The party heads towards Lofton's offices, which directions provided by VC Eliza. A small faded sign with an arrow pointing up an exterior flight of stairs to a second story landing reads: "Venture-Captain Alois Lofton, Counselor-at-Law". The door at the top of the stairs unlocked, at the party makes their way in to see a late middle-aged man with short, silver hair and darkened olive skin. He is sitting at a stack of papers, studiously reviewing them.
The man is somewhat off-guard when the party arrives, but then goes back to his papers. "I"m sorry, I'm too busy to take on any new cases, please come back in a few days."
You notice that many of the bookshelves are emptied, quite unusual for a respectable law office.
"As I said, I'm too busy to take on cases or do any investigations. So off you go. I'll listen to you after a few days", Lofton dismissively waving you off.
You can tell that despite the bravado, Lofton is a bit nervous since you arrived.
You are guessing by how Lofton is trying to get you to go that it is a possibility that he may not be here in a few days.
"And you are being ruder by overstaying your welcome!"
"I asked you to leave!", Lofton angrily shouts. "Now out, you underdressed miscreants!"
"Do I look like I want tea? Begone you hair-footed baskerwits!"
You get that you may need to say something and see his reaction to get Lofton to open up.
Erevan almost gets Lofton to blow up, but the former Venture-Captain takes a deep breath and tries to get the party out. "I am a Venture Captain and an attorney at law for this country! You will remove yourselves this instant!"
"Well, former Venture-Captain... it says so on the sign down below!"
Lofton is looking impatient, and without a further way to catch him off guard or confront him, he may try calling the guard on you.
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"Master Lofton, calling somebody a hair-footed baskerwit is not very nice. We know that you have things to do, so do we. And one of these things is to get answers to certain questions. Would you please calm down and answer our questions. And the sooner you answer the faster we are gone, you will see." Nijena tries to get Lofton to talk.
"Throwing cases? I outta have you all arrested and sued for such slander!!! What proof do you have that I've done anything illegal?!", Lofton standing and shouting at the party, incensed by Arkynn's words.
To Erevan's threat, Lofton simply laughs. "You dare threaten a barrister of Galt? I should have the Gray Gardeners take you in for such defiance!"
Nijena tries to politely calm down the Venture-Captain, but he is too angry to listen to her words of reason. "Now you have until the count of five to get your lying, no-good asses out of here until I call for the guards. One..."
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"Perhaps we have been a little too pushy, but we need your help," Erevan says. "We're not leaving until we have it. Go ahead and call the guard if you must. But they may be interested to know why you're packed up and leaving, as well as investigate these claims that you've been throwing cases. I think we'll go ahead and wait."
Party's latest pleas have seemed to have staved off his anger as his simply sits down, going through more of his notes. "You... you are just not worth the effort. But simply put, unless you are with the People's Court, you have no authority over my legal prowess. If you are going to 'squat' here, then at least be quiet so I can get some work done before I leave."
"As I have mentioned, I am heading out shortly, but I will return next week. Is there anything else or can I get back to my work?"
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Would this work involve concealing which boats make it into harbor? Look as much of an ass I am, we are just trying to help people. Now I find it hard to believe that all of these coincidences keep pointing us to you without either your involvement or someone trying to frame you. Which do you think it is? And is there a way we can help you?
Lofton is sipping on some coffee as he hears Arkynn's first words, doing a spit take over his documents. "What? How do you know about that?"
But upon her request to help, he nods. "Alright, do something for me and I'll tell you what you want and more about the people on the boat. I'll give you this for free: they were put on a wagon and it left two days ago."
"Anyway, this is far fetched, but believe me, this is Desna's honest truth. Back in 4708, I needed to lay low for a little while after things had gone sour here in town. A buddy of mine knew of a woodcutter’s shack in the Verduran Forest, so I quickly escaped. I snuck into the woods and looked for the shed, but that rat must have given me bad directions and I got lost. After about a day, I come across a beautiful clearing with flute music playing in the distance. Before I knew what’s what, these horned guys with goat legs grabbed me and knocked me out! I woke up in silver chains with faeries all around me who kept me as their prisoner for months. They’d force me to play their stupid faerie games and make me tell them all about the ’mortal world,’ as they called it. But I’m just one guy and eventually I ran out of stories. They would have killed me for sure, but this old guy shows up named Lofton. He talks real nice to the faeries in their language, and then he tells me that he’s going to argue for my release in a faerie thing called a moot!"
"This guy was quite the talker, and believe it or not, after hours and hours of arguing, he was able to convince them to let me go! It wasn’t meant to last, though, because faeries rarely keep their promises in the way you think they will. The head faerie touches us both with a silver wand as we were leaving, knocking us both out. When we wake up, we realize that he’s switched our bodies: I’m in Lofton’s wrinkly skin, and he’s in mine. The fey kept their promises in a way, only in a way they didn’t, and as far as I know he’s still there. So you see, I’m not really Lofton, I’m a guy named Venza; Venza the Nick, they used to call me. Geez, I haven’t said that name in a long time. I swear on Desna’s light that this is all the honest truth!"
"So anyway, I need you to find the real Lofton and bring him back here. I'll give you the directions to fey glade; should be around a 5-hour walk from here. Do that for me and I'll give you all the dirt you want about the boat and wagon. Deal?"
The party makes their way into the Verduran forest, following the instructions given by 'Lofton'.
The part makes their way to a clearing, but soon hear shuffling in bushes, followed by some growling...
As Erevan steps closer, an insectile woman with membranous wings flies out behind him, a long tongue darting out wickedly. Before anyone else can react, though, a small creature in a summer dress with the head of a hamster and a small tail steps out, seemingly speaking to everyone.
Now now, Meleone, we don't eat strangers! Now bow and apologize"
You as the little creature spoke, you felt something try and affect your head... weird things like happy songs, hugs, and rainbows. You can tell it is coming from the little hamster headed critter.
You have feel completely at peace, as if you want to hug everyone like they were a fluffy kitten. You are friendly to everyone, even the weird little bug person.
The little bug person sighs, and does a crude curtsy to Erevan.
This is a calpina, a fey that seems to be hybrid of pixie and butterfly to more horrific tendencies. Like most fey, they require cold iron weapons to fully harm, and their proboscis tongue can latch onto foes its bites.
Unlike butterflies, calpinas use their proboscis to suck out the egos and essences of those it latches onto.
Also, they can release a cloud of fragrant dust that seems to sap the strength out of those that cannot resist its powers.
This fey is a gerbie, a fey hybrid of rodent and lizard. They love friendship and naturally radiate an aura of happiness and friendship. Like most fey, cold iron weapons are required to fully harm them.
Like some other powerful fey, gerbies are resistant to magic. Their touch can either make people forgetful or sickened with vivid thoughts of happiness and nature. Finally, they do have some innate spell casting to affect the moods of others.
"Oh? I am not a little hamster, I am Fiffernetter!", the little creature doing a twirl before ending in a bow to Zarzuket. "And which friends are those? I haven't seen anyone recently. Can I be their friend, too?"
, Fiffernetter wrapping her small arms around Nijena's thigh.
"Baaaaah", scowls Meleone, disappointingly.
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Erevan bows deeply, feeling the love for these creatures and everyone else.
"Greetings, most gracious friends! We would rather not trouble you about things that are not worthy of trouble, but we did come here for reasons other than these tremendous feelings of love I feel for you all! We have come to...oh, yes...inquire as to the status of our very good friend, a lost lawyer who, though I disliked him immensely not long ago, I feel only good feelings for now."
"Welcome to our realm, gentle mortals! We creatures of the First World are known as the Northern Verduran Collective, and like you humans of the great nation of Galtan, we have thrown off the oppressive shackles of our overlords and now watch over this forest and its inhabitants. We work hard and have no need of kings or queens, for we govern ourselves through peace and harmony!", Fiffernetter greets, still embracing Nijena who she obviously favors. Her face turns to a frown when the others mention Lofton, but turns back into its smile.
"I'm sorry, but he's a gift of the Collective, and, well...he's not in the best state to travel anyway."
"Yeah, we can't let anyone that 'entertaining' leave, heh heh heh.", Meleone retorts with a mean grin.
The attempts to ask nicely cause the little Fiffernetter to beam in delight, but she shakes her head no, stating, "He's part of the Collective now, and we don't give up on our own... well..." Her ears furrow along with her brow as she appears to be in deep thought.
"Weeeeeeell... I guess we could do a trade. See, we have a problem with one of our residents. He has not been taking to the Northern Venduran Collective lifestyle of love and hugs, and despite me asking nicely and doing the 'I do not want to be mean, but please leave' dance, he still won't go! If you could get him to leave or get him to stop being mean and stepping on and disemboweling and dismembering and eating other creatures in the forest, that would make me so happy! And then you will surely have earned a prize of immense stature within the Collective, like a Lofton!"