"I thank you for clearing up much of that as possible. My initial reaction says that we should find the ones that stand to benefit from a future king to be, being removed in such a manner amd why their discovery was an inconvenience, but there is little we can do with the remaining time today. Ill get proper sleep and think on possible courses we might take to discusd for the morrow." Chap finishes her thought aloud and discards the pick she mangled in her teeth.
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Lesith will take time to check on the town guards, making sure they are ok during the night, and also trying to detect any fires going on.
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After a day of investigations and preparations, your group splits up to face the night.
Chap, Arabeth, Cernan, and Eli head to their rooms upstairs in the Green Tree Inn to rest. They check to make sure their doors are locked and their windows are latched and belled, before drifting off into slumber.
Poterol sits at a table downstairs in the common room of the Green Tree Inn, writing in his journal, his keen elven ears picking up all noises throughout the Inn. Shyness paces nearby, periodically wandering upstairs or back to the kitchen, as Natanja feeds Oko morsels of meat.
Sister Azmaria, Aeryth, Marius, and Lesith patrol outside around town, checking in with the guards and watching out for fiends, fires, or unusual magic.
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"Greetings, my friends."
Angelina's voice is like music, making all seem right with the world.
"I hope you are well. How fares Endurant? What have you discovered?"
After the other patrons have headed upstairs or to their homes, Bob Treekeep, himself awake, fully dressed, armed with a knife, and tense, notices your vigil. He heads over to speak to the three of you.
"I appreciate your keepin' watch. Is there anything else we can do? Who do you suppose is behind all this?"
When you stop by one of the main city gates, you encounter Captain Ronald, along with the other guards, who seem noticeably tense. The Captain raises an eyebrow at Marius and Rex, but smiles grimly at you and nods. Speaking to the other guards, he introduces you.
"Men, these are some of the group that brought us word of Endurant's destruction."
The Captain turns to you.
"Thank you again for the warning. What can we do for you? Is there anything else we should know?"
Dream Team
"They're dead. All but a single little girl in Endurant perished to flames, stabbed by vile spirits called "imps" in the night until they could no longer move, and burned alive, unless they suffocated first. We killed most of the imps, but one escaped and another invisible spirit spied upon us as we tarried there."
He looks up. "We were too late. I failed you. I am sorry."
Ducking his head again in shame, he continues, through his choked up voice, "The girl was placed with her uncle Max Gelthis and ensured she was well taken care of. We have also taken the liberty of giving advanced notice to the town captain, the chief priest here, and the Treekeeps some simple but hopefully effective methods of warding against some imps. I... pray we did some good."
With that, he dons his mask, once again. "We found the axe of the mayor of Endurant, and the dagger and ring of one Lord Hawkthorn - reportedly on his way to being the next High-Chief of Theramark. Cernan can tell you more of the responses to these things by the mayor and captain of the guard of Vigilant." his "normal" emotionless monotone reasserting itself. He continues kneeling before her.
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"It's worse than I feared ... much worse ... but you have done no wrong."
Her large aqua eyes look to Cernan, Arabeth, and Chap for confirmation of Eli's words and any additional news.
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Glancing towards where she has become aware of the others she offers them a smile of greetings before turning her gaze towards their.. 'summoner'... or patron.. or... Aunt? offering a slightly sadder smile in greetings towards Angelina.
At Eli's words Arabeth too blinks back tears as the trauma of what greeted the troupe in the remains of Endurant again briefly flash through her mind. Her great wings droop to touch the grass as her sadness and strain rise up within her chest.
She nods in agreement with Eli's assessment/report,
"It is as brother Eli has said. Waste, wrack and ruin were our greetings at Endurant. With but a small sliver of salvation of the young girl Gina found surviving the events." Arabeth sighs, wiping at the corners of her eyes for a moment.
"We have precious few leads as to the 'Why' of things. Even an idea of motive currently eludes us. Was a whole town raised just for the advancement of some single Noble's fortune? Or was the whole torrid thing done to hide something else?" Arabeth's shoulders sag, her wings drooping further.
"There are so many questions to seek answers for..... It seems that we're turning over grains of beach sand there are so many thoughts and ideas about who may have done what...." She smiles gratefully at Angelina's comment of now knowing that the group has having done the best they could.
"But tomorrow is a new day and so we'll get to turning over sand." Arabeth declares, trying to bring some improvement to the emotions and feelings to her companions.
"No need to thank us, it was our sad task to do it. The fiends that attacked us could make themselves invisible, and their tiny size don't hinder them, but make them much more dangerous, as they can become invisible and are really had to spot or attack, while they can poison us, paralyzing us, and set things on fire all round. Stuff of nightmares really. But with faith in god and each other we will prevail. I just hope where are mistaken and they don't show up here. Let us know if we can do anything to help. And let me introduce to you my cousin Aeryth here. Aeryth, this is Captain Ronald, head of the Vigilant guard."
"Everyone was dead. Worse than just 'trouble,' and it seems they were killed just before you even sent us. Might want to tell whomever you're getting these warnings from that they gotta be a little more timely and specific."
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A world of sadness clouds Angelina's eyes at Cernan's words.
"I wish it was so simple. I'm so very sorry I couldn't do more in time.
Still, you have done much good: You have destroyed fiends, saved a life, and warned Vigilant, and you may yet be able to stop the evil forces behind this massacre.
You say the entire village was burned down, with only one child surviving?
That means Mayor Daniel, his family, and all the rest were killed."
She shakes her head in disbelief, her soft hair cascading around her shoulders.
"How utterly horrible. I'm relieved to hear you killed most of the imps who carried out the slaughter, but I'm certain this wasn't just random fiendish mischief. I must ask you to seek out and stop those responsible for sending them."
Her eyes darken as she thinks, furiously.
"Now, did you also say you found the Hawkthorne family ring and dagger among the wreckage of Endurant? Are you suggesting that John was present there and was killed, too?"
She exhales deeply, looking more troubled than ever.
"If that's true, then it's a sad day for Theramark, indeed. That man did so much good for our people. No doubt he would have done more..."
Her brow furrows, and her delicate jaw sets with determination.
"You seek a motive. Well, there it is. Evil always endeavors to crush those capable of doing the most good. Until now, I, too, had no understanding of why a sweet little village like Endurant might be targeted... but it seems that political ambition, when mixed with evil, knows no bounds."
She paces as she thinks, the result appearing to be a supremely graceful glide.
"Was the Endurant massacre made to look like an accident, either of man or nature? If so, I hope you can help to prove otherwise."
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Though an eyebrow does raise in an arch slightly... As the good Lady Angelina speaks Arabeth listens intently. At their patron's question, Arabeth's frown deepens slightly.
"Well.. the destruction was such that should any one have come across the ruins later than ourselves then little of any evidence would have remained. The destruction certainly was total as far as the town was concerned... Almost seemingly as if the perpetrators wanted the image of over kill to be so obvious." Arabeth sighs.
"That the destruction was orchestrated, we've already gathered that evidence and taken it to the authorities. Now, comes the task of seeking the pieces of the puzzle that we might fix together a better understanding of who is doing what to whom... Other than slaughtering a town as such..." Arabeth glances towards Cernana casually, as if awaiting his advice.
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Marius offers his hand and introduces himself in turn. "Marius. A pleasure. Wish it were under better circumstances." He glances down at Rex, sitting patiently by his side, when the obvious strikes him. "Dogs can sniff 'em out. Even if the eyes can't spot them, they still stink like the pit they crawled out of. If there's any guard dogs to rouse, now would be the time."
The Captain nods at Marius' suggestion.
"Guard dogs. An excellent idea. We have two. I'll get them out on patrol now."
He gives some orders to one of the guardsmen, who hurries off quickly.
Otherwise, it seems to be a quiet night, with fewer citizens than usual venturing outdoors.
Bob looks somewhat curious at Poterol's mention of a guardian angel and dreams, but then focuses on Shyness' comment.
"I don't think I'll be getting much rest tonight."
He glances around, tensing at each slight creak in the floorboards caused by Shyness' pacing.
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Angelina smiles sadly at Chap's words, the aqua mist swirling at the edges of your vision.
"When I spoke of 'our people,' I meant the people of Theramark. I do tend to consider this kingdom my home. I am Angelina, granddaughter of Raphael. I have long resided in this land, wandering its ways and learning its people. At present, I am not free to wander, so I make my journeys through magic such as this, reaching out to you, my distant kin, to be my eyes and ears, my hands and feet. Even here in this dreamscape, I must be careful with my words. The more specific I am, the greater the chance of detection."
Her large crystal-blue eyes glance briefly from side to side before returning to focus on you with a pleading intensity.
"I must beg you not to let this matter drop. Seek justice for those responsible for Endurant's demise. You have a possible motive. Sadly, I believe it rings true. However, political ambition is only one step on the path to a more fiendish goal that endangers us all. Come to Resplendent, Theramark's capital city. Perhaps here you might..."
She breaks off suddenly, her lovely eyes darting toward an unremarkable spot off to her side, growing frightfully wide, and then looking apologetically back at you.
"I'm sorry."
The dream ends abruptly, and you wake up, alone, in your room at the Green Tree Inn.
Lesith will go patrolling with one of the dog teams...
"Maybe this time, we should buy some horses," Cernan mutters, mostly to himself.
Clutching her great cape about her shoulders, she knocks upon the door of the closest fellow sleeper, Arabeth seeks to see if they too are now awake.
Eli wakes with a start. Recognizing the danger, there, but uncertain exactly what is going to happen next, he rises, quickly cleans himself and Calm, and dresses and masks himself.
He gathers his items, and steps out of the door, to speak with those who were dreaming with him, seeking out his cousins and discussing with them as they seek to discover what happened while they were asleep.
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"Shall we find out?"
Natanja climbs up the stairs.
Those already upstairs see her emerge into the hallway behind Shyness.
When she sees several of you up and about, she nods, walks over, and speaks softly.
"What news, Dreamers? Have you received another visit from our Lady?"
"She thinks the fiends are coming to Resplendent, not Vigilant, next—and suggested that trouble might have already arrived. I believe it may be wise to depart as soon as possible, on the fastest horses available."
Arabeth smiles at Cernan's comment as he emerges and joins the conversation.
"Succinct as ever." :)
"How far away is Resplendent? What sort of ground is between there and here?" Arabeth asks, even as they begin to move so as to meet up with/inform every one else.
Natanja frowns at Arabeth and Cernan's words.
"The Capital? Are the fiends so bold? I know there is a good trade road from here to Resplendent, but it would still probably take us a couple weeks to get there. Now, what did Angelina say? And how did the dream end?."
"That is the most disturbing part. The dream ended with our patron looking.. scared?" Arabeth looks to Cernan for confirmation, support, "Before we all being more or less forcefully awoken. Or, something like thrown from the dream." Something of dismay crosses Arabeth's features.
"Weeks?" She looks both alarmed and frustrated. "We need to at least get a message or some warning there faster than weeks....We should go to the officials and seek aid in this."
He nods at Shyness, Natanja, and Poterol, looking at each of his cousins. He brings them into a room, if possible, to discuss things in private.
He looks at Cernan, Arabeth, and Natanja as they each voice their ideas and concerns, listening to them all.
"Angelina seems to be in a tricky situation herself." Eli explains without any trace of his emotions.
"It seems that things are more complex than they might have appeared on the surface. She recommended that we come to the capital, because it seems that whoever is responsible is likely there." he says, his monotone giving nothing away. "What's more it seems like political ambition is only the first step. At least that was my impression."
He breathes a long, emotionless sigh. "I believe that Cernan is correct - that we should go to the capital as fast as possible. Natanja, if we use our abilities to heal our mounts to push them further and faster, do you believe we can make it faster." he... asks. Yes. He asks. His monotone makes it a little hard to tell, but you're pretty sure it's a question.
Turning to Arabeth, he continues, "However long it takes us, it will either take any messengers longer or put them at unnecessary risk or both." he says without traces of emotion.
"My only hesitation is leaving these people unguarded. It may be that they are entirely spared but they are also the closest to the disaster physically speaking." he says, flatly.
He nods, to himself. "I agree we should go. I think that we should go together as well for the most part." he states. "I am just concerned for the sake of these people."
"We should solicit opinions from those here and then head out together though those who've not slept should likely do so first." he notes.
"What I was intending to mean was that birds and magic fly faster than horses..." She points out. "We should try and have the local authorities send word via such. We might also glean some understanding of the politics by gauging the people in power's reactions to our warnings..."
At Eli's urging, Nataja, Poterol, Shyness, Chap, Arabeth, and Cernan quickly join him in the side meeting room downstairs to discuss the matter privately.
Natanja considers Arabeth, Cernan, and Eli's words.
"I could go outside now to find our patrolling kin and see if, perhaps, Captain Ronald is on watch as well. He could get a message to the Lord Mayor, who could in turn see that word is sent quickly to the Capital. But... what word? What message exactly do we want sent, and to whom?"
"As for our own travel, we would definitely have to rest several times between here and Resplendent even if we used healing to push our mounts. And, especially given the current situation, I would think we should definitely have some of us on guard at night. Those guards would have to rest somehow. Perhaps we should simply set out using the mules and cart we already own? We wouldn't have to take the time to find and negotiate the purchase of horses, and those who have been awake all night could take turns resting in the cart two or three at a time as we head to Resplendent, as could those who take night watch along the way. If we rode horses at full speed, we wouldn't be able to bring anything like a cart. If we're going to buy anything before we go, perhaps it should be a second cart so more can rest at once along the way."
"If someone is currently being attacked in Resplendent, then we are already too late to stop it. If something will be happening in the near future, then we may yet be able to prevent it, but we must be in a fair condition to do so by the time we arrive, not sleep-deprived and exhausted."
Oko gives a soft caw, as if agreeing with Natanja.