Borgmurch waves enthusiastically when he sees Hal’dorel “A good day to you Aldo Rell! I work very hard, the shooting for show was Bosssaul idea. It did not work.” he shrugs.
Then sees Inceku and immediately crouches in a fighting stance, unsheathing a blade “Beware Aldo Rell! A nefarious dog is by your side, it will bite you. That is very dangerous!” he paces around the dog, the blde between the two of them “If a dog bites you, everything you eat taste like boiled beets for a month, that is what Ol’ Hruga said in the tribe! It is true! I never get bitten by dogs, so that I can taste good food!”
Inceku lowers his head and growls low, but doesn't bare his teeth. His head is still canted to the side as he watches the goblin circle.
"Calm yourself, Bogmurch. You've seen me with Inceku here before. He's just been cleaned up since last you met." Hal gestures once to the dog and steps forward to place himself between them. "I seem to recall legends of ferocious goblins riding into battle upon the backs of fearsome war dogs."
"Well Dolgrin, it seems like just the two of us tomorrow. I hope that's all right with you. Why don't you meet me at home tomorrow morning, say 9 bells?" She writes down an address for him, "Just tell them you are there to see me, someone will show you in to me. Now, if you'll escuse me, I need to get going or I will miss devotions!" Nessa quickly hustles out and heads home for her evening devotions at the temple.
A bit surprised that the goblin is more than a mascot, Alayna thinks, Time to get everything I own fire-proofed... She pushes away the wry thought and is glad the toothy, illiterate little pyro seems friendly. "Can't say as I ever sailed with one o' you gits. But glad for the chance-if cats and monkeys can work so can you."
So the elf wants me to prove my worth? Alayna smiles and tends her business, eager to get going in the morning.
And don't you dare show your face here again!
They seem a little scared by the goblin.
One little girl, maybe 12 years old, tries to caress Inceku, and to "bribe" him with a small bit of old bread. Which must have been part of her expected meal later...
One or two boys look in awe at the elf. In fact, one of them is a young half elf
As they walk around, the dwarf ignores the sniggers from those observing them. Instead he looks towards the alleyways, dark corners, and other potential avenues of subtle assault, still acting as the guard, rather than truly relaxing. Still, his focus on some movement in the shadows across the street had him miss the more immediate events... that is until the small man bounced off of him.
The dwarf spun around, hand reaching for his axe as he took in the scene. It looks like the 'projectile' had been thrown out of the nearby bar. He snorted at Nessa's words, relaxing his grip and leaving the axe in his belt while giving a glare towards the smaller man but then turning his gaze towards the larger. "And perhaps," Dolgrin adds, "you may want to take care where you happen to be tossing people who clearly cannot control their flight."
Dolgrin glances down the street Nessa was pointing towards and nods. "Well let's not keep your new possessions waiting," he says. He looks over at her for a moment, his lips pursed in thought, eyes taking in her horns and tail before responding. "To be honest, I came to Riddleport to discover if there are diabolic... or demonic... influences in the area. Not like yourself, of course... no offense, I suppose... Some ancient evil of that nature that may also be related, of course, to those damned elves... Apparently there could be potent magic that could overwhelm even my kind."
The burly dwarf pauses after his pseudo-confession. I probably shouldn't have said so much... she does have the blood after all... what if she is under the influence of this unknown? "Anyhow, so far there has been nothing. The most promising lead was that tournament which turned out to be nothing but a show," he finishes with a shrug.
Martigan is my name, sir. I'm just.. hoping Desna will bring me some big money. I need it to pay the rent, sir.And I lost everything I had in my pockets, again. Why am I so unlucky? It's not fair... My woman says that I'm a mad ol" fool, sir, I confess. It's like ..something was pushing me to play games, and to put my hard earned money at stake. If only I could win, sometimes... Couldn't you... you know... help me winning, maybe? Not a big lump of cash, but just enough to pay the rent, and bring some food on the table for my family.
Borgmurch’s eyes get as wide as apples when he hears Hal’dorel‘s statement
“That is a very false thing Aldo Rell!” he looks somewhere between shocked and enraged “No good goblin would ever ride a dog, or a horse! Zarongel the Mighty God of Riding Things made us very good at riding, but dogs and horses… puah! Goblins ride wolves and rams and camels and giant lizards and elks and boars and bears and giant spiders and dire rats and rashlings and many other good animals, but no dogs!” he seems to be sweating a bit after the tirade. “So you better be careful Aldo, Rell, when you talk of such things!”
As they go through the streets of Riddleport, Borgmurch keeps his distance from Inceku, but does not bear a grudge against Hal’dorel.
When they meet the children, Borgmurch is friendly and amicable, defending them from the awful Inceku when it gets too close and offering them good, seasoned rat meat.
“These children must be crazy to give good food to the dog!” he complains when his efforts produce only fear in the children.
..
》Survival (Inceku): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21 (find the trail)
》Survival (Hal): 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 4 + 1 + 2 = 22(Tracking | +2 vs humans)
Hal makes sure he keeps an eye on Inceku and Bogmurch's interactions.
To respond to the talk of caves, the elf shrugs. "To be honest, to be in the wilds - even in a cave - will be a welcome change of scenery from that city."
After acquiring the article of clothing from Cameron, Hal uses it to see if Inceku can grab the scent and begin tracking once they reach the trails that lead to the caves.
(just in case)
Suddenly, the Blot seems even darker than before. Everyone who's wear metal on him (armor and weapons) feels weighted down and slowed.
Dolgrin seemed lost in thought for a moment as they continued their journey. It wasn't until the commotion of barking dogs and increased whispering that looks around. Seeing everyone looking up, he does the same. Something is happening to the... ugh! "What the...?" The dwarf stumbles a bit as his armor seems to take on more weight, his axe seeming to clang and stick against his armor. It doesn't slow his burly form too noticeably, his race being used to heavy burdens, but he knew that whatever was happening would reduce his effectiveness in combat.
As the feeling passes several minutes later, Dolgrin looks askance at Nessa. "I don't think it's quite as fun as you may think. The blot just got darker... Perhaps that is related to the ancient evil I have been looking for... although it may be a bit cliche that the 'darkness' and the evil are related...," he says, looking up at it in thought. "But why Riddleport? It's not like the blot is unseen elsewhere..."
Their conversation is rudely interrupted by Cameron's chain shirt suddenly weighing him down, making it feel like he's walking through treacle. Cameron glances up into the sky and gasps awestruck, "Great dreamer, what was that?!"
Disturbed by this turn of events, Cameron reaches inside his picket and pulls out his Harrow deck and deals the first three cards: The Publican, The Unicorn, The Survivor.
He tries to puzzle out the meaning, 'The publican, well that must be us. The Unicorn, a mystical and elusive beast - maybe we're meant to find something but it will be hard, nigh on impossible even. The Survivor, that sounds ominous... Desna I do not understand what you are telling me!'
-> Deck of Wisdom, -> CG -> The Publican
-> Deck of Charisma, -> CG -> The Unicorn
-> Deck of Constitution, ->NG -> The Survivor
Wherever you are in Riddleport, people are afraid, and cluster to speak in ushered tones. You hear bits of conversations. It doesn't sound good.
Did you see that? It came from the Blot! We're doomed!
...
Daddy, I'm afraid!
...
Hey, where's my ale? -You already drank it, old fool!-Nay, I'm sure someone else drank it. That's foul magic, that's what it is!- And when did you become an expert in foul magic?-since the day after I married you, witch!
...
The Time hath cometh! The Time hath cometh! Repent, you sinners!-The Blot! It is a shroud of corruption![b]-[b]The Blot is made of the souls of evildoers and demon worshippers! We must track and kill all of them, before they kill us.-Seek for the signs of devilish corruption, brotheres and sisteres. Horns, wicked voices, talons and fangs, cackling, tails...Too long have we accepted the offspring of the devils and demons in our fair city. It's time for a change.
...
Doomed. We're all doomed. I must flee this town. Pack our belongings, we go tonight!
....
I'm sure it's a plan from the goblins. I hate goblins. Goblins ate my little brother, when I was young.-What? Are you mad? How could goblins create or manipulate the Blot, when even our Cyphermages can't understand a thing about it? Goblins are certainly dangerous, but they are stoopid.-Do you have goblin blood yourself? You look too small and ugly to be totally human..-WHUT?-
Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, she turns to Dolgrin, "So much for shopping. It looks like we'll need to cut our tour and shopping trip short. I'm sorry Dolgrin. We'd better head back to the temple."
Hal kneels down next to Inceku, resting his hand on the dog's back and looking into the sky. "What manner of devilry is this, eh?"
Around him, the people of the town begin muttering back and forth about omens and blame and their fears. Hal'dorel scoffs at their foolishness. Look to yourselves, you pathetic villains. All the poison from your hearts and iniquity of your lives has finally come full circle. In the base of his mind he feels a twinge of concern, oddly enough, for Bogmurch and Nessa. The fear in human hearts normally went to the odd and the different. They already were speaking of goblins and devils. For him, Hal'dorel despised humans not for their difference, but for their uniform short-sightedness.
He begins to stand but suddenly feels weighted down. His sword and quiver across his back feel heavy and cinched the straps closer to his body to ensure they don't fall off. A thought occurs to him and he looks to the disciple of Desna. But Cameron is already consulting the cards.
"What do the cards say, Clan Hawkwinter?" Hal inquires. He glances around to the assorted peoples.
"Bogmurch, remain close. These fools are beginning to let their idiocy get the better if them." the elf nods in the direction of the ones shouting about goblins.
Alayna realizes with a pinch that there is something wrong with the world. Her light mail jerkin begins to twist on itself as she moves, the links ranking up on their own accord and not all comfortable. "Oi! What's with this nonsense?" She tries in vain to straighten the weave, but gives up when she hears Hal's warning. "Should we make 'em regret havin' ideas, then?" Her tone is playful, but the hand on her whip belies that.
"Let them quibble and quake within their fears. Hysteria will come soon..." His cold blue eyes survey the rabble, his lip curling in a subtle sneer. "...oh yes, if you humans are anything, you're predictable. The hysteria will come."
He looks to Alayna, and shrugs his shoulders to shift the encumbering weight of his weaponry. "We should perhaps postpone our journey out of town and rejoin the others." It's a consideration, but his eyes go to Cameron to hear his response.
Underwhelmed with the cards reading, Cameron stuffs them away in his pocket. With a heavy sigh he replies to Hal's enquiry, "Damned if I know. The reading was about us all right, but apparently we've got to find a unicorn and survive."
There's a moment as Cameron's friends glance at each other before he adds, "No, not a real unicorn. It's just a turn of phrase. It seems our job is find something but there's no telling what or where to look. I take the reading as a sign that we should carry on doing what we where doing, I.e. looking for Milon. He won't be the unicorn from the reading, but who knows what we might uncover on the way. That thing in the sky with the metal? Way above our pay grade. Let's go scout some caves..."
May I be of any assistance?
Ask a middle aged woman, with golden earrings and matching bracelets
Walking into the store, Nessa gasps in delight at all of the pretty things she sees. When the woman asks if she can help her, Nessa replies to her, "I'm not sure what I want just now. . Do you have any suggestions in something that might look good on me?
Borgmurch doesn’t much care that a few fools are blaming the goblins. Some goblins are crafty and cunning. We could do that if we wanted to.
He is severely less happy about his blades weighing him down. He feels betrayed by his own steel – the very thing that earns him his business.
“Umpf. This is very annoying. I wish I had some birds with me. I could glue them to my blades and they will try to fly away and that will make the extra weight disappear.” he mutters to himself, pondering how to catch a few birds. Perhaps I’ll find bats in the cave.
“Today is bad day to buy stuff. The merchants will not use the scale. They will cheat on the weight.” he ponders “Going to the cave is still good idea. Far from the people getting crazy and angry.”
Cameron tells the others, "Lets get a move on. That uh, well whatever that event was it seems to have stirred up the hive good and proper. There'll be seven shades of lunacy around here today, a nice stroll in the fresh air will do us good."
"An' a time on the waves' be better yet. But country and caves is what we ordered."
The middle age woman look at the dwarf thoughfully, then at Nessa
With your ...exotic looks, I'm sure something in red, ranging from rubies to bloodstones, would be great on you. But maybe that would be too common for you? I have a pure milk white opal, exquisite water-that's how we rate the transparency of gems-if you like something you can really see through...Would this gentleman be the buyer, or are you giving yourself a treat?
she shows Dolgrin when she mentions the "gentleman"
"Not too hard ta say when a dog growl's ya better be hearing why."
"Aye your right, but I can't see what's got him spooked. Hal has he found something?"
The woman keeps an hard, business-like face, but you both easily sense some anger in her. Then she turns to Nessa
30 golds? I'm sure we can manage something...Let me check.
A few minutes later, she shows to Nessa a simple silver ring with a small obsidian on it, a small brooch with a blue stone, and some exquisite earrings with small white pearls
This ring cost 25 Golds. The brooch with the little turquoise cost 20 Golds, and the earrings are 30 Gp.
The dwarf shrugs at Nessa's question. "They seem to fit. Not too heavy to mar your ears, and not too dangly to be a target in a brawl."
My name is Kairen Fallow, and the shop is the Dragon's Hoard.I'd be happy to sell our splendid jewellery to any of your acquaintance or family, miss.