Herri now back at the Rusty Dragon sits to urges/waves from the speaker. After carefully listening to the bunch Herri asked,
"Now that we all think back to the fights it all seemed so orchestrated. Look at the the timing of the attacks to start. You say goblins aren't that smart and they have left no trace here in town of the visit, maybe we should go where the goblins live. Let's pay them a visit to get some answers. Does anyone know where that is?"
Shalelu arches her slender eyebrow at Herri's comment. "Are you forgetting the obligation you just made to the good Sheriff and Mayor? I will scout the local area, and perhaps in a few days, when Hemlock returns, you can pay the locals a visit if we deem it worthwhile."
She ponders Elaina's comment, then adds, "Actually, killing and burning is exactly what goblins do. They're just usually exceedingly bad at it." She nods her head at Bellamy, "he has the right of it, it wasn't senseless. We just don't know the motive, yet. What would anyone want with the Good Father Tobyn's remains?"
"Well, there were a couple skeletons there at the tomb. So maybe it was some kind of necromancer that stole them. I can't say I know much on the topic though, so does anyone know if there are any special necromantic rituals that require the use of the remains of holy men? Is an undead raised from a holy man more powerful than a regular one?"
Shalelu shrugs. "That is beyond my area of expertise. It certainly seems like they might choose a holy man out of spite, if nothing else."
Bellamy shrugs his shoulders "The theory of a necromancer being involved has a hole in it" He stretches the tear in his shirt "The Robe of Bones can be used by anyone, even those without magical knowledge...so long as they know what the rob is and it is capable of" Bellamy leans into the table once more, his eyes hovering between his companions and Shalelu.
"I believe someone intelligent is working with the goblins and providing them with such toys, and this person could also be our traitor" Bellamy plunges his fork into his plate once more but is only rewarded by a screech as the fork finds nothing.
"Nothing sadder than an empty plate" He comments with a half smile.
"But who else would want skeletal remains except for a necromancer."
"We are looking at this in a very logical way...which is why we are probably missing that the remains could have been stolen for an illogical reason" Bellamy turns his attention to Zella and lets his fork fall to his empty plate with a soft ring.
"Shalelu mentions an interesting point; spite" Bellamy lowers his head as he considers this further "If this is true then we are dealing with someone who is not only a traitor but also a man who's willing to sacrifice many for his whims and grudges" The sorcerer leaves his chair and stands up, feeling the sudden urge to move.
"Hmm, okay. Illogical reasons."
Zella thinks for a moment.
"The goblins needed some human bones to make their wind-chimes with and pick a holy man's by accident?"
Again, Shalelu shrugs her slender shoulders. "What sacrifice is a goblin to anyone, let alone someone willing to use them to further their own dark needs?"
"I was mostly thinking of the people of Sandpoint when I spoke of sacrifices, assuming the one who's controlling the goblins is from here" Bellamy stretches his arms backwards and bends his back slightly.
"In the end it is a theory, and its chances are just as good as Zella's necromancer theory" Bellamy runs his fingers through his hair "Is there anything else we missed?"
Nover sighs at some of the suggestions but remains calm like he does most of the time.
"Well attacking the goblins where they live to shake some down for information is probably not a good idea, at least not right now. We don't have enough information or enough of a reason to do it. While I would normally be all for it we have a duty to the town first, and that means going on that boar hunt tomorrow and coming back and partying it up with the town. By the way how much money did that noble give us? I need a spear and maybe some javelins or a bow for the hunt tomorrow."
Taking a drink from his cup of water he continues and tries to summarize a lot of thoughts.
"Yesterday goblins snuck into town somehow and likely with somebodies help, to be a distraction for someone else to steal the bones of a dead priest. For whatever reason that the bones were stolen we can all guess it is for something not good, if you have any ideas take bets on it and start a pool winning theory gets the pool. For now we sit tight, go hunting tomorrow, wait for the sheriff to come back, then go after the goblins."
"The cemetery is by the gate. They could have snuck in after everyone went to bed and stole the bones then and not lost a bunch of goblins in the process. I think there's more to it." She sighs and shakes her head. "But I hope not."
"Well, now I am thinking the goblins are only a secondary problem. If there is someone in the town, plotting ways to cause havoc and destruction, they will manage to continue doing that even if we removed the goblins from the picture."
Herri thought about his commitment to the town and understood the comments he received. Herri thought to himself... slow down, one task at a time. It will all come together. Iomedae is patient.
"Great point Nover. We have duties here and how could we miss the pork feast from our boar hunt. I think I need some equipment for that too. Is there a shop here? Anyway, this goblin mess will all play out as evil will fail."
Shalelu thinks for a moment, her expression not changing, but her eyes brightening. This was her element, and she was very proud of her work. "Let's see...as far as leaders go. There's six possibilities,in all. Big Gugmut is a tall, muscular goblin who lives in the Mosswood. Koruvus is the champion of the Seven Tooth tribe, a particularly bad tempered brute who unfortunately possesses a magic sword. Thankfully, he hasn't been heard from in months and is hopefully in the goblin afterlife. Vorka is a brutal goblin cannibal who terrorizes the Licktoad tribe in the Brinestump marsh. Rendwattle Gutwad is the fat chief of the Brinestumps. Ripnugget is the chief of the Thistletop goblins, who possess arguably the finest lair of the five tribes.
Then there's Bruthazmus, a bugbear ranger who lives in the northern Nettlewood. I've run in with him a few times, to no avail. He is crafty and formidable, but is not intelligent enough to organize this. He lives alone, but trades with the five tribes."
"If Bruthazmus is involved with all the tribes he might know something. Someone should bring him a cake." Elaina does her best to make her voice gravely and low. "'This is a delicious cake, Shalelu. I do not have an oven because I live in a tree. By the way, the goblin tribes have united under ----". She coughs and takes a sip of her juice.
"A cake is not exactly the present I have in mind for Bruthazmus." Shalelu smirks at the comment, letting her gaze fall over all of them. "It is about time for me to depart. Anything else you wish to discuss?"
"I don't know what a bugbear is but a cake would work on me so I think it's worth a shot. The one guy in the land that talks to all the local goblins might have some interesting insight."
Life continued on in the Rusty Dragon around them, people laughed, had jovial conversation and even the occasional depressing words were followed by consoling gestures and replies, while here they were discussing a puzzle within a mystery. Bellamy stretched a little more before standing straight again, as far he was concerned any of their theories could be true and all of them could lead to very different outcomes or counter responses, but there was one thing the sorcerer thought was the common factor between their theories and ideas The traitor A sober look came over his face, he didn't like the entire concept, but he couldn't deny its plausibility...as much as he wanted to.
"Nothing we have not already gone through" Bellamy walked to the bar with unusually slow footsteps and sat down on one of the empty chairs, smiling at any who recognized him or greeted him. A half full glass of water sat beside him, unattended and unclaimed. He stared at it and found this state to be frighteningly familiar to how he'd been when he had his heart broken; thinking and fretting about something he could not fix or deal with at the time The world will keep moving whether I stop and sulk or keep going forward and enjoy myself He picked up the glass and with a swift movement swished the container towards his face. The stream of water jumped into the air and broke upon his face in a torrent of drops, half of his hair was soaked along with his face and well trimmed beard. Bellamy shook his face slightly causing a few, stray beads of water to jump away from the new surface they were traveling on.
A more natural smile appeared on Bellamy's face, his right hand ran through his wet hair then he looked forward, placed the glass down and put his fist under his chin, considering what he should do to enjoy himself before sleep took him.
"We could try diplomacy first, but if that doesn't work we can always break kneecaps second. Regardless we all need to prepare for the boar hunt tomorrow, everyone should get a spear, with the money the noble provided us with we could easily outfit ourselves with some longspears or boar spears. Let's take a trip to the Savah's and see what we can get our hands on."
Shalelu looks at Elaina, confusion all over her face, but she laughs a little at the statement. "My insight is that Bruthazmus would prefer elf to cake at any time. Bugbears are larger cousins of goblins. Very dangerous. Don't worry, I will get some information! Be well, all of you." With that, she gets up and quickly strides through the door.
Bellamy gets a few startled stares whenever he splashes the water on his face, but they quickly dissipate. This is a tavern, after all, and people needing a splash or dunk of water in the morning to get motivated is all too common.
An impish smile lit up on Bellamy's face, he focused his eyes towards the kitchen It seems that my dance with worry will end soon The sorcerer placed both of his hands near his face, his palms facing each other. The air between them began acquiring a hazy, reverberating quality "I am the spirit of the kitchen, you will bake something sweet for the sorcerer at the bar, or I will leave you with the curse of overcooked food" Spoke Bellamy, not bothering to alter his tone of speech.
A few minutes later, Ameiko comes out of the back, carrying a freshly baked pie, by the looks of it. She smiles sweetly at all of you, particularly Bellamy as she walks to your table, making as if to set the pie down. Placing a hand underneath it, she proceeds to angle it towards the mischievous sorcerer, aiming for his face.
A bit sloppy, but she manages to catch Bellamy with it, covering him in pie crust and raspberry filling. "Is that sweet enough for ya, or will my kitchen suffer the curse mentioned back there?" She laughs, rolling her eyes. "You scared my cooks half to death, ya fool."
Zella ends up under her table somehow. No one is quite sure if this is due to her trying to avoid any flying baked goods or if it has something to do with her laughing so hard tears are coming from her eyes.
Crust and pie filling covered Bellamy's world. The smell of the freshly baked treat filed his nostrils, and its taste was on his tongue but he was still smiling. The black haired man brought his hand over his face and rubbed what was left of the pie away.
*"You scared my cooks half to death, ya fool"
Bellamy's smile became smaller, with a flick of the wrist all traces of tasty pastries were gone from his face and hands "Sincerest apologies" He replied in a very somber and sincere tone "I promise not to frighten your cooks again" Not intentinally at least He added mentally.
A moment passed before Bellamy reached out to the hand that served his pie and kissed it().
"But thank you for the pie it has helped me far more than you'd believe" Once more the sorcerer sounded sincere, but his natural joviality was back in his voice.
Seeing the pie, Novers brow furrows.
"Alright, Bellamy I'm cutting you off the ale, fer about a week."
Bellamy secures a hand and brushes his lips across it before it is snatched away by a laughing Ameiko. Her mild irritation does not hold, and her tanned features darken ever so slightly at his words. "Oh you rogue. Anything to have another say, is it?" She rolls her dark eyes again, but is obviously not displeased.
She looks to Nover, grinning. "Aye, you're a good friend, Nover. Might'n make it two, just to be sure." She winks at the dwarf, then waves to the rest of them, her look lingering on the dark-haired sorceror before she retreats once more to the back.
Herri looks to this pie fight as if he had seen this all before.
"Just like Mom and Dad. I so miss times like this."
Horef happened tobe sitting a bit to close and has some pie on him. He reaches down to his shirt and scoops a bit to his finger. He swiftly takes a taste.
Quietly he mumbles, Mmm good. I wonder if there will be more.
The Minkai woman nods at Herri, grinning. "Tis more for you, good sir. And I might even serve it with a plate and fork, if you forego the cheek of this one here." She gestures towards Bellamy. She hurries to the back and swiftly brings out another steaming pie. Five small plates are set on the table, along with five forks and a knife.
The Rusty Dragon is settling down for the night. Few people are seated at the tables, and half of those are only there because they fell asleep before they could make it to their rooms. The tired staff comes out, attacking the remaining tables with wet rags, getting everything tore down before they bed down for the night.
Despite missing the conversations, laughter and noise of its many patrons, the Rusty Dragon was still as inviting and warm as its been when they had been here. The few footsteps that rang across the floorboards became part of the atmosphere, coupled by the song of the crackling fireplace; the flame within continuing to feast on its wooden meal. Bellamy's eyes were fixed on the fire, its light glinting off his blue eyes, the sorcerer closed his eyes hopped of his seat and looked around.
Noticing Ameiko without the usual crowd was easy, and walking to her took even less time "Is there another pie for me? Or should I retire to my bed before you call the sheriff yourself?" Chuckled Bellamy, before giving the owner of the inn a smile.
"If there is anything I could help with though, do not hesitate to ask"
Grabbing the plate and some pie Nover eats rather quickly noticing how tired he is getting.
"Don't get your face all over this one Bell. On the other hand, boss would you want that drink recipe I made for the festival? Although the juice was probably a lot better and I have some more plans for that in the future. Ms. Elaina, I would be happy to walk you back to your inn before heading home myself."
Finishing up Nover stands up, getting ready to go.
Bellamy laughs at Nover's comment "It seems pies are naturally attracted to my face" He paused as pointed towards his empty plate "But this one only succeeded at entering my mouth"
"Nover, you would honor me with your recipe. We'll discuss payment for your hard work and proprietary knowledge on the morrow, ok? Such things shouldn't be reckoned so late at night." Ameiko's easy smile lights up at the dwarf.
Turning to Bellamy, she grins as she approaches him, swaying a bit more than usual, hips rocking back and forth. She leans forward, her lips a few mere inches from his ear. "Perhaps you should ensure your face and mouth are less inviting next time, lest I forget myself again." She blows lightly, then backs away, grinning wickedly.
She gives the party as a whole a brief wave of her arm. "I fear I have had enough for tonight. I appreciate the offer of help, but I believe my staff might take you outside and beat you if you put them out of a job. Good night." With that, she heads into the back by a different door than the kitchen.
"Feel free to forget yourself at anytime" He replied before mirroring her grin.
"Sleep well everyone" Bellamy walked to his room, the sound of Ameiko's employees giving finishing touches to the now darkened interior of the inn accompanying him there.
The door creaked as he swung it open, he threw his vest to the side of the bed and reached for his shirt but then noticed the hole left on it by the goblin's blade I should find a replacement, I doubt I could jest about this for too long He smiled at himself before throwing the shirt over his vest and then followed suit as flung himself on his bed.
Bellamy placed his open palm in front of his face, focused his arcane energy and watched as it gathered and pulsed in his hand, he spun his hand causing his back hand to face him and the amorphous sphere of arcane energy to rotate and gravitate to to the back of his hand instead, he then tapped further into his arcane energy and felt heat as the arcane ball turned into a floating flame that lit up his room. It continued hovering for a few moments before Bellamy released his concentration and let it extinguish itself.
It's the pre-dawn hours of the next morning, the day of your planned boar-hunting trip with the nobleman, Aldern Foxglove. The delicious smell of breakfast greets your waking senses, and the birds are already starting their song. The sky appears cloudless, offering another warm day to the residents of Sandpoint.
With a fresh piece of bread from the Rusty Dragon in his mouth, Bellamy was running and jumping across the roofs of Sandpoint. The wind sailing across his body, pulling and tugging at his clothes and hair. On occasion he would stop and stare at the streets below him, taking in the sight of the early risers and the merchants preparing for another day of honest work. The sorcerer gave a wave to any who greeted him, and then incorporated various flips and twists as he defied gravity for a few moments, before its chains inevitably pulled him down from his flight.
Finally the sorcerer was greeted to a view of the Rusty Dragon being colored by the beams of the rising son, sketching shadows to all its its rays touched. Bellamy took a deep breath, dash forward and lunged into the air. The sorcerer smiled as he brought his knees to his chest, spun forward and began his descent.
Miniature ghosts of dust reached out from the disturbed ground the black haired sorcerer stood on. He straightened his vest and then entered the inn through the door, the smell of fresh breakfast he left behind when he began his 'patrol' still lingered in the atmosphere and Bellamy happily took it in.
Cutting his way through the staff and few patrons, Bellamy made his way to the bar, and occupied his usual seat "And how does the morning find the fair maiden? Is she still chained to the kitchen of the dragon with no choice but to do his bidding?" Asked Bellamy, raising his voice in hopes of it reaching Ameiko within her noisy place of work.
Heading over to the Armory, Nover hopes Savah's is open this early. Weighing his coin pouch he was looking at something with a little more reach than his warhammer could provide.
Awakening to the smell of breakfast, Zella opts for her traveling outfit rather than her entertaining one since they will be riding horses today. She also pulls back her hair into a ponytail so that it won't get caught on any low hanging branches.
Heading down the stairs and into the common room, Zella asks for whatever is ready to eat now, so that she can hurry on over to the stables when done.
Elaina wakes feeling fully refreshed and recovered from the events of the festival. She heads to the common room for breakfast but finds she's too excited to eat very much. "I'm gonna be out of town all day Mister Viskalai. I'm gonna be hunting on horses!" She gives the owner a very self satisfied grin and nibbles on some bread.
I shall head to the shops as well. Thinking to himself... never been boarhunting, I wonder what i will need. At least I have my longsword.
Zella finds herself swamped with a heavy plate filled with toast, bacon, eggs, and sausage. Ameiko's establishment isn't nearly as nice as the White Deer, but she exceeds expectations with such fare, and always ready when desired.
Bellamy again manages to not break any bones on his aerial trek to the Rusty Dragon. You would almost think he did this often. But it was frowned upon by Sheriff Hemlock, so of course he wouldn't. Ameiko peeks her head out from the kitchen where she can be heard overseeing the breakfast rush. She rolls her dark eyes yet again, but wears a warm smile. "Do you ever stop, I wonder?" She gives an exaggerated look around. "This dragon is huge, and has a wondrous appetite. Might'n be certain roguish sorcerers should not tarry, lest they become the next course." A rather unreadable small upturn of her lips greets this statement, then she is gone, back to laughing and yelling commands to her staff.
Nover makes it to Savah's, and indeed it is open, the husky Savah herself working the forge. She places a few well-timed blows upon the sword she is working on, then dips it into the barrel of tempering water next to her. The sword is quickly pulled out and set to the side to cool. She looks to Nover, her gruff manner lessening slightly. "Ahhh, Nover. What can I be doing fer ya this morn?"
Viskalai nods absently to Elaina, obviously not sure why the dancer decided to share her plans with him. A few of the Inn's early risers, mainly young men, give Elaina admiring glances as she picks at her food.
Herri heads out into town, making his way to Savah's after Nover. The burly female looks over Nover and nods at Herri. "Welcome, stranger. What can I do fer ya?"
Eyeing the weaponry on the wall the dwarf is looking at the polearms.
"I'm lookin' fer something with a bit more reach than this here warhammer. One of them polearms with a hammer on it. I've seen a few travellers wander through with them. What was it called, luci, loosi, ah lucerne hammer. Think you can help me out Savah? I need it for boar hunting, and while a spear would probably be better, a hammer will always be a dwarves best friend."
Savah gives a skeptical look to the dwarf, shaking her head. "I don't know why ya dwarven folks are always lookin ta smash things. I love smithin', meself, but cuttin sumpin usually works better than smashin it, in my experience. But I has what ya're lookin fer, if that's ya choice." Savah goes to the back, sifting through some things before she comes out with a long polearm. It has a huge hammer head mounted on a long handle, a short spike protruding from the hammer head. "15 gold, good Nover. Best hope ya piggy is in a mood ta be smashed, eh?"
"Alas I must be off, but I'll be sure to get you something to ease your imprisonment fair maiden" Chuckles Bellamy, leaving an empty plate in his wake, the door of the dragons swung open and he was out into the roads of Sandpoint once more.
A filled stomach meant that Bellamy wasn't going to be jumping around as much as he wanted, but he found the streets were at times just as amusing as the roofs; the bickering of merchants, the laughter of children and the occasional rare event like a chase or an entertainer showing off their skills, but Bellamy didn't have time to enjoy the town, there were more pressing matters at hand like replacing his shirt Ah yes your nobility, I am a hero but I am too cheap to replace my shirt He laughed mentally at his own joke as he entered Vernah’s Fine Clothing.
"Good day" He threw the greeting as he looked about the shop.