"You are happy the little beasts decided to scatter. Had they turned on you instead as a group, they would be feasting on you right now.", Lia casually answers as Karmid boasts. She did not mind his exaggerations, but some actions he decided to take DID have potentially gruelsome endings waiting for him. As such, she felt a personal responsibility to let him know how things COULD have ended, expecting that he may be more careful in the future. So far, that hope was futile.
Passing by Ro and Xarmid again, throwing them both a smile, she returns to the Bar next to Aldern and Ameiko, finishing her cup quickly while looking at Ameiko:"I think whatever was in my drink evaporated while I was gone. Could you refill it, please?"
Karmid shouts after the departing Lia.
"Gentle Lia, the Goblins are glad they did scatter, otherwise I would have tracked them to the ends of the world for violating out town!"
Karmid guzzles more from his tankard, although with a little less enthusiasm this time. Karmid points at Gwyddym.
"Gwyd! You seem dour tonight. No inspiration after out successful battle? You should hear my tale of the fight! You'll write Epics of Karmid and the Battle of Sandpoint!"
Xarmas smiles at Karmid.
"Yes, I've been through once or twice before. Though perhaps I would have thought I'd remember such a terrific warrior as you."
She smirks behind her glass.
On unsteady legs Talene manages to get to Windsight and Gwydd's table with the assistance of the other girls. She slams down in the seat and places her head on the table mumbling into her arms.
Karina looks startled, "By the Light of Sarenrae how much did she drink?!"
Matrim shrugs looking just as surprised as Karina by Tal's condition.
Marcelano stands and gives a half frown half grin to Ro he bends down and whispers in her ear,
Ameiko pours a drink for Lia and Aldern who waves it off, "I fear I am getting tired and I will need to be up early tomorrow to bury my dear departed faithful hound before I make preparations for the Boar Hunt. Again Lia I encourage you to invite all of your friends". He gestures to Talene, "Though I fear that one may not make it".
He stands and walks out waving at the table of friends, "Good night young local heroes, I hope to see you all on the morrow".
Ameiko shrugs picks up his refused drink and walks it over to Karmid, "Hi sweetie, I thought you would have been killed by now what with all the risks you take. I am happy to see you back here in one piece!" She grins at the large warrior.
Ameiko shrugs picks up his refused drink and walks it over to Karmid, "Hi sweetie, I thought you would have been killed by now what with all the risks you take. I am happy to see you back here in one piece!" She grins at the large warrior.
A somber look crosses Karmid's face at Ameiko's smile.
"I know you mean well Ameiko, but today was different, you know that."
He shakes his head and a look of fear flashes for a split second.
"They attacked Sandpoint! My...OUR home. I couldn't...Can't just let that stand! If the Goblin's
feel they can attack us in our own homes, then what's to stop other monsters out in the wilderness
from thinking they can come here and do the same!"
Karmid slams the rest of his Mead back, again emptying the stein. He spoke while staring at the dregs in his stein.
"Ameiko? Next time it could be something much worse than bunch of disorganized goblins."
Karmid draws a dirt crusted hand down his tired face, then shakes his head as if to clear it.
"Bah! Enough talk! Now we drink!"
Smiling again, Karmid holds the container out gently as if fearing a stern reprisal from Ameiko for his harsh and unwelcome talk.
"Refill?"
As she helps guide Talene down into, rather than down beside, a chair, Rojava says "Good guess." to Gwyddym.
"Karina, I think the question is what she drank rather than how much. She hasn't been here all that long."
After the noise from Karmid's blustery entrance settles down, she gives him a smile and says "Hey there Karmid you meathead."
After Marcelano whispers in Ro's ear, she nods and follows him outside.
"Will do, Aldern!", Lia states as he prepares to leave, leaning in as if to give him a light kiss on the cheek, then instead sniffing his hair, "Take care, I look forward to tomorrow!"
Following Ameiko with the drink, she comes up to Karmid, who, as a hunter, was a prime candidate for tomorrow's event:"Karmid, Boar Hunt tomorrow. We get picked up. I'm not even bothering asking you, since you are coming along anyway! Just wanted to let you know so you don't drink too much. More importantly, you can't just state "Enough talk, now we drink!" without breaking into a song. Thats a social convention! I did not know either, but Rojava and Kira taught me last time we've been here!"
The floor boards of the Rusty Dragon squeak under the weight of another person walking into the tavern, and taking a few steps in just to have enough room to rest her head on her hand, leaned against the wall.
She hollers a bit loudly to make she is overheard across the crowded establishment.
"I'm gone for barely a day, and I overhear you're already having a bit of a party? Happy to see us gone so soon?" She says towards Rojava's direction, a smirk on her face, and playfulness in her tone of voice.
She takes the occasion after a few heads turn to wave at the crowd and not just her sister.
"Karmid, Boar Hunt tomorrow. We get picked up. I'm not even bothering asking you, since you are coming along anyway! Just wanted to let you know so you don't drink too much. More importantly, you can't just state "Enough talk, now we drink!" without breaking into a song. Thats a social convention!
"Boar hunt? Count me in! Just as long as I don't have to use one of those silly pig-sticker spears."
Musing only a second, Karmid points his stein in her direction with a big grin on his face.
"Challenge accepted!"
He then bursts out with a bawdy drinking song he once heard from a Varisian sailor about a lusty tavern wench, a merman, and a whale called Phylis.
Ameiko shakes her head, "Karmid seated at this table is a man you may not have met Windsight also a Shoanti, perhaps he can teach you patience. There is a time and place for valor, you my friend push right into foolhardy with far too much frequency! Wait you said refill, of what, more mead?" Ameiko gestures to Windsight so Karmid can see clearly who he is talking about.
Marcelano smiles at Fran, "Uh take my seat sweetie, I need to talk to your sister for a moment". He begins to lead her out of the Tavern.
Tal raises her head as Ro let's her go, "Hey, hey, hey No kisshing on a first date!"
Aldern awkwardly tries to turn into the kiss but he is not quick enough. He laughs as you sniff his hair, "I'll take that as a hint and bathe before we go my dear".
The dwarven carpenter looks over when Talene screams out about kissing, "Harumphh. It's no wonder why there are so damn many of these humans around. Even unwed they are tumbling around and kissing in the shadows. Well it's time I got to bed, no doubt with all the damage tomorrow will be a busy day. Good to meet you young Drasven".
Matrim shakes his head, "Perhaps we won't be going after all". he nods at Ro and Marcelano about to step out of the Inn.
Karina replies, "We?"
Matrim shrugs, "Can't let him go alone with what just happened".
"Maybe he should not go at all and neither should you", Karina retorts.
"Maybe", Matrim grins.
"The two of you will be killed, you need at least three to travel on foot, well, unless you're Shoanti", she states rolling her eyes.
Xarmas makes her way to the table with so many of the Marked.
"Well, in case you didn't hear earlier, I'm Xarmas. I'm something of a paradox, a druid in service of Abadar. To be honest....I'm not sure why he chose me, but I aim to find out."
She gave an awkward wave with her left hand, and then a salute with her glass.
"A fine night to you as well Master Carpenter and contary to the others, A master working in wood is equal to one working in stone and metal." he waves the other dwarf a fond farewell, looking over to the group as well.
Well now. I am intimdated by the group. They all seem to know each other well. Oh great calculator of the stars, did you count the odds of me meeting other of these 'god marked'?
Drasven hesitates a moment as he picks up his now empty mug......
After his short song, sung with enthusiasm if not skill, he turns to the proffered 'new' Shoanti in the room with an interested and discerning eye.
"Windsight hunh? Interesting."
"I'd say either Tamiir-Quah or Lyrune-Quah if I had to take a guess. You don't look like a typical Shoanti however. Were you or a parent adopted into your Clan?"
Ro is just about to start for the door with Marcelano when she hears a familiar voice. She knows it so well she recognizes it through even Karmid's gawdawful singing and Talene's babbling. But what she hears doesn't make any sense since Fran isn't even in town. THen she looks toward the door and , sure enough, her is sister is actually standing right there.
"Fran! What are you doing here? Has something happened?"
Ro runs over to give her sister a hug, and Fran assures her that things are fine. She's just going to be staying in town for a while.
When Marcelano comes over to offer Fran his chair, Ro remembers the current priorities.
"Yeah, I have to talk to Marcelano, but I'll be back. Don't go anywhere." She is beaming as she follows Marcelano out the door.
The short Shoanti goes quiet as Karmid blows in, blusters around, and bounces back and forth between conversations. The naturally reticent young man - just not younger than most of the other humans in the group - keeps half an eye on his purported countryman, but mostly pays attention to Marcelano. "No need to return," Windsight says mildly in response to Rojava's promise, then nods to the other Brishen, returned once again. He's only met her a few times in the past year, when their caravan came through, but he enjoyed her presence; feet on the ground, eyes on the horizon, as his kindred would say.
His eyes move across the rest of the tavern's occupants, even as Master Battlehorn departs, leaving Drasven looking alone and uncomfortable. "Dwarf Hammers," he calls out, "join us - as you seem meant to."
Finally, though, he shifts his gaze back to the other Shoanti, clearly a student of Thunder-And-Fang. "You left last Swallowtail," he suddenly recalls after a few moments studying the younger man at least as intently as he himself is being studied, "on a search even as mine was ending. Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Aye...and no. I had no particular destination other then getting closer to Gozreh, and getting to know the land around here better."
Karmid slides his chair back at that point, leans back and puts his muddy boots on the table in front of himself while laughing.
"I even tried to track the Sandpoint Devil! Never got anywhere, though I think I saw him flying North at dusk one evening about
6 weeks ago. Wouldn't that be a mighty song and story: Death of the Sandpoint Devil!"
Raising an eyebrow, Karmid looks seriously at Windsight.
"And you? Did a year in Sandpoint bring you any clarity or enlightenment? Or just Goblins?"
Windsight regards the placement of muddy boots (with feet still in them) on the table, then looks past them and into their owner's eyes for a long few moments before speaking again, his tone more flat than before - a certain precursor (in him) to that wonderful Shoanti pre-fight statement of 'My blood ignites!' "Don't act the barbarian."
Death of the Sandpoint Devil. That would be a rousing tale, actually. Given the Devil's legendary prowess, it could easily be a tale of woe and misery too. Either way, it would be a tale for the ages. Gwyd thinks as he watches the two Shoanti banter back and forth.
Oh I have inspiration Karmid, just tired. Plus, Ro was doing such a stellar job regaling us I opted to let her shine. I may have to provide some music now that Ro is abandoning us! He says with a wink.
With a mutter and a snap of his fingers, he summons a lute to his hands and begins plucking out a merry riff. After a minute, the lute fades from his hands and he resummons it. Picking up the melody where he left off, he continues in this manner for a few more minutes, creating a tapestry of song and string with no real purpose or tale of import, just a jaunty tune to occupy the fingers and the mind as well as provide some background music for the company.
If anyone in the area begins to tell a somber tale that he can hear, Gwyd will transition to a more appropriate melody to the tale.
Realising how crowded the place had become, Lia asks Ameiko for permission to use the backdoor, sitting down on the grass next to the Tavern on the opposite building-side from the main entrance, drink in hand, Flutter on drink, staring up at the night sky, sipping now and then, enjoying the solitude but still hearing the joyful mingling going on beyond the walls.
Smiles after the hugging embrace with her sister, and, as requested, gives her a few spare moments to finish her business before getting to conversation.
As so invited, Fran makes her way to get seated with the rest of the group, some of which she had met in the past more than others. She couldn't help but notice Windsight's nod at her. She gave him a brief salute as she sat down, and then turned to stare blankly at the pair of ungraceful mud-crusted boots that rested on the table. Her gaze followed down the body that was attached to those boots, to look at Karmid's face.
"Do you mind? People do tend to eat on these." She tells him, with a raised right eyebrow.
"Do you mind? People do tend to eat on these." She tells him, with a raised right eyebrow.
Karmid sits up suddenly (and puts his feet on the floow) staring at the fierce woman with interest.
"Really? I would prefer to dance first, but if you want to get right to the buffet...?"
Karmid stands quickly then, proffers a gentleman's bow, and offer his hand to Francesca.
"You look like a dancer first however. Shall we?"
Current Music: Gwyddym Soarsong
She frowns a bit, completely taken aback. She had just arrived from the road, she is still fully barded in her chain armor, carrying a heavy backpack, and just now takes time to lower and prop her heavy shield down the floor against the edge of the table.
She stares blankly at Karmid for a few seconds, sizing up the man, and sighs. She wasn't quite sure if he was crazy, mocking her, or thinking she was that easy.
Alright, if this is how it's going to be played. She thought, and takes the metaphorical gloves off, speaking in what she believes to be the man's native language.
"Mi, a onijo ? O gbọdọ jẹ aṣiwere . Lokan rẹ iwa awọn laarin awọn miiran eniyan."
Ameiko grabs the drink for Karmid while motioning for her employee to hit the road for the night and heads back to the table, "Hey, clean that mud off the table or I'll put it in your next stew! I am not sure why I put up with you. Maybe it's because I like tall, dark, and handsome and you've got two o the three traits!"
She pauses for a second, 'Wait am I the only one not touched in the room?"
Lia finds a cool night full of stars greet her as Flutter sits on the rim of her mug he turns to her...
Ro steps out into the night with Marcelano, "Look Ro. I am sorry for what happened between us tonight. You are my friend and I don't want to part on bad terms. Let's just forget I ever said anything ok?"
"Lia the hunt shall connect you with nature and perhaps with this man, this Aldern. Has this possibility crossed your mind?"
Xarmas watches the exchange between Fran and Karmid with a smirk on her face. She didn't need to speak Shoanti to recognize the tone.
She frowns a bit, completely taken aback. She had just arrived from the road, she is still fully barded in her chain armor, carrying a heavy backpack, and just now takes time to lower and prop her heavy shield down the floor against the edge of the table.
She stares blankly at Karmid for a few seconds, sizing up the man, and sighs. She wasn't quite sure if he was crazy, mocking her, or thinking she was that easy.
Alright, if this is how it's going to be played. She thought, and takes the metaphorical gloves off, speaking in what she believes to be the man's native language."Mi, a onijo ? O gbọdọ jẹ aṣiwere . Lokan rẹ iwa awọn laarin awọn miiran eniyan."
"Me, a dancer? You must be mad. Mind your manners among other people."
"Ahhhh! Denied? You move so well in armor I assumed you moved well on the dance floor too."
Karmid bows low, and issues a true Shoanti apology:
"Hatt'sn kabukk las' nat worrok-la' bat'tuth reche thoith."
With a broad smile, Karmid turns to the table, scrapes the mud off the table into his stein, closes the flap,
shakes it, then downs what's left. Setting the stein on the table, Karmid
belches semi-loudly and heads for the door slowly, picking up his Earthbreaker on the way.
"Ameiko, next time you want to threaten a follower of Gozreh with a little dirt, you might want to think
twice next time. Thanks for the mead Milady. See you all tomorrow for the hunt!"
Ameiko stares at Karmid for a moment then grins, "Touche. Folks its getting late how about one more round for our soon to be leaving Heroes then off to bed!"
Karina looks to Matrim, "If you two are determined to go, I will come with you".
Ro steps out into the night with Marcelano, "Look Ro. I am sorry for what happened between us tonight. You are my friend and I don't want to part on bad terms. Let's just forget I ever said anything ok?"
Rojave relaxes as she hears what Marcelano has to say. She gives him a slightly lopsided grin.
"Stricken from the record, but not completely forgotten. It was a very nice thing for you to say and I'd like to remember that. We'll always be friends, stupid little things aren't going to change that. I'm sorry that I snapped at you the way I did. Can we forget that part too? I guess that between a little booze and all the stuff that's happened today I've been kind of worked up."
Ro gives Marcelano a hug.
"Take care, don't do anything stupid, and best of luck. I'm sure we'll see each other again sometime. Have time to go back in and finish up the goodbyes? By the way, where are you staying tonight? They've already given your room away to Drasven, the dwarf."
"I did, Flutter. I think a connection with nature is fine. I like it. So full of life, so vivid, so universal. That man...I don't know. It will not be the connection he longs for, not the one he wants. But will it be one I deserve? I have no idea. It simply felt the best course of action at the time, but I know that's not the end of it.", Lia muses, before lifting a finger for Flutter to hop on, before she drinks from her mug.
Drasven stares at the newcomers and their interactions.
They bicker quite well with each other he muses.
Raising an eyebrow though at the large Shoanti man's antics.
Well for some of them, they truly are carefree.
"Perhaps it's time to head back to our rest. My thanks for the wonderful drinks. I do believe another day awaits us." he states to Ameiko as he rises to make his way out as well.
Ro drags Marcelano back inside so that he can have his last round of goodbyes, and also because she's anxious to see her sister. She also tells Marcelano there are two new arrivals who bear key birthmarks like his own, pointing out the dwarf and the pretty young woman as they come back to the table.
Marcelano smiles at you and hugs you back softly, Matrim and I will be hitting the road tonight".
Before Ro pulls Marcelano back, Karmid stalks out into the night his massive weapon in hand.
Drasven passes by Ro and Marcelano, Marcelano shakes hands with Drasven, "Keep my friends safe Master Dwarf. I am sorry we could not get to know one another better as Ro tells me you are marked as well".
Flutter rests on Lia's finger saying nothing further allowing to enjoy the beauty that is the night sky, especially after so much pain and death were visited on the town this day, Flutter knows that Lia needs time to process it all.
Karina looks to Windsight, Xarmas, Fran and Gwydd. She then sighs and grabs Karmid's empty mug for a toast, "To old friends and new. Journeys ended and journeys about to begin! I have decided to accompany Matrim and Marcelano on their quest. I am sure you will all be fine what with so many just like us newly arrived..."
"HUUNLKKKKK".
The now passed out and snoring Tal interrupts Karina's speech.
Karina smiels and kisses her on teh forehead, "I could not have said it better myself sweetie. Windsight, can you help me get her back to the Cathedral? I need to stop in and grab my gear anyway"
"Me too", states Matrim who is already standing and taking one of Tal's arms over his shoulder.
Ameiko stops everyone in their tracks, "Hey, you all may be special but pony up for those drinks! Except Tal, hers was on the house."
"Um, goodnight Karmid!"
Rojava frowns slightly and asks Marcelano "Did he seem alright to you?"
"Um, goodnight Karmid!"
Rojava frowns slightly and asks Marcelano "Did he seem alright to you?"
Marcelano shrugs, [b"He has always seemed a bit off to me but good in a fight that is for sure. Well sparring anyway but how bad could he be? He seems to go and always come back".[/b]
Ro pays for her drinks as well as the one for the dwarven carpenter. Since it looks like Lia has disappeared, she asks Ameiko if she'll shift those to her tab. It's a bit more than she can manage at the moment.
Then, she collects Francesca and Xarmas to take them on up to the cathedral.
Karmid watches warily from the shadows of a distant alley as the Godmarked begin to filter away from the Rusty Dragon.
Gozreh was trying to tell him something: The other Godmarked made his tattoos itch sometimes. He thumped the Symbol
of a dripping leaf on his chest to remind himself to concentrate and pay attention.
Windsight has seen too much into Karmid's actions. Karmid had been hiding in the woods for the last year or so to avoid this.
He had tried to hide his worry in drink and song, and amusement. But he was not good at such things. Actions were his strong suit.
Not waiting or talking.
He had been here the longest. He saw the changes that had been coming to Sandpoint over the recent years, and the fact they were coming more often:
The series of murders of a distant year from a man he'd known most of his life. The strange temple fire. Now the Goblins at the Swallowtail festival!
Karmid prayed:Things are coming to head. Guide my hammer great one.
Deciding to walk one last perimeter of the town before he bedded for the night, Karmid sighed and slung his hammer over his shoulder.
A goblin or two might try sneaking back under the moonlight, and he couldn't have that. Not in his Sandpoint.
Drasven returns the handshake.
"I'll do my best. Your friends are at least interesting not to mention marked."
"Mdm, Could you inform me of the payment please."
The short Shoanti (yes, seeing him next to any of the others really does emphasize how much shorter Windsight is than they) watches Karmid's brash response to first Francesca Brishen, then Ameiko Kaijitsu; his own gaze remains flat for a few moments, even after Karmid collects his Very Shoanti Weapons and exits. It takes a few more moments for him to recover his calm; Karmid's words and actions, he muses, offended him perhaps more than they should have had the ability to.
"Of course," Windsight replies, recovering, to his most reliable hand-to-hand workout partner, then adds to Ameiko and Rojava, "I'll pay Lia's shot." A handful of silver for his one cup (and however many Lia had), and he helps Marcelano and Karina get Talene out of the Rusty Dragon and on her way back to her quarters in the Temple.
Though helping with the passed-out Talene, Windsight remains warily aware of his surroundings, distant as well as near; the past year's familiarity causes him to give a certain distant alley a bit longer of a look in his long-ingrained habitual scanning. The difference in shadows causes the archer to smile slightly, but keep on with getting Talene back. How, after all, he ponders to himself, would I be were I to be poorly raised far from my birthright? Perhaps what he needs is ... an example. Someone to willingly listen, who will speak truth in return. Who will be patient.
Whether he could be such a mentor gives Windsight something to contemplate during his evening meditation.
Sitting and staring at the night sky, seeing patterns nobody else does, time passes quickly for Lia. When the breeze from the sea picks up some intensity in the middle of the night, she suddenly snaps back to the real world, feeling cold, but weirdly refreshed. Finishing her mug, placing it next to the backdoor, Lia walks back to the Cathedral, slowly, balancing forward on her toes with outstretched arms as if pretending to be a bird flying, Flutter circling around her.
When she arrives, everybody is already in bed, and opening her room, she hears Kira snoring lightly. Taking off her clothes, she slips into her own bed, opting to take a quick nap before they would be woken.
Gwyd passes Ameiko coin enough to cover his drink. Have a restful evening Ameiko! He calls out as he makes his way out into the night. A meandering walk through town took him to his well-worn room at the cathedral.
It was good to see Karmid back from the woods. While we may never be brothers, we grew up together under the watchful eye of the priests, so more like cousins of a sort, perhaps. That counts for something. I should speak with him after the hunt.
Lost in his reverie, he ended up back in his room. He peeled off his clothes and collapsed onto the bed, asleep nearly before his head hit the pillow.
While he slept, it was far from fully restful, dreams and visions danced through his head: Shelyn dancing into a fire, in which she shriveled into a horde of goblins. The cathedral, overrun by undead monstrosities. The faces of his friends, spinning around him, some happy, others sad. Finally, blissful darkness falls and he sees nothing else until he wakes for the hunt.
Walking alongside her sister and the other dark toned lady, she finally took the occasion to speak with her sister a bit more, heading along at a slow, relaxed pace.
"So... As Mother and Father were leaving yesterday, there were other merchants making convoy together. You know how it goes. During travel, a few of them talked about some incident that occured in sandpoint recently, and there were talking about.. in their own words, 'Chosen people' that were involved."
She turned her head to look at Ro with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Mother got worried. Father re-assured her that knowing you, you'd be fine, but still... I told them both i'd come back and check in on you, and stick around for a while, give you a hand, to put mother at ease. The next round-trip of trades looks to be a rather safe one, the convoy looked well protected as is, and I was superfluous. Either way, i get to stick around with you at least up until they are back in town in a month and a half or so."
She reaches her arm around to grab Ro by the shoulder with one arm, and with the other hand teasingly tug at her cheek playfully, teasing her sister a little bit before letting go.
"You sure picked up a number of interesting new friends recently, to say the least." She then looks towards Xarmas that was pacing with them. "Is something wrong with that mud drinking buffoon by the way? Rather insulting fellow."
Xarmas chuckled at Fran's assessment.
"He seems harmless enough to me, but then again, I was never great at reading people. What was that about goblins? Were you all fighting those little bastards as well?"
Her hand absent-mindedly goes to her bag, as if reaching for a weapon.
"So... As Mother and Father were leaving yesterday, there were other merchants making convoy together. You know how it goes. During travel, a few of them talked about some incident that occured in sandpoint recently, and there were talking about.. in their own words, 'Chosen people' that were involved."
She turned her head to look at Ro with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Mother got worried. Father re-assured her that knowing you, you'd be fine, but still... I told them both i'd come back and check in on you, and stick around for a while, give you a hand, to put mother at ease. The next round-trip of trades looks to be a rather safe one, the convoy looked well protected as is, and I was superfluous. Either way, i get to stick around with you at least up until they are back in town in a month and a half or so."
"Aw, they do care. Even after dumping me off here." Rojava smirks back to Fran. It's not as much the sore spot that she makes it out to be sometimes, but it has proven a useful ploy for getting things like sympathy, attention, and occasionally a bit of extra money.
"I don't know what they were hearing, but it has been a very strange day. Goblins raided the town in the middle of the day. It was bad, but not a huge disaster. It's hard to figure out. Goblins might be dumb, but they must have known what they were doing was suicidal."
"But that's where things get really weird. One of the goblins said a human, or someone so much like a human that he couldn't tell the difference, convinced them to do it. Must have been pretty darn convincing. Also, while all this was going on, one of the crypts in the cemetery was broken into and the remains of a priest were stolen. It was Father Tobyn. He was the one who had asked mom and dad to leave me here years back. None of it makes any sense."
"I really doubt I need protecting." Ro gives Fran a playful shove with her elbow. "But it'll be great to have to around here for a while!"
"You sure picked up a number of interesting new friends recently, to say the least." She then looks towards Xarmas that was pacing with them. "Is something wrong with that mud drinking buffoon by the way? Rather insulting fellow."
Xarmas chuckled at Fran's assessment.
"He seems harmless enough to me, but then again, I was never great at reading people."
"Why? What was Karmid up to?"
"He's loud. The loud ones are always the ones to watch. Forget what they say about the quiet ones. The quiet ones are the ones you can always trust to be sneaky. The loud ones...you can never tell if they are sneaky or not...does that make sense?"
She looks as if she's confused herself.