Zal stands ready but with no specific action in mind. He would wait and see what came of the attempt...
Kit grips his axe's handle tightly while still resting it on his shoulder. He is trying to project a relaxed stance, but is ready if the need arises.
Hilde knocks on the door and hears a stream of invective coming from inside the room and the sound of a large metal weapon pounding, with a final "go away!" coming from the room.
Hilde flings open the door, to the surprise of Vorthad, who is standing in the doorway blocking entry to the room. He raises his halberd with a maddened look in his eyes. He also looks quite pale for a half-orc.
We are here to help you, Kit offers the agitated half-orc.
Hilde tries a diplomatic approach too... her way of diplomacy. She rages and tries to kick the man on the groin.
Dropping the weapon and holding onto his groin, the half-orc passes out in pain and falls to the floor not moving.
Hilde grabs the halberd, smiling widely.
"Is it over? That was quick! Amazing job, Hilde!"
Dilwyn thanks Gozreh that they're on the same side.
Looking at the prone body, Kit says, Probably not the help he was looking for! He then turns to Hilde, I agree. Good job...I think. He then starts to secure the half-orc before he comes to.
"Good show all."
Zal stands by tensed for the worst and stands for a moment perplexed at the abrupt end to the confrontation, Should we take him to a cell? Try to tie him up then wake him to see if he is more lucid than the last one?
"Why not both? Take him to a cell, where he can't hurt himself or others, then wake him up and see if he's more lucid. I'm not very hopeful, though, so I'd settle for just locking him up safe until a cure can be found without spending resources on waking him up." Dilwyn examines the unconscious man, trying to get a sense for the disease, and whether it's the same one the woman has.
Looks like this town has some new sheriffs! Kit says with a chuckle. I fear we will have an over-crowded jail by the time we're done!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I'm not sure what sort of poly-legalous backwoods place you hail from Kit, but a town only has one sheriff, the rest are deputies."
Iskender searches the mad man's room for clues.
I have a feeling we all can be sheriffs and not many in this town would mind much! Kit bellows as he finishes securing the half-orc. Usually I only have had run-ins with the sheriff after a night of carousing, gambling, and drinking and I can't say I remember who they were and how many there was of them!
Zal smiles at the banter but doesn't join in, instead moving to follow after Iskneder looking for clues...
Kit ties up the guard, after stripping him of all equipment and armor. There is a pile on the floor, half-plate, a halberd. On the bed is a heavy crossbow with 10 bolts, and two potions marked heal.
There is nothing else in the room of interest.
Taking the half-orc downstairs, Vessa comes up to you. "You are going to put him into the jail? I will keep him fed but not let him loose unless you say so. You can have free room and board as long as you need it. And I have this bloodstone that you can have for your trouble" she says.
You take the prisoner to the jail, and the woman is still there an now sleeping instead of knocked out. Depositing Vorthad in another cell and locking it up, you now have to decide where to go next.
"You're one of the few we've encountered that have still been sane," Dilwyn points out the innkeeper before they decide where to go next on their investigation. "Do you happen to have any sort of insight about what happened to this town? Where there any strange events that occurred before people started killing each other and committing suicide?" It might be unlikely that she knows anything, since she's probably unaffected because she was nowhere near whatever happened, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
Zal, seeing Kit's lingering eye, motions at the half plate, You can always give it back.
Unless the woman offers an observation of particular value Zal will pull the map and point, Here?
Kit slaps Zal on the back. I like your thinking! I will only borrow it until he comes to his senses or the end of the world-whichever comes first!
"Should your borrowing the armor help to avert the end of the world, I suspect that most courts would accept extenuating circumstances as a defense."
Hilde rolls her eyes, take the armor from the unconscious half-orc and push it into Kit.
Well, I guess that decides it then! Kit says with a nod of thanks as he takes the armor from Hilde.
Vessa responds to Dilwyn's questions, "about two weeks ago, folks just started going crazy. Vorthad, who I knew to be a mercenary, was here at the Inn and he helped defend this place from the madness, including going out and helping folks into the Inn before the mad ones could kill them. During one of those times out, he came back with a large bite mark on his forearm, right near the end of the madness. That was eleven days ago. After the madness ended, the families that were here all left, took most of their possessions and headed out of town, while Vorthad stayed and became recluse and mean."
She sighs a bit, and continues, "have you saved any others in town? Oh, and be wary of the priests of Silverstone Hall, I saw Hagrim Foss and his acolytes execute Dorvan and Kayla Mulnarin by the White Oak."
Hilde waits for the others to lead.
"So, don't get bitten is what I heard, right? Helpful safety tip! If they executed these two fellows, perhaps we should examine their bodies for clues, bite marks, etc. Still trying to piece together how this madness is transmitted you understand."
As we move about, Iskender will have a whip in his right hand, and the wand in his left.
IF the bodies are still outside we should check them then move on to the other buildings in the square.
Sounds good to me! Kit says while he finishes putting on his armor.
"Are those buckles supposed to be so loose Kit?"
"We helped the Redthistle family get across the ferry this morning before we made it this far in," Dilwyn says in response to Vessa. "Thank you for the help and the information, and the offer to stay here if we need it. It's good to have some sort of theory on how this thing spreads, to better avoid it happening to us. Also thanks for the warning about the clerics of Abadar. We tried heading there before we came here, but they didn't seem interested in letting us in or talking. I definitely heard them inside, though. We'll be wary."
"Sounds like a good plan to me," he says to the others. Truthfully, he's relieved to let someone else dictate the path for a while.
After dropping the half-orc in his new jail cell, you head to the center of town and there is an enormous, 40-foot-tall oak tree, covered with dull, white bark and silvery leaves stands here, its moss-draped branches stretching for dozens of feet in every direction. Three human bodies, hanged by the neck with coarse ropes, slowly sway in the breeze, their feet just inches off the ground.
There is two men and one woman.
Iskender will cast detect magic and slowly walk around them to determine what auras, if any they might have on them. All the while he is also looking for clues to the "disease" and any awesome gear they might have on them.
Hmmm, yes, well at last the auras will show up!
Kit takes his axe and starts chopping the bodies down. If they were mad or the victims of those that were, they did not deserve this! Kit stills feels guilty over the mad farmers, and hopes that this will begin his atonement.
Hilde keeps watch.
Heading over to the west side of the center of town you come upon a building. This well-kept, two story field stone building has a simple sign over the door that reads “Yenser’s.” A large display window dominates the front of the building, but now lies smashed in with shards of broken glass strewn everywhere. Inside, the darkened store also lies in shambles. Shelves have fallen from the walls, tables have been overturned and broken, and various wares lie scattered about the floor.
"Don't touch the bodies! If you must roll them over, use a piece of lumber or something."
Hilde moves inside Yenser's.
As unfortunate as it is, we best leave the bodies here for now until we know more about what is going on here. Perhaps for new we should check out that Yenser's building and...
Uhm did we lose Hilde?
Dilwyn seems oddly not bothered by the bodies. Death is part of the natural world, and while he feels life is worth preserving, he doesn't feel there's anything special or sacred about corpses.
Moving on to the store in shambles, he doesn't bother looking through it, instead preferring to stand guard where the others went in.
"It's funny how specifically societies break down when they think the end is nigh," he muses to anyone listening. "It's like they think 'whelp, the world's gonna end, I might as well take Bob's stuff now.'"
"Who is Bob? Was he one of the deputies? Do I have Bob's crossbow?"
Kit uses a thick branch to move the bodies in some semblance of peacefulness. He says a silent prayer to Erastil before moving on to the store.
Maybe Bob was the sheriff! Kit says with a chuckle as he moves some of the store's debris around with his toe.
"Bob's my uncle," Dilwyn says, shrugging. "I just picked it as a random name to apply to anyone who got looted. The point was that people clearly believe the world can't be ending for them, or they wouldn't bother stealing things. It would be pointless to take something without time to enjoy or use it." He pauses a moment. "In a totally unrelated question, anyone find anything interesting in there?"