"Was? Like it used to be? I'm sorry man, I know how that is. You holding up okay?"
Kytes turns to Iagon with an earnest expression. "Eir is calling me somewhere, so I have to follow her. You can come come if you want, or tell the others I'll be back soon!"
He hurries off after Eir at moderate hustle.
Once clear of the shop, Liamae takes a few moments to study the magical items.
Iagon cocks his head slightly, his brow furrowed, then looks up at Eir with a shrug. Though Iagon had always been in tune with nature and the beings within it, this communication was a new and foreign level of such a relationship. He found he was a bit envious of the ability. With a nod, he motions for Kytes to lead one. If there's something that needs attention, then I'd like to help. Never a bad idea to have someone to watch your back. He follows and keeps pace with Kytes, wondering what could have drawn Eir's attention so urgently.
The half giant sniffles once more and goes back to repairing the clock, ”Pa taught me all I knows. I’m good as him at fixin’ things. Ma and Pa used ta go on trips on dem big ships an’ leave the shop ta me. One day dey left an’ didna come back. I been takin’ care of stuff fer dem. Dat was a long time ago.”
He works for a beat more in silence then lifts his eyes to you, ”You lose yer Ma and Pa?”
You have to make your way through a yard or two, however, you fail to raise any alarm. Crossing a small overgrown field, you come to the edges of the Abbey ruins. Eir’s signature shrill shriek leads you along the outer walls of ancient masonry, the fading memories of a God gone and dead.
Finally you find him, perched on a what remains of a stone archway. Beyond the archway, under the heavy bough of a mighty oak tree, are the overgrown ruins of a small chapel. Choked with vines, a worn marble statue of Iomedae presides over the small cloister.
Malryk and Liamae exit the Blue Oyster Trading Co. just in time to see Kytes and Iagon disappear behind a house down the street, heading toward the Abbey ruins.
As he approaches the ruined Abbey, Kytes' jog transitions into a reverent, careful walk. As he nears the stone archway the inexperienced Paladin wonders why his goddess' house is in such a shambles.
His pace picks up again slightly as he crosses the archway, motivated by his initial instinct to tidy up the stone incarnation of his deity. Realizing he was forgetting himself, he halts several feet from the statue, draws his sword, connects the point of it to the stone ground in front of him, kneels and grasps his holy symbol with his free hand. Position of deference assumed, he begins a low prayer to the Inheritor.
Iagon recognizes foreign territory when he sees it. He stands a bit back from Kytes, though he does follow towards the chapel. Though this is obviously a godly place, he still goes through his mental preparations as he walks. Control, remember...control it. You can do good, but also so much bad....stay focused. At least he didn't still mumble to himself about it anymore, that had used to draw looks.
Roger nods. "Yeah, a couple of years ago. We lived on a houseboat by the harbor. Had a fire one night...you can figure out the rest. Freaking boats, man...us halflings should just stay away from them, am I right?" He chuckles sadly, eyes tearing up a bit.
The Abbey was dedicated to the worship of Aroden, and has been left to crumble since his vacancy. The chapel is a relic from when Iomedae served as Aroden’s herald.
Before it was a naval port, the city of Cassomir grew up around the Abbey. It’s been abandoned for as long as local memory. Rumors of strange sounds coming from the ruins and reports of missing persons has given the Abbey the reputation of being haunted.
Liamae slips on the medallion and pockets the ring for now. She gestures at the alley that Kytes and Iagon just went down. "Shall we follow them? Perhaps they would like our assistance now that we have spent our favors."
If Malryk agrees, she'll follow the pair.
** spoiler omitted **
The half-giant chuckles once although it's clear he's now fighting to hold back the tears.
"We's like bruddas," he says with a smile and a sniffle.
Kytes, as you finish your obeisance and prayer, you notice a glint of metal buried in the detritus and tangle of vines around the base of Iomedae's statue.
Malryk nods in agreement with elf maiden,”Best to keep an eye on them.”
With your pockets full, you try to catch up with Kytes and Iagon. You make your way between some houses and through an overgrown field to come to the outer walls of the ruined Abbey, but by this point you've lost sight of your new companions.
Liamae stops and scratches her head. "Hmm...which way do you suppose they went?"
Malryk sniffs the air trying to catch the scent of the half orc and his bird.
The scent trail is clear, ”Follow me, M’Lady.”
Say...how far away do you get stuff sent in from? If I ever break anything, maybe I could send it your way?"
Surprised and curious, Kytes investigates the metallic glint by tidying up the shrine in general. He clears away the weeds and other debris, and does his best to remove any dirt and grime from the statue.
Iagon wordlessly helps as best as he can, trusting that Kytes has seen something and needs further investigation.
The half-giant shrugs, ”People come from all over I guess, mostly here in town. I’d fix fer ya anyting ya need.” He leans over his small workbench and extends a massive hand for you to shake, ”Dey call me Junya, what’s yer name little brudda?”
Malryk’s keen nose leads him and Liamae to the chapel in time to find Kytes and Iagon cleaning it of vines, dirt, and rubble. As Kytes clears away the statue, he discovers a silver medallion on a chain at its base. The pendent bears the holy emblem of Iomedae. Eir screeches triumphantly as it is uncovered.
As he finishes tidying the statue Kytes clasps Iagon's shoulder with a smile, silently thanking him. Then, attending to the medallion, he sets down his gear and begins to rearrange a few things.
First he transfers the small amount of gold in his belt pouch to a pocket in his backpack. Next he opens the belt pouch out flat, then carefully -reverently, even- he picks the holy medallion up off the ground. Kytes gingerly uses the leather pouch to wipe away dirt or grime on the necklace before wrapping it in the pouch and tying it off. Finally, he places the wrapped item snugly within his backpack.
When the process is completed, he finally looks up to notice the others arriving. His wide, sincere smile returns. "Hey everyone! Eir found me something important. Oh, and Iagon helped me clean up around here a bit. Sorry if we took too long."
"No worries, my friends," Liamae says as she looks around the old shrine. "If you're all done here, we should see about spending the rest of our favors before preparing to depart."
Iagon nods and grins at Kytes, somehow happy with his accomplishment though he didn't know exactly what they were doing. In any event, it seemed to be important to Kytes, so it was worth spending a bit of time to help.
I'm ready whenever everyone else is.
Roger returns the handshake. "The name's Roger. Say, I don't suppose you'd be willing to sell me these tools? I used to be a heck of a lockpicker as a kid, wouldn't mind getting back into practice when I'm out there. Would give me something to do, at least."
Junya scratches his head and squints his face in contemplation. He's used to charging by the day, not selling things, so he's unsure how much those tools are worth. Furthermore, if they belonged to Pa, and if by some miracle one day Ma and Pa returned, Pa might be wondering where his fancy tools made off to. But, Junya is sure Pa won't be too sore about it. He shrugs, "I'd sell 'em to ya fer iunno... 30 gold. Dey was Pa's, afterall."
The rest of you return to the streets of the market place, probably wondering where Roger's at. It's now getting late into the afternoon. Considering none of you have eaten since probably breakfast this morning, a few of you have a rumbling in your tummies.
"Deal! Roger hands over the gold and shakes Junya's hand again. "Really appreciate it, mate-and don't worry, I'll take good care of them for your Pa. I'll see you around, alright? I'll make sure to come visit next time I'm in town. Take care, brother."
After he steps outside, Roger looks around. "Now where the hell did everyone go?"
Iagon responds to his grumbling belly with a hand to cover it, as if he could stifle the involuntary sound. He wrinkles up his nose and sniffs the air. Could be that I've never smelled anything better than that bread...or perhaps I'm just more hungry than usual. To the market then? I could use a bit to eat. He raises a hand in the air and waves it around as he searches about for their missing party member, making a fine spectacle of himself.
Eir produces a series of irritable chirps, hopping back and forth on Kytes' shoulder. The young paladin responds with a wordless nod, and Eir lifts off into the air with a series of powerful flaps. Within moments she's circling high above, looking for a meal.
"I'm pretty hungry, too. Eir can take care of herself, but we should find Roger and then find something to eat. We won't be much good on the road with empty stomachs."
Roger is able to regroup with everyone without much of a problem; you kind of stand out against the background.
The streets are busier now as the work day draws to a close and people are making their way home for supper.
Not sure about you guys, but the smell of that bread's near to driving me insane. I wouldn't mind taking a snack here before we go to find lodging for the night. Dinner before supper, you know...or is it the other way around.
"I don't think the order necessarily matters, as long as we have both."
"Aye, let's have as many fine meals as we can before we head out into the woods!" Liamae says with a laugh. "Let's head through the market before we decide on a place to stay tonight."
The Olde Abbey Market is still lively with people spending their day’s earnings on last minute food items. Beyond the colorful handwoven baskets and bags for sale at the entrance, open crates and barrels of fresh seasonal produce and sundry goods line the open air aisles. Off to one side, a wood fire oven stands, where the local baker is still busy producing loaves and baguettes. Cured meats and sausages hang from rafters along with wreaths of garlic and chili peppers. Wedges and wheels of cheese cover a long table. Bottles of wine line a high shelf.
One prominent display promises “Magic Spice!”
In the rear a tall blonde woman of possibly northern ancestry works the clerk counter. She seems busy with the late afternoon rush.
Kytes' eyes are caught by the wreaths of fine peppers on display in one section of the market. He had a decent amount of food stashed away for the trip, but he still very much had an orcish palate and the peppers were too tempting a travel snack for the young paladin to pass on. He selects a particularly scrumptious-looking batch while the others go about their business.
Roger selects a nice hunk of bread and a bit of sausage in order to make a little sandwich.
Iagon wanders through the market, attempting to take in all of the various offerings. He had always marveled at the skill of such craftsman that had spent their lives honing such trades. He approaches the woman, but seeing that she's busy, tries to make it brief.
Ma'am, I'd like a wedge of whatever that blue-veined cheese is there, and one of those dark loaves of bread over there. He gestures towards the baker. Darker the better, if you please. How much for that?
"And throw in a bottle of that elven absinthe. We're celebrating today!" Liamae adds.
The cashier answers Iagon with a smile, "One silver and two copper."
Using a step stool, the cashier takes the bottle of absinthe down from the topmost shelf with care and hands it to Liamae, "My that's a fancy drink. We don't sell many of those. What's you're cause for celebration?"
"New friendships and the beginning of a new adventure!" Liamae replies with a grin.
Iagon hands over his coin and then offers a deep nod to Liamae. He can't help but look at the bottle of absinthe with a furrowed brow. He'd heard of the drink, but little more than that. Never once in his simple living had he seen it or even heard how it would taste. Well...this is about new experiences, in any event
He rips off small pieces of bread as samples as he waits for the others to finish their transactions.
Kytes approaches the cashier and patiently waits his turn, though anyone paying attention would notice him idly fidgeting with the peppers. Not that he'd ever admit he was feeling impatient to indulge in his snack.
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The clerk responds to Liamae with a pained smile, , "Well that's certainly cause for celebration. You be careful out there."
You are all checked out eventually.
Iagon eyes the exchange from afar, but simply waits for Liamae to rejoin the group. He looks about at his new companions as he smears the soft blue-veined cheese between two roughly torn pieces of bread. In between chewing, he mumbles.
Gonna need a place to spend the night I guess..Shipyards any good for a safe place to sleep?
Iagon had the sinking feeling that he'd run into one of those vicious pirates with which his father used to deal. He winces at the thought.
Liamae gives the woman a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure you'll find your own adventure some day."
She joins her companions and pours each of them a glass of the green liquid. In response to Iagon, she says, "The Shipyards are fine, if a bit rough and tumble. It will save us some coin in the long run. Which leaves us more for celebrations like this!"
Once everybody has a drink in front of them, the elf raises her glass. "A toast! To camaraderie, adventure, and whatever the future may hold for us!" She knocks back the anise-flavored liquor, wincing slightly. "Mmm, good stuff!"
After paying, Kytes rejoins the group happily munching on a pepper.
Kytes politely refuses the glass offered to him with a raised palm. "I am sorry Lady Liamae, but The Inheritor requires that I keep a clear head for our journey tomorrow." He sort of stumbles around the unusually formal statement, but it is not insincere.
Moments later, Eir returns from her hunting and resumes her perch on Kytes' shoulder.
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"No problem, Kytes! More for me then!" Liamae laughs.
"Hear hear!" Roger drinks his absinthe quickly. "Damn, that stuff's great! Don't tell anyone I said this, but it's better than the swill most halflings cook up in their bathtub..."