to the river bank, where they spend several minutes searching by starlight amongst the weeds and rubbish for holes, or signs of escaping devils.
Pharris seems to have a knack for finding the holes. Now, in a perfect world, they would catch the last devil as it struggled its way out of one of the holes that Laithe and Alton filled in … but this is not a perfect world, this is an age of darkness … Pharris finds two uncovered holes that the others seem to have missed earlier. It seems more and more likely that the last imp got away, and given its speed, flight and invisibility, it may well be far away by now.
"Keildrithe promise me that we will destroy these devils, one day."
Pharris stands and stares off into darkness, her greatsword already starting to lose its silvery glitter.
"I want to win. I need to get better at fighting. That is why I couldn't win," she promises.
Before long she returns to the rest of the group.
"Keildrithe promise me that we will destroy these devils, one day."
Pharris stands and stares off into darkness, her greatsword already starting to lose its silvery glitter.
"I want to win. I need to get better at fighting. That is why I couldn't win," she promises.
Before long she returns to the rest of the group.
"Yes, we will... one day. But you have nothing to reproach yourself, Pharris. Sometimes, it is the very gods who conspire against us. And one would go mad with grief and anger in this age of darkness, if one fought only to win on one's own terms..."
The bard hesitates before continuing. "I have fled my people, Pharris, because I could not win, and because my presence among them would only bring them more pain and suffering the longer I stayed... but one day, you will win, and so will I, and so will the others... though I now realize that there are different ways to 'win'... were he with us, my grandfather would have said that today, we live to fight another day, and that is its own victory... By choosing to stand and fight against evil, where others kneel before their dark masters, we win... For every person we inspire to rise against tyranny and evil, we win... The day our spirits become broken, is the day we have lost...but that day will never come, will it, so long as we can rely on one another?"
He follows the amazon back into the warehouse.
Upon his return to the cellar, Keildrithe addresses his companions. "We are all wounded and exhausted, and have had some difficult nights of late, but I suggest we not dally... Many locals have either seen us about this warehouse, battered and bloodied, or else have heard the ruckus we have made. It probably won't be long until the Artonites track us here. We should leave town as soon as possible, this very night if we have the strength to do so. I know not where we should go... while I would like nothing better than to track the imps, we have no idea where they went. But I do remember that when we first came to Lichford, it was in search of an unorthodox Artonite priest by the name of Stephan, who, as a member of the heretical Order of Truth, held beliefs and knowledge that were in contradiction to those of the Church of Arton... or so suggested Jared and Gosia (Ehlonna keep them safe). We know that Stephan is not in Lichford at the present, but maybe we should seek him out? Perhaps he can help us heal the wounds of the world... or at least help us develop greater insights into the workings of the Church...?"
Keildrithe gives his friends a few moments to ponder his suggestions. While they do so, he turns to the knockers: "Raspit, Chupo, Lumbie... what of you now? You have held your end of the bargain... do you need our aid to escape Lichford and to return to your homes? Will Lumbie be welcome among your kind?"
Raspit and Chupo both sit atop the Devil Box, as if to make doubly sure that nothing tries to escape from it (although there has been no sign that the devils inside have tried or are even capable of doing so), whilst Lumbie sits quietly on the floor nearby.
Raspit grins broadly, showing a mouth of sharp teeth, before wincing in pain at his partially healed wounds. “Lumbie isss a hero now! And the lassst of Thisslipsss ssspawn,” he hisses. “He will be honoured asss the keeper of the Devil Box, get good food, shinys, femalesss. But yesss, we mussst get out of thisss human town before, will you help uss?”
He and Chupo have a rapid conversation in Draconic, at the end of which Chupo shrugs and Raspit once again speaks to Keildrithe. “We’ll organissse a reward for you too!”
Kajetan is oblivious to the celebrations behind him as he search the room, paying particular attention to the books. Eventually he turns to survey the others, pain and tiredness etched on his young face.
"You are right my friend, we should make our leave from this place as soon as we can," he thinks for a while, "are there any boats on the dock we could borrow?"
Pharris follows when everyone leaves.
NIcholai has managed to prop himself up by the time that the bard and amazon return. He nods in agreement with Keildrithe, and grins despite his pains when Raspit assures them of Lumbie's new found hero status.
"We could try to go back over the wall again. It wasn't so bad last time. But then we weren't injured. And I'm pretty sure I couldn't conjure more than a light spell now. I haven't the strength for anything else."
"I would say that we go back to where we hid before we made our move here. But it's too close. If. Or when, they discover this mess, it won't take long for a search to include that building as well. "
He looks pensive at Kajetan's suggestion, "Won't they be watching the docks? Or did you mean 'borrow' a smaller boat? Maybe if we could find a tiny rowboat,... we may be able to slip past them,..."
Raspit grins broadly, showing a mouth of sharp teeth, before wincing in pain at his partially healed wounds. “Lumbie isss a hero now! And the lassst of Thisslipsss ssspawn,” he hisses. “He will be honoured asss the keeper of the Devil Box, get good food, shinys, femalesss. But yesss, we mussst get out of thisss human town before, will you help uss?”He and Chupo have a rapid conversation in Draconic, at the end of which Chupo shrugs and Raspit once again speaks to Keildrithe. “We’ll organissse a reward for you too!”
"I'm happy to hear that Lumbie will have an honoured place among your clan... and uh, feel equally honoured that you would think us worthy of a reward. I'm not sure that it's necessary, but...???" Keildrithe raises an eyebrow and seeks input from his companions.
"Either way, I think I can speak for all when I say that we will help you escape Lichford... as to whether we can accompany you all the way back to your warren, that is another question..."
He looks pensive at Kajetan's suggestion, "Won't they be watching the docks? Or did you mean 'borrow' a smaller boat? Maybe if we could find a tiny rowboat,... we may be able to slip past them,..."
"I'm in favour of rowboats, if we can find enough of them... else, where do the sewers empty out? Not that I'm especially keen on that idea, especially given the risk of infection to our wounds..."
Amongst the mess and junk there are some quite valuable looking items to be found in the cellar.
Hanging from the walls and within the pile in the corner are a total of four ornate tapestries depicting scenes of Artonite angels and saints. There are also five exquisite Atuscan rugs, a gold tureen, and, as far as you can tell, four very badly damaged books (detailed further below). On the table (besides the dead dog) are six silver goblets and an ornate glass decanter with copper banding.
In the other pile are eleven small dead animals.
Kajetan begins investigating the tomes, and is soon dismayed to find that they appear to be damaged beyond repair and for the most part legibility; fragile, yellowed pages have been torn out and shredded into small pieces, burnt, scribbled over, rubbed in mud and otherwise disfigured. A few pages here and there are mostly intact, but it is difficult to tell exactly which book they came from, or whether they contain any information that might be useful in isolation. The scholar cannot understand why anyone would go to the trouble of stealing these books (presumably they were stolen from the Cathedral library) just to destroy them.
The covers are still somewhat legible, and from these and a few fragments of pages, Kajetan is able to piece together the titles of the books. They are as follows;
‘Magicians of the Northlands’, ‘The Silver Dome’, ‘Devils, Demons and Other Fiends’, and ‘Saint Michael and the Darkness Heresy’.
In a small blessing, Kajetan finds amongst the torn pages what appears to be the arcane formula for a spell called ‘Protection From Evil.’
The town doesn’t have much in the way of a sewer system. There are several docks out onto the river, mostly with an assortment of small rowboats, sailboats and barges. You haven’t noticed a particularly large guard presence at the docks, and the river does not have a river-gate where it passes the city walls (although the walls do protrude partway into the river, with watchtowers on both sides).
Nicholai finally manages to get himself up and moving, though it is obvious that it isn't easy.
"I agree Keildrithe. Even if this town were large enough to support a large sewer system, I wouldn't want to traipse through one on the best of days. Which this, " He indicates the groups various wounds, "certainly doesn't qualify!" He smiles.
"We could probably row out of here, but I don't like the thought of having to pass those guard towers. Unfortunately, I don't think I can summon a chill breeze, much less a fog to hide us. I'm just too,... I gave all I had during the battle. I'm sorry."
He looks around the group, and the room, trying to make sure that they didn;t miss anything else.
"Maybe if we wait to row out until the wee hours? And maybe it will be cloudy, and hide the moon?" He shrugs wistfully. "We need to try. I don't think I can climb the walls, and I definitely cannot fight worth a darn right now. I say we try it."
Laithe gives up on his idea of smoking out the imp, especially when Pharris reports back the holes they missed on the bank side. He is disappointed that they failed to catch the imp that slew Jirkin, but thankful that everyone made it through the battle.
To Pharris he says "You may have fought the best in this particular fight, but there will be other battles. There will be times when you will fight well and myself and others may not."
He raises his voice and addresses everyone with his next words. "The key lesson for this day is that together we have greater strength than each of us individually. I am greatful for the companionship and strength that each of you offer me and hope I offer the same back. I am honored to travel and fight next to each of you."
Laithe listens to various suggestions about what to do next. Once everyone had said there piece he pipes up. "I believe that we should make our way from the city, but not just yet. Though I long to be back out in the wilderness, I think we owe Hawthorn a visit to make sure he has not suffered for the hospitality he showed us. If he has, we should aid or else re-imberse him for his troubles. We could also all use the time to rest and heal before we hit the road. I say we find another warehouse nearby to rest the night, and make plans to leave tomorrow, or tomorrow evening. We may also need to buy supplies for the road and possibly off-load some of these goods while in town. Stonty may be able to help us there."
When the Knockers are out of ear-shot, Laithe whispers to the others. "Do you think it is wise to leave the box with the knocker? What's to stop the imps that escaped returning and setting the chain-devil free once more? Should we not take and safeguard the box with us?"
The girl helps the others with searching the warehouse. . But gives up and goes to wait by the exit.
After a short time she starts taking the nicks out of her blade with a whetstone.
*ssssrrrippp*
*ssssrrrippp*
*ssssrrrippp*
Kajetan nods in understanding as he reads the titles of the books, "The imps were scared of someone using the books to find out how to imprison, banish or dominate them, clever tactic." he comments, "if this information existed in this towns temple then it exists in others, maybe we should think of seeking out such lore for when we track them down again?"
As he continues his search he suddenly stops, clutching one page to his chest, "Oh my! Oh my, something survived," he carefully traps the loose sheet between the pages of his spell book to pursue latter.
He listens with interest to Laithe, "I think the knockers would be the ideal place to store the box, after all they have a vested interest in not ever opening it and sent their own into extreme danger to hunt the little chain covered devil down after the imp released him."
Laithe listens to various suggestions about what to do next. Once everyone had said there piece he pipes up. "I believe that we should make our way from the city, but not just yet. Though I long to be back out in the wilderness, I think we owe Hawthorn a visit to make sure he has not suffered for the hospitality he showed us. If he has, we should aid or else re-imberse him for his troubles. We could also all use the time to rest and heal before we hit the road. I say we find another warehouse nearby to rest the night, and make plans to leave tomorrow, or tomorrow evening. We may also need to buy supplies for the road and possibly off-load some of these goods while in town. Stonty may be able to help us there."When the Knockers are out of ear-shot, Laithe whispers to the others. "Do you think it is wise to leave the box with the knocker? What's to stop the imps that escaped returning and setting the chain-devil free once more? Should we not take and safeguard the box with us?"
"What else would you have us do with the box, Laithe? Hide it? If so, where? I would not like to carry this artifact with us over a long period... and I fear that we will never know whether we (or the knockers) are being watched by the imps, given their ability to turn invisible. I really don't like the idea of spending another day in town... when does the festival end? When will it become impossible to rely on masks for cover? I think that we would be just as safe, if not safer, if we hid on the outskirts of town... the less conspicuous among us (Nicolai? Kajetan?) could stay and do one last supply run, and make reparations to Hawthorn, if necessary... what say you, my friends?"
Upon hearing Kajetan's observations, Keildrithe responds: "yes, if the imps indeed fear that the knowledge that would lead to their capture can be found in libraries, then reason more to locate this Stephan... my understanding is that he is quite the scholar himself, possibly with access to good libraries..."
He listens with interest to Laithe, "I think the knockers would be the ideal place to store the box, after all they have a vested interest in not ever opening it and sent their own into extreme danger to hunt the little chain covered devil down after the imp released him."
Laithe listens to Kajetan's and Keildrithe's reasoning, though he still remains unconvinced. "I just figured we would be better placed to protect the box from falling into the wrong hands again. And with it, we might have a better chance of catching the other imps; they may come after us rather than us have to chase them. But I guess you are right; they didn't have to risk their own lives to chase it. Maybe they will be better placed to protect it in future..."
Regarding leaving town, Laithe nods at the suggestions. "As you know, I'm much more comfortable outside the walls than within. If we can find a safe way out then I'm happy to get out tonight; but I do still want to check on Hawthorn before we go. Perhaps a couple of us can sneak over there and make sure he's not in any trouble?" he suggests.
"And if we can find Stonty before we go we might be able to drop off a couple of these things before we go." He motions towards the tapestries and the less transportable treasures. "They are no good to us in the wild and he might be in a position to off-load them."
Laithe sees Nicolai still struggling from his deep wounds, and moves over to him. "I don't have much healing left, but you can use the little I can offer. You fought bravely." In saying so, he lays his hands over the worst of Nicolai's wounds and uses his remaining cure spells.
You remember hearing that the festival was drawing to an end in another few days at most; not this night, but perhaps the one after, or the one after that.
He listens with interest to Laithe, "I think the knockers would be the ideal place to store the box, after all they have a vested interest in not ever opening it and sent their own into extreme danger to hunt the little chain covered devil down after the imp released him."Laithe listens to Kajetan's and Keildrithe's reasoning, though he still remains unconvinced. "I just figured we would be better placed to protect the box from falling into the wrong hands again. And with it, we might have a better chance of catching the other imps; they may come after us rather than us have to chase them. But I guess you are right; they didn't have to risk their own lives to chase it. Maybe they will be better placed to protect it in future..."
Regarding leaving town, Laithe nods at the suggestions. "As you know, I'm much more comfortable outside the walls than within. If we can find a safe way out then I'm happy to get out tonight; but I do still want to check on Hawthorn before we go. Perhaps a couple of us can sneak over there and make sure he's not in any trouble?" he suggests.
"And if we can find Stonty before we go we might be able to drop off a couple of these things before we go." He motions towards the tapestries and the less transportable treasures. "They are no good to us in the wild and he might be in a position to off-load them."
"Your words are wise on all counts, my brother. Let us see them done... and if we must be the keepers of the box, then so be it... Are all in agreement with Laithe's suggestions, and also with the notion that we should seek out the monastery that Padre Stephan frequents? Who shall contact Hawthorn and Stonty, and who shall prepare our way out of the town?"
"Your words are wise on all counts, my brother. Let us see them done... and if we must be the keepers of the box, then so be it... Are all in agreement with Laithe's suggestions, and also with the notion that we should seek out the monastery that Padre Stephan frequents? Who shall contact Hawthorn and Stonty, and who shall prepare our way out of the town?"
"I agree we should seek out the Padre at the monastery" Laithe replies to Keildrithe's question.
"I would guess that Hawthorn may now be under watch. We are best served approaching the inn quietly. If we need to go in, it should be one of us who is less likely to be recognised by the church, and even then we should probably go under guise of the mask. I can accompany under the guise of a hound, though I will stay apart and keep watch."
"As for making our way out of town, I guess we can go over the wall again. My only fear is that, like Nicolai, I have no magic left to aid us. If we are spotted, we could find ourselves being pursued within the hour by Vorn and his mercenaries.
"I still prefer row boats over climbing the wall, but will do as the group decides..."
"Wasn't Hawthorn taken in for questioning, after last night's attack on the Inn?"
Pharris sighs and rejoins the discussions.
"We should sell off what we can and equip for the countryside. You and I are beginning to leave a very noticeable trail. Why Stefan? I forget."
The greatsword goes away.
"Wasn't Hawthorn taken in for questioning, after last night's attack on the Inn?"
"Wasn't Hawthorn taken in for questioning, after last night's attack on the Inn?"
Pharris sighs and rejoins the discussions.
"We should sell off what we can and equip for the countryside. You and I are beginning to leave a very noticeable trail. Why Stefan? I forget."
The greatsword goes away.
Laithe becomes concerned at hearing Hawthorn was taken in for questioning. "All the more reason we need to check on him before leaving. The Inquisition's methods are brutal, and I cannot stand by and do nothing if he is suffering for having sheltered us." His voice takes on a steely quality when he speaks of the Inquisition, the determination in his eyes plain to see.
"Let us search the rest of this place quickly to ensure no more threats remain. Who will then accompany me to the inn to check on Hawthorn? I think 3 of us at most should go, and we should arrange a rendezvous point. If we can find out where Stonty lives from Hawthorn then we can possibly visit him tonight before heading out. Otherwise, unless anyone knows where else we can offload some of this stuff, we may have to dump it or take it with us."
"Let us search the rest of this place quickly to ensure no more threats remain. Who will then accompany me to the inn to check on Hawthorn? I think 3 of us at most should go, and we should arrange a rendezvous point. If we can find out where Stonty lives from Hawthorn then we can possibly visit him tonight before heading out. Otherwise, unless anyone knows where else we can offload some of this stuff, we may have to dump it or take it with us."
"I can go with you Laithe, if neither Kajetan or Nicolai are up to it, but I do feel a bit conspicuous in this town..."
"I can go with you Laithe, if neither Kajetan or Nicolai are up to it, but I do feel a bit conspicuous in this town..."
Laithe smiles and nods at Keildrithe. "Your presence would be welcome, though it would be good for one who has not met Vorn directly to also come along. In saying that, if we cloak and mask up, we may be able to enter without notice even if the place is being watched."
"I'd like to go to Hawthorn. I hope he is free but my sword blow got him into trouble. When I took the head off that wererat."
Pharris masks up. "I do not have spells and ddin't suffer in the last fight like some of you."
"As for the Box, if it is near us, it is making us seem much worse in the eyes of the Church were we ever to be caught. There is no explanation they will understand. Let the kobolds keep it."
Nicholai thanks Laithe for his healing magic. Though he still looks like he went a few rounds with an ogre. Like the others he shows concern over the possible fate of the hostel owner.
"But I don't see what we can do about it if he is in trouble. I would like to know that he is alright. But if he IS being held and tortured, we are in no condition to do anything about it directly. And any attempt to aid him by sending a note to the inquisition on his behalf would only make them MORE suspicious."
He shakes his head wearily, and coughs.
"I agree that we should find out if he is alright. And try to unload our extra items with Stonty. ANd I happily volunteer to help with those. But if we run into trouble, I'll be next to worthless after the first crossbow shot. And I agree with Laithe that we must exercise extreme caution. One whiff of our presence, and we'll have your 'friend' on our heels."
He settles back with a wince, and looks at the knockers.
"Let the knockers keep the box. They've earned the right. And with this group to tell the tale, I think it will be a few generations before the knockers relax their vigilance on the box again. It will be safe with them."
"I'd like to go to Hawthorn. I hope he is free but my sword blow got him into trouble. When I took the head off that wererat."
Pharris masks up. "I do not have spells and ddin't suffer in the last fight like some of you."
Laithe nods. "My only concern is that you may be recognised; due to the rather spectacular fashion in which you disposed of the were-rat. But if we wear cloaks and masks we should be ok."
He looks around at everyone, apparently willing to come along. "I guess we would be better off sticking together as much as possible. But a large group entering the inn will attract attention. How about we all head over, but Alton, Kajetan and the Knockers wait a block away? I can run the perimeter and scout outside for any signs of danger. Pharris, Keildrithe and Nicolai can head in and hopefully get the information we need. If we encounter trouble, we'll all be nearby."
"We may be limited in our ability to help Hawthorn directly, but we may be able to offer him some of this treasure as compensation. He may also be able to fix us with some rations for the road, from his stores."
He turns to Nicolai and Kajetan "I don't suppose either of you have the strength left to cast a spell that will allow us to maintain communication?"
"Let the knockers keep the box. They've earned the right. And with this group to tell the tale, I think it will be a few generations before the knockers relax their vigilance on the box again. It will be safe with them."
As Pharris and Nicolai both add their support to leaving the box with the Knockers, Laithe consents with a nod.