Marco asks for the Sheriff.
Where's the boss? We have reportin' to do.
Arwen will look at Suny grinning at him.
The faster i am done here, the faster you can buy me a drink. Its just a written report of the events from my perspective for the Sheriff.
Can't we just track 'im down a tell what's up?
"AH! Suny exclaims nodding enthusiastically to Arewn, "That's a right naffy idea an' t'is a good thing t'boot. I couldn't tell whut t'was ye were meanin' with yer ink work." And Suny blushes, even as she grins with embarrassment.
"I never did learn tha' formin' of people's words with ink. At tha' time of me learnin' tha' people's speakin', I were also busy learning...um...other...ah...things..." And she ambles away from Arewn, quietly chortling and humming to herself as her eyes drift off to obviously pleasant memories from her past educational experiences.
In time she re-collects her thoughts and glances to Marco. "If Arewn puts tha' happenin's ta' paper, thence tha' Sheriff can peruse our exploits at his leasure...While we go an' receive our own rewards fer our efforts. T'is a right sensible way of doin' things, hey?" And she gives a wink to Arewn as well.
it is cumbersome i admit. I had never learned to do things that way either before arriving here. And if you want to learn how to form your letter with ink it easy to learn. replied Arwen it will take me about a good half hour to finish up. he finished looking directly into her eyes.
Marco shakes his head at not garnering a response from the scribbling Arwen.
I guess that I will take matters into my own hands.
Marco turns to Gryndar.
We are getting no where with his scribbling. Gryndar, I am off to find the Sheriff, you comin'?
Marco stops at the door to await the dwarf. If he does not join him, then he slams the door and begins to call after the sheriff throughout the building and then begins to ask for his whereabouts.
Perception:
Diplomacy:
"Aye, 'tis about time we got to bottom of this parka business. Lead on, I'm right behind ye."
Gryndar scuttles after Marco, rubbing his fingers across his mustache - a sense of determination and curiosity radiating from the stout dwarf.
Taking Marco's side once inside, he joins his companion in his search and questioning.
Suny frowns, "Whuts a 'Paar-KAA'..?" She asks Arewn as Gryndar makes his statement, distracted by this new thing and not really noticing Arewn's gaze. She frowns a little.
"Here. I did es'plain why havin' a note be a good thing ta' give ta' Sheriff...." She pouts a little as the two walk away. She winces as Marco's voice begins to echo through the timber of the building.
"Least ways, t'would be a less clompy way of doin' things..." She mutters.
"Is people here abouts all-a-ways so loud when they's lookin' fer folks?" She asks Arewn. "Them two blokes do seem on'a noisy side of things..." She looks after their departure even as she absently shifts her weight to one foot, folding her other bare, brown leg behind the other as she rests her weight upon Arewn's table with one hand and absently curving an arm about to scratch at her shoulder beneath the rough canvas shirt she wears.
I don't really know Gryndar came with your group, and marco is a newly arrival. replied arwen not really bothering to look up as the ruckus is disturbing his concentration.
Suny nods and skips over to where the said, item of gear has been left. "So...whut's this thing? Whut's it do...?" She asks, tentatively reaching out and poking, prodding and inspecting the item.
"Whut be a Parr-KAA fer, any who...?" She wrinkles her nose at the smell of the thing.
Jethro: Orsain recognizes Freedom Town's layout easily, you'd guess from earlier visits in his capacity as a merchant. When you open up the door to the common room of the inn you're currently staying at, there arises a general greeting of Hey, Orsain! and Orsain, you orcswill peddler! from a shady-looking table on one end of the common room. He walks over there with a swagger, not looking back at the deputy again. Leora is far more thankful, and she leads the rest of the prisoners to their rooms after she gives Jethro an impulsive hug.
At the stables, Ironfist accepts the horses' bridles with a scowl. If you ask him why he looks so angry, he will explain to you that the bottle sent to him by his cousin and delivered by you was cursed, and explain what he explained to Ausk earlier in the story.
Caln: The pastor greets Caln with a warm smile and introduces himself as Father Wilf, a cleric of Abadar. After you explain what you want, his smile wanes, and he motions for you to follow him.
Out back, behind the church, there's been vandalism. Ground-floor windows leading into various rooms have been broken, and various blasphemies and crude words have been painted over the building with a rough brush. "It's the third time this week," the pastor mutters darkly. "I've told the sheriff of this, but he hasn't found anything yet. I want him to dedicate a team to finding the ruffians responsible for this before something expensive is stolen from the church but he just sends workers to clean up after the mess. Cleaning up is good, but if it keeps happening then justice needs to be done!"
Suny and Arwen: Basic providing for the prisoners below seems to have been taken care of already today, and your report is done. Sheriff Oswald is not in the office at the moment - you suspect that at this time of day on a Sunday, he is probably at home, enjoying the only day off he gets a week. You know that on Sundays, Rikkak'ch the ratfolk junior deputy is sometimes allowed to "oversee the office," which is code for "sit in the office on a slow day and call me if anything happens".
Marco and Gryndar: The two of you, from having lived/worked in Freedom Town for awhile before the campaign began, also know about Oswald going home on Sundays. You know where he lives, and walk through town together on your way over to his house. You get a lot of strange looks and stares from children at the winter parka you carry. About 5-10 minutes' walk later, you arrive at where Oswald lives, on the far side of town. The front door is closed and the shades are drawn on his windows, preventing anyone from seeing inside. Nobody answers to your knocks, but you do smell delectable meat being cooked nearby. Perhaps out back?
Ausk: Your walk through town is greeted by smiles and happy words from the law-abiding inhabitants of Freedom Town, and sullen silence and stares from those citizens or drifters who are less prone to love the law. The sun beats down hotly on your hat, making sweat roll down your face. When you reach your house, you find a letter, addressed to your wife, sitting on the entryway table. You recognize the envelope as coming from the sheriff's office, but the seal is unbroken. You also smell meat being cooked, but unlike the smell that Marco and Gryndar recognize, this smell is horrible.
Caln: The pastor greets Caln with a warm smile and introduces himself as Father Wilf, a cleric of Abadar. After you explain what you want, his smile wanes, and he motions for you to follow him.
Out back, behind the church, there's been vandalism. Ground-floor windows leading into various rooms have been broken, and various blasphemies and crude words have been painted over the building with a rough brush. "It's the third time this week," the pastor mutters darkly. "I've told the sheriff of this, but he hasn't found anything yet. I want him to dedicate a team to finding the ruffians responsible for this before something expensive is stolen from the church but he just sends workers to clean up after the mess. Cleaning up is good, but if it keeps happening then justice needs to be done!".
"This is horrible Father Wilf. Do you have any idea of who would do this? If you don't mind I will look around a bit and then talk to the Sheriff."
Caln looks around to see if he can spot any clues.
After looking around Caln will head to the jail to find the Sheriff. If the timing is right to run into Marco and Gryndar, he will join them to head to the Sheriff's house. Otherwise, he will go inside the jail.
Arwen will hand his report to Rikka and then head toward the inn for a drink
Shall we head over for that drink suny?
Caln: You spot a cloaked and hooded figure under the shade of a tree, some fifty feet off, near the outer wall of Freedom Town.
Gryndar comes to a complete halt outside Oswald's abode.
"Ye smell that, Marco? Ye smell that delightful, enchantin' - nay, mesmerizin' scent? Oh gods, ye are merciful - 'tis a barbecue, I am certain!"
The stout dwarf picks up speed like you've never seen before, rushing around the house as fast as his legs will carry him.
" Ye'd better save some o' that grub for ol' Gryndar!"
Marco smiles at his companion, and runs after the surprisingly quick dwarf.
Don't eat it all, Gryndar!
Suny nods and smiles in agreement with Arewn's words. "Aye, lead on." And she skips along by his side as he leads them off towards the place of refreshment. (^_^)
After entering the inn arwen heads for the bartender One for the little lady and one for myself. once served arwen will take the drinks to the table where the elf is sitting.
Suny more 'perches' on her chair. Sitting cross-legged she leans forwards and takes the proffered drink from Arwen or the serving lass.
"Here, do they have Rum?" She asks, even as she glances about the place with her usual enthusiasm.
"So...what be a paar-kaa? Whut's tha' word mean? Whut's it fer?" She asks Arwen even as she sips experimentally at her beverage.
Jethro heads to the by-now-empty Sheriff's office, then back to the inn where he will probably join Arwen and Suny.
|
Ausk hangs his hat on the entry way, slipping his earthbreaker into the steel fork beside the hat rack. Relieved of his burden, he picks up the letter and views it over before descending into his half-buried home looking for his wife (and dreading having to eat what she makes, but... love is difficult sometimes). "Sunshine-- what's this mail about? He done set you up a letter when he lives just across town?"
its an animal skin heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur mostly used during cold weather, and yes we have Rhum up here. Although not sure of the quality compared to where you are from. replied arwen playing with his glass.
Jethro wandered back into the inn. "Oh, hello. Slow day at the office, I guess."
Suny listens intently and obviously with interest to Arewn's description, nodding as she understands. She continues to sip at her current drink.
"So...how cold does it get ere?" She asks, "I mean, back home, we tend to have the weather either bein' dry or wet...Nothin' rilly much more a 'tween tha' two...." And she tilts her head in thought.
"I in't sure how some of the words come across, though. Kind of like 'More rain'...or 'Less rain', type of thing..." She muses, sipping again, absently licking at her upper lip. She waves and smiles brightly upon spying Jethro wandering into the place. (^_^)
Caln: You spot a cloaked and hooded figure under the shade of a tree, some fifty feet off, near the outer wall of Freedom Town.
Caln looks around but doesn't see any deputies. "Father Wilf, there's a man over there that I'm going to talk to. I have a bad feeling about this though so would you mind watching from here and if anything happens go and let the sheriff know right away?"
Caln walks over to the hooded figure and introduces himself as one of the town's deputies,
Up here we have snow and lots of it in the winter and the water freeze into ice. And it gets very cold even during the day time. We have all kinds of weather, clear, sunny, Stormy, hot ,cold etc..
At Arewn's mention of the vagaries of the local weather she actually stares, her large blue eyes seeming to grow impossibly wide in her astonishment.
"" She exclaims, sounding shocked, surprised and amazed. "It does rilly get so that tha' water? It jus' stops? An', an' tha' white stuffs? It comes an' covers everything?" She says, her voice full of amazement and wonder.
"" And she practically bounces out off her chair.
if you don('t mind the cold it is indeed. I love snow
Gryndar and Marco: As you run around to the back of the Sheriff's house, you run past a pair of locked cellar doors and a window leading into his sitting room before reaching his backyard. The smell from earlier turned out to be a steak sizzling on a grill, with some burgers and brats laid out alongside them. The sheriff is in the middle of telling a story to a group of slightly older-looking men and women that the two of you recall having seen around town numerous times. "So I said to the three of them, 'Do you feel lucky?'..." the sheriff's tale peters off when he sees the two deputies approach, and his demeanor immediately becomes more like the gruff sheriff you're familiar with. "You're back!" he says, relief evident in his voice. "Good. Come, sit, have a brat." he motions to a few open wooden chairs in his lawn.
Arwen, Suny, Jethro: The bartender, a male youth about the age of 15, nods at Arwen and Suny's orders and gets them what they request. Midday on a Sunday in Freedom Town is much like midday any other day - time for gambling. Games of chance are being conducted at nearly every table in the dining area of the inn - official gambling houses being expensive to maintain without offering room and board, the owner of this inn in Freedom Town merely hosts games that can be brought out when requested. They're requested pretty frequently. There are open spots at several of the tables where blackjack, poker, and other sundry games can be spotted.
A particularly luscious pair of human women begin making eyes at Jethro and Arwen the moment they enter the door. The two men's exotic appearances - the vaguely heavenly aspect of Arwen, and the tattoos on Jethro - stand them out from the grubby farmers and petty outlaws that frequent most of Freedom Town's establishments. Suny, of course, is a young elf lass in a human settlement - reiterating that she gets stares from every male in a 40 foot radius every time it happens would be redundant.
Ausk: You find your wife in the kitchen, singing quietly to herself as she prepares yet another crime against the culinary arts. You can detect a faint undercurrent of...beef? underneath the seared smell of something awful. You hear her reply, "Oh, you're back! Hi! Welcome home, just in time for lunch! Luckily I made enough for twoooo~," she calls in a teasing, singsong voice.
Caln: Father Wilf nods grimly and crosses his arms as he watches you cross the lawn of the churchyard to the tree. The hooded figure appears to look left and right as you approach, giving you the impression of skittishness. The hood is drawn down over the figure's face, preventing you from even discerning what species it is. When you're standing 10 feet away, a gloved hand is held up. You can tell from this distance that the figure is just about your height, perhaps a little shorter. "You are a holy man too, are you not, traveler?" a neutral voice speaks. It's garbled, as if by a spell, and you cannot identify whether it is even male or female.
If you don't mind the cold it is indeed. I love snow
"Snow...snow.....sn-sn-snoooooow. Snow..." Suny experimentally whispers this fascinating new word to herself over and over again. playing with the way it sounds...Still sipping at her drink occasionally between utterances. A she becomes lost in the thoughts and expectations that the future will be bringing her. (^_^)
"Very few men can honestly say that they are Holy, stranger, but I do try to follow the path of Pharasma. That path has led me here to you."
Caln quietly scrutinizes the other figure for a few moments. "My turn to venture a question or two. Why do you conceal your identity and what is your business in Freedom Town?"
Good afternoon, Sheriff, don't mind if we do. Much thanks. We sought you out to report what occurred out there, and Arwen has written a formal report back at the office.
After a short while Suny finishes the drink Arewn bought for her and the 'learning' of her new word for the day so she attracts the attention of the serving folk and orders a Rum for herself and asks Arewn,
"Whut'd it be that ye'd like ta' tipple, then?" (^_^)
While he's making up his order Suny asks about food and such.
"Oooo! I hope they gots 'shrooms'! That's be somat we dun't seem ta' have much of back home. Love it tha' first time I found out about them things!" She explains, exclaims enthusiastically to Arewn...and the serving folk still standing at the table...(^_^)
Suny points at the empty cups, "That what been in tha' cups? Y'know, um..." She frowns. "I be usin' words wrong, hey?" She sighs.
"So...I be havin' some Rum an' Arwen be havin'..." And she lets her companions fill in his order. Then she asks the serving person what they have to offer by way of food. Half listening to the person's reply she nods to Arwen,
"Oooo! Good-o! There be lots more of 'em abouts then?" She says happily. (^_^)
Later in the season.
Suny nods, indicating she understands Arwen's terms about 'season' even as she listens intently as to what Arwen is ordering by way of eating. Obviously working on getting hints about what is good to order and eat.
"If it be possibly, definitely nothin' of tha' fish type, hey? That be a right common thing back home." She grins.
some beef with spiced potatoes i would recommend.
"That barbecue is a sight for sore eyes, I tell ye Sheriff - and don't mind if I do!"
Gryndar grabs one of the brats and enjoys himself. He chimes in with a burp and a munch every now and again, allowing Marco to do the talking for now.
"Ye got any ale, Sheriff?"
Jethro joins the throng at the table, a pitcher of beer in one hand and a bunch of mugs in the other. "So, what was said about the coat? Is there a secret message encoded in the lining or something else out of a bardic tale?" He throws a wink at Suny. "I'd hate to let a good story go to waste."
We ended up scouting the Orcs, and they had several of the odd ones in cages, along with human prisoners. One of the prisoners was a druid named Erwin. We used his bird as a diversion, and snuck in, released the prisoners and fought our way out. We barely escaped, but the prisoners were returned to Freedom Town.
Gryndar and Marco: The other citizens who were visiting Oswald during the barbecue give sighs of appreciation and applaud enthusiastically as Marco finishes his recounting. Oswald nods in satisfaction. "You two have done well, even beyond my expectations. I expect every prisoner was properly taken care of when they reached Freedom Town? I'll read about it in the report, I'm sure," he says, gesturing with his spatula. One of the ladies present hands both of the deputies mugs of ale. "I have news for you all as well. I want the two of you to inform the rest of the deputies. It won't apply for Ausk directly, but he should know regardless. There was a death while you were away." his gaze falls back to the grill contemplatively. "Bill Simmons, of natural causes. But there's a silver lining," he says, looking up again. "Having had no natural heir, I've decided to make an official 'xecutive decision and claim the house under Freedom Town official property. Which means, it's going to be the home of those deputies who are currently residing in yonder Inn, until further notice. Anyone without prior living arrangements here in town who is working for the office of the Sheriff is free to reside there." He takes a long pull of ale. "Figure it's more official looking for my deputies to have a general barracks building, regardless. Conduct deputy business there, that sort of thing." He tells you both how to reach your new home - you know the place, a stately building near the center of town.
At the Inn: The gambling keeps a lively noise bubbling throughout the sitting area as a small team of servers struggle to provide enough ale for the crowd.
And the Run arrives at the table and is placed before Suny. (^_^)
Caln: The figure shakes his or her head, furtively glancing toward the guard towers, then back at the main town square. "No time. I can't be seen talking to you. Just be warned - death is coming. Things aren't as they appear! The walls of the church will crumble, and the people of this doomed town will feast on ash. Trust no one within these walls, traveler - no one!"
At the end of the figure's brief speech, he or she flings a small flashbag at your feet, where it pops with a bright light that briefly blinds your eyes. When you rub your eyes to clear them, the hooded figure is gone.
Caln: The figure shakes his or her head, furtively glancing toward the guard towers, then back at the main town square. "No time. I can't be seen talking to you. Just be warned - death is coming. Things aren't as they appear! The walls of the church will crumble, and the people of this doomed town will feast on ash. Trust no one within these walls, traveler - no one!"
At the end of the figure's brief speech, he or she flings a small flashbag at your feet, where it pops with a bright light that briefly blinds your eyes. When you rub your eyes to clear them, the hooded figure is gone.
Caln looks around in confusion but there is no sign of the hooded figure. Trust no one...trust no one...trust no one, Caln in unable to get those words out of his head. He gives Father Wilf a wave to let him know that he is alright then wanders back into the main area of town. Not seeing any of his fellow deputies when he stops at the jail, he makes his way into the inn and joins Suny, Arwen and Jethro at their table. He says nothing about the strange encounter he just had. Trust no one...trust no one...trust no one.
Fine news, there, Sheriff. We will inform the others.
he raises his glass in thanks and takes a long pull on the ale.
Gryndar, want to show the Sheriff that parka?
he dives into the food and drink awaiting Gryndar.
More and more, I am finding a place for myself here.
Ausk: When you arrive in the kitchen, your wife is singing quietly to herself as she sets the table for lunch, getting another plate for her husband. She doesn't appear to have noticed you asking your question.
Perception: 17 if take-10-able, otherwise
Jethro notices the conversation about Rhintusks and tries to note who mentions it. Is this part of the merchant-prisoner's conversation?