Kurt grunts at Jaspers display of bloodlust, somewhat shocking the magus.
Well, these guys were at least partly responsible for killing and zombifiying his mother. Not to mention Keve
Without a word or emotion he dispactches the two sleeping slavers, then begins searching them for interesting loot or clues.
When finished, he suggests.
"Our slave fighting friends will likely be interested in this tale of a destroyed town. Once we find this otterowl I suggest we inform them."
You find no sign of the strange shapeshifter. However, you do find two series of tracks near where you had originally seen the creature. One set of tracks is clearly a booted humanoid. The other is from some kind of large canine.
Wanting no more talk of those people or whatever town they may have razed, Jasper set his eyes to the ground.
"Here. A dog? That's what we're after."
Without another word, he pressed ahead, squeezing any lingering doubts from his mind.
Kurt simply grunts at the tracks and follows the dwarf.
After a while, you lose the tracks among an area of torn dirt and scratched trees. It looks like a struggle took place here. You see a wolf taking shelter in the tall grass. A woman dressed in black scaled hide crouches next it. While the others are distracted by the savage pair, Kurt manages to catch someone aiming a bow at the group from behind a tree.
"Watch out!" Kurt hisses, pointing, "an archer over yonder!"
He moves to get some cover between himself and the archer ()
Vera, despite her protracted silence, doesn't hesitate to get behind a tree and draw her own bow. Arrow nocked but not tensed, she scans the treeline, fails to find the threat, and calls out to Kurt.
"Where? I cannot see them!"
Jasper, Ulfred, and Vera can go.
Keeping a wary eye on the pair, Ulfred moves to get behind cover as well, trying to move closer to melee range of the unseen archer.
After getting a swift point in the correct direction from Kurt, Vera steps roughly five feet our of cover while grabbing a pair of arrows from her quiver, overdraws them as much as her bow would allow, and lets them fly.
Jasper readied his bow and an arrow, aiming it at the person in the grass he could see; he dared not flair about for the archer.
"We have no quarrel with you! Let us not shed more blood this day!"
Vera's arrow hits home and strikes deep within the archer's chest. He collapses behind the tree where he was hiding. "Kalfa hold!" he shouts out. The wolf and its mistress don't move further towards you, but they don't really stand down either. "Who are you?" he asks. "I haven't seen you in our woods before.
"I am Vera Magda, Sister of the Golden Erinyes. This is an investigation into kidnapping and trafficking of citizenry." The ascetic speaks as she draws another pair of arrows but refrains from actually nocking them in her bow. "Frankly I know not why we took this diversion into your woods, but I would advise you to stand down. The Sisters do not take kindly to obstruction, but we have no quarrel with you."
"We know nothing of any slavers here. Have you tracked any to the woods?
Kurt sits back and keeps a color spray spell on the tip of his mind while the more loquacious and charismatic members of the group discourse with the new woods folk.
"To near the woods. We struck them down, and then my cohorts here began hunting after some sort of amazing technicolor animal." Having never seen the beast for herself, nor having taken part in the events building it up, Vera can merely shrug apathetically. "Neither its significance nor exactly what animal it was were ever adequately explained to me, but they were quite insistent on finding it."
Ulfred adds, ”Yes, it was also able to change form. First it was an otter, then it transformed into a bird.”
"We've seen beasts like these, and we have been tracking them down, but they always seem to get away. If you ever manage to get close enough, to strike them, the air itself seems to shimmer and protect them. We haven't had any luck with capturing or killing them."
It is beginning to get late. It may be best to return to your hut before darkness completely falls.
Vera casts her gaze skyward, peering at the setting sun through the trees. "Night is falling," she stated as she put her arrows back in her quiver. Nighttime was not a good time to be out and about in any section of Cheliax, no matter what the sacred laws supposedly protected from. Addressing not only the wildlings but her own companions, she adds, "You all had best seek shelter 'ere the light is gone."
Kurt nods.
"Aye, we best share the news of our former home being destroyed as well."
As you make your way back to the town, a crowd has gathered in the twilight of the town square. A loud voice can be heard over the many voices, but there is only a single sentence that can be heard. "Cheliax must be destroyed!"
Ulfred will try and find out what is going on, and listen out for any useful information above the shouts.
"Too long have we suffered under the tyranny of the devil monarchs. The wealthy take advantage of the workers who toil so the nobles have food to eat and clothes to wear. This foul nation even allows its merchants to trade in civilized folk as if they were cattle, and for the simple price of a stamp. Something needs to change. The social structure of the diabolists must be broken. The devils from which theyvdraw power must be abolished. Only then, can the world change."
The speaker is an young, elven man. He wears simple leathers. He is working the crowd up into a fervor. Strangely, the guards are nowhere to be seen.
At that phrase, Vera steps to action, pushing her way into the crowd, searching for the source of the shouting and trying to glean any other information she can.
She was ready to start dispersing the crowd if it got any worse, whether through words or through arrows.
Intensely interested at this crowd and talk of revolution, Kurt follows the fellow tiefling as she bulls her way through the crowd, hand on the hilt of his blade as he keeps.his eyes peeled for danger.
"I like not that the guards are nowhere to be seen during a crowd like this. Ulfred, where is your small friend do you think?"
Should Vera try to dispurse this unlawful gathering, Kurt will assist her with muscle, spell or blade, though colorspray will likely be his most flashy option.
As the only legal authority in the vicinity, Vera felt compelled to act in the name of the nation she held dear.
”In the name of Asmodeus, of law and of order, this snake-tongued vermin steers you astray!” She pulls herself onto a closed crate so that she could be heard over the din of the crowd. ”Gaze upon me, a half-blooded whelp, and through my example know the mercy of Cheliax! Nowhere else in this world could one like me rise up above the tyranny of her blood and low birth through sheer sweat and determination! Go back to your homes and families, leave this wretch to his ranting and raving. As my kinsmen, as my fellow Cheliax men and women, we are above petty conspiracies.”
"Let not this spawn cloud your thoughts. She is the personification of the deals struck by powers in charge. Hear her voice call out the Lord of the Pit. She knows her place is damnation and she would bring every good soul down to burn with her. Rise up, good people and let her hear your conviction! Let her know that you will no longer bow to the chains of the damned!"
Seeing an enforcer of Cheliax take the stage and confront the preacher shocks the audience back to their senses. They begin to disperse despite the protest of the elven speaker. He quickly realizes that his moment is gone. He sighs and begins to depart.
Once the crowd was shocked back to reality, Vera draws her instrument of Divine will, knocks a tangleshot arrow, and lets it fly at the instigator.
[b]"What the hell?"[/dice]
The speaker is surprised when Vera's sticky projectile glues his feet to the ground.
The rest of the party can make their actions for the surprise round.
Kurt stands near Vera and watches her work, hand casually placed on sword hilt.
Fascinating! I wonder where she is going with this
Jasper, Ulfred and Vera can go.
Surprised at this turn of events, Ulfred delays his turn.
Holy crap. I thought everyone had disappeared. Waiting on Vera and Jasper then.
Vera moves to her target and grabs them, trying to take advantage of their gunked-up and less maneuverable state.
Vera gets a solid hold of the preacher. Let me go! he says. However, he doesn't try to fight back or harm the tiefling.
Everyone go!
Kurt continues to looks mean and watch Vera's back, drawing his sword as he moves with her.
Vera pins the preacher on his stomach, holding his hands behind his back.
Ulfred follows Kurt and Vera, scanning the area for guards, but does not engage anyone yet.
Vera is able to force the man to the ground while Ulfred continues to monitor the complete lack of guards.
"I'm guessing I hit a nerve," the preacher says.
"No." Vera ties her target's hands behind their back, then pulls them up onto their feet. "Just arresting an instigator."
He doesn't resist as Vera pulls him to a standing position. "So what are you going to do with me?"
"Drag you to the Hellknights and let them deal with you." Vera did not have the luxury of time, and the paperwork required would leave her stuck there for hours. She had a divine purpose and this cretin was not going to eat through any more of her time. Completely ignoring her companions, she pushes her captive along towards the town's barracks.
As Vera escorts the offending preacher to the local barracks, Kurt catches something out of the corner of his eye. Near the side of a building, he sees what appears to be a small child watching the group. Her black hair is kept to a short pixie cut. Her blue eyes glare at the group and follow them through the crowd. She wears a short, plain, green dress. But as Kurt tries to get a better look at her, she disappears from view.
Kurt narrows his eyes at the girl as she vanishes before hissing.
"Be aware, a creepy girl was just giving us the evil eye then ran off. Could be trouble"
"Welcome to Cheliax," the monk groaned sarcastically, not even looking. Every good Chelish boy and girl was always on the lookout for those seeking to disrupt order.
The party arrives at the town's barracks. It stands apart from the rest of the town as the only local structure made entirely of stone. Heavy wooden doors with the symbol of the Devil Queen mark the main entrance. You can see a few poor souls locked within the cells of the structure behind barred windows. You enter a lightly decorated room. A heavily armored man sits behind a desk of hardwood. He looks up, expressionless, as you bring the preacher to him.
"I suppose this is the man who was speaking out in the town square."
"Indeed," she says as she shoves her captive forward. "Disrupting the peace, inciting a riot, and conspiring against the Infernal." Her words were equally as devoid of feeling as those of the Hellknight. There was no room for emotion when it came to the law.
Ulfred didn’t say anything, all these unholy symbols were making him more than a little bit uneasy. He decided it was best to just get this done with and then leave this place behind.