Blaine frowns and cocks his head as though he's learned something he wasn't expecting and he's not sure what to make of it. "Sanctioned family business then. How very interesting."
He drums his fingers on the table in thought. "I can't help but notice there aren't many dwarves in Southtown. What's the name of your cousin?"
Cel shares a thought about wayward magic from his own experiences, but hears Laurett and he grins at her. "That's very sweet of you to say! I think we are going up again today," his face turns a little more solemn. "There's a lot of bad stuff going on up there." His stomach grumbles and he dives back into his food.
Blaine raises an eyebrow. "Alaina Steele is your cousin?" He chuckles, "I would not have guessed that."
He swirls his coffee around and takes another sip. "I expect you meant you'll be joining her on Mount Oranis today then. Do try not to die, we're shorthanded enough as it is."
Sanaa comes down the stairs, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand.
"Good morning, you're up early," she greets the party as she walks to the bar. "Mornin' Laurett, can I get the usual please?"
"Morning dearie," Laurett sets to making a plate for Sanaa. "Where's that clod who's been following you about?"
Sanaa shrugs noncommittally. "We're headed north this morning." She accepts her plate with thanks and sits a couple seats over from the party.
Dulae pauses in her eating and scowls at Buhari. "Why would..." Her question tapers off as she considers the strangeness of what Buhari had revealed. "Did the stable boy recognize the attacker?"
"Clod? Oh, is that the angry guy we met yesterday? I don't like him...is he coming with us?"
Remembering the childish elf with atrocious manners, Xizoh shares in Cel's displeasure, before thinking on her words. The captain did mention runners. I'm pretty sure he said immediately though.
Giving the inn mistress his best grin, the doctor says, "That's why they send me with them. Someone has to keep them healthy and hale."
“No,” Buhari shakes his head. “No one that he knew. But he did get a look at him. According to the boy, Silo's attacker is a human man with fair complexion, dark hair, and light eyes.”
Blaine smirks at Dara’s reply. “I have no doubt.”
He swishes his coffee around again absent-mindedly and says in an unusually mild tone, “Ask the quartermaster for any supplies you need before you leave. If you get into trouble, there should be a fairly strong company with wardens from the City of Iron at the mountain by early afternoon.”
Sanaa smiles wryly at Cel’s first question as she eats her breakfast. “We’re going north,” she repeats gently after his second.
Laurett winks at Xizoh. “I can see why, dearie. You certainly have a talent for it.”
“You’re a healer?” Sanaa asks Xizoh in a playful voice that’s half teasing and half serious. “Be careful up there doctor, it looks like there’s not much to you but skin and bone.”
"There's also a little bit of fire alongside the skin and bones." Smiling, Xizoh thumbs in Alaina's direction. "She does a fine job keeping the monsters busy."
"Don't you worry Sanaa, he's totally capable of handling himself," says Cel with a hunk of bread in his cheek like a squirrel. "And her too!" A small, warm smiles forms and he flushes a little when he looks at Alaina.
Getting up from her seat, she said, "Again, sorry for outing you yesterday. But I have to get going."
Having been eating with only one hand, while keeping the other on her lap, Alaina couldn't help but feel a little mischievous. Noticing Cel's look, she slipped her free hand over to his leg and gave a squeeze high up on his thigh.
Sanaa smiles when Xizoh describes himself as made of fire.
"Keep the monsters busy, does she?" Sanaa arches her eyebrows playfully.
Laurett catches Sanaa's expression, and something in it causes her to busy herself at the other end of the bar, mumbling, "I don't want to know..."
Blaine lifts his coffee to Dara in a sardonic half-salute before gulping the rest of it down and also rising. A cloaked human woman Dara doesn't recognize quickly catches his attention with a wave from the mess door. She inclines her head toward the exit. "It seems it's also time for me to leave," Blaine comments drily.
Blaine fastens his cloak more tightly around him. "Good luck Dara. I'll be watching for you." He strides briskly out of the mess and down the hall with his companion.
Xizoh is about to ask what Sanaa means before catching Alaina's action out of the corner of his eye. Gasping, he goes to speak only to repeatedly close his mouth for lack of words. Finally, he croaks out, "Good for you!" before turning back to his food. The dcotor's cheeks are red, and his gaze is focused with laser like intensity on his food. Come on Doc, it's perfectly natural. There's no need to blush, you've seen worse in surgery.
"I do keep all sorts of monsters busy," The Wolf stated. Glancing at Cel, "In all sorts of ways."
Cel lets out a small yelp in surprise not having expected the grasp, and laughs too awkwardly at Sanaa's comment. "Ha ha, yeah monsters, ha ha!" You goofy idiot, they already know, stop being so weird.
Dulae sighs. "Well, I guess its a better description than nothing."
Sanaa laughs heartily. “The doctor is right, good for you both.” She gives Cel a wink. “Careful now, she likes to wrestle.”
Dara sees Lieutenant Narwita standing near the building entrance directing passing soldiers and watching for visitors. Narwita nods to Dara in greeting as she gives instructions to two soldiers carrying heavy looking wooden crates outside.
As Dara waits near the entrance, cold air floods into the building in sharp bursts with every entrance and exit. Narwita waits with her in silence for a few minutes, then remarks, “You can wait in the waiting room upstairs, if you like. It’s warm and the others will join you there.”
“Mm,” Buhari agrees. “Well, something tells me it won’t be hard to tell him apart from all the other necromancers on the mountain.” He considers his statement for a moment, losing a little color in his cheeks. “I kid, of course... Altien forbid.”
Shaking his head now that his blush is gone, Xizoh casually asks,"Do you two need to get anything before our trip up the mountain?" Managing a small grin, he quips, "I'll even leave you two to your lonesome."
"Awwww, you're so sweet," Alaina responded to Xizoh in a tone similar to that of a little girl finding a puppy. Then more seriously, she added, "But two things. One, we don'e have the time, and two, it's just as much his decision to keep this going as mine. I'm not forcing him to do anything he doesn't want to do."
"Thank you, but I'd rather be here when my Cousin arrives," Dara responded drawing her cloak a bit closer about her.
Cel checks over his supplies and says to himself, "Trail rations, water, bedroll, wands..." He looks back up, "I think I'm good for now. Do you two need to head to the store?"
Sanaa notices Cel ignores Alaina's comment and gives her a sympathetic shrug and a cheeky smile. "He certainly seems focused. I'm not sure that you could."
Alaina smirked and shook her head. Yep, there's my distracted Rabbit, she thought.
Looking at Sanaa, "Don't let that fool you, he's a good kid."
Sanaa laughs again, "I meant it." She observes Cel checking over his supplies and says, "Nothing wrong with concentrating on one task at a time."
"Besides," she muses, "He's right. You should get whatever you need soon if you don't want to be late."
"No, but it might not hurt to check in at Marna's. I can do that myself though, no reason to bore you with a half dozen herbs to cure a stomach flu."
"Of course," Dulae says wryly. She rises from the table. "I should be going, I need to see about getting a longspear."
Lieutenant Buhari nods. "Balewa should be in the armory."
Dulae reaches out her hand to Buhari. "See you this evening, Lieutenant," she says with more confidence than she feels.
"Well, you'll probably see me upstairs in a bit," Buhari smiles and takes her hand. "But Altien be with you today, Dulae."
Dulae returns his smile before heading to the armory. When she arrives a couple doors down the hall, she calls out a greeting to Balewa.
"Mornin'," he calls back from somewhere deeper in the armory. "What can I do for you?" he asks, emerging to get a look at the requester.
"I'd like a longspear for the mission today," Dulae says.
"Mm," Balewa seems to weigh the request for a moment, then disappears back into the armory. He re-emerges with an unwieldy-looking longspear reinforced with metal bands and hands it carefully to her. "This should do. Anything else?"
"No, thank you." Dulae tests the grip. "This is just what I need."
She says goodbye to Balewa and heads upstairs toward the waiting room.
As Dulae walks up the stairs she sees Dara and Lieutenant Narwita standing near the building entrance as though they are waiting for something.
Dara sees Dulae walk up the stairs dressed in her armor and armed with the weapons Dara noticed last night plus an additional unwieldy-looking longspear.
With that, Xizoh heads towards the apothecary, adding over his shoulder, "I'll meet you two at the headquarters."
"You're probably right," Alaina responded finishing her meal.
Standing and slapping Cel on the shoulder, "Come on Rabbit, time to get hopping." Laying two gold on the table, she adjusted her shield and headed to the door.
Xizoh finds the apothecary is more brightly lit this morning. The woodstove in the middle of the room is glowing with red embers, making the space feel much warmer than his first visit.
Marna is standing at the wooden counter measuring ingredients for a potion by the light of three bright lanterns.
She smiles when she sees Xizoh. "Welcome back," she says warmly. "I heard you were of great assistance on Mount Oranis yesterday, I'm so glad you went to help. What can I do for you?"
Sanaa sees the two gold and whistles appreciatively. Laurett is still at the other end of the bar talking with other patrons and hasn't yet noticed.
Cel starts to think back, "I think that I still owe you for the room too, right?" He puts two gold down as well as the key. "Thanks for everything!" He gathers his things and follows Alaina out.
Xizoh gives a faint smile at the praise. "I really didn't do much, just used my brain and my bandages is all. You should have seen the others, amazing what they can do."
"Hmm," the half elf rubs his chin, gazing around the store. "Do you have anything to turn away the dead? I could also use some more medical supplies like bandages or potions."
Thinking of Cel, he adds with a lopsided smile, "I don't suppose you have long lasting liquid courage?" Then again, we may all be need courage by the spades tomorrow.
Dulae nods at Dara and Narwita as she walks by and continues up to the waiting room.
Sanaa says to Cel, “I’ll let her know you said so,” inclining her head toward Laurett, who is still talking to other customers. “Take care!” Sanaa calls after them.
Alaina and Cel head out into the bitterly cold, dark morning. When they arrive at the general store, they see Risa’s sign newly placed out front and light shining through the thick front window.
If they enter, Risa is standing behind the counter making notes in what looks like a ledger. She glances up at the sound of the bells and gives them a friendly smile. “Ah, some of our heroes from yesterday! What can I do for you?”
The general store is a long, low building painted red a few doors down and across the street. A carved wooden sign nailed over the door says "Southtown General Store". A large sign leaned on the front wall near the door proclaims in painted black letters: “Warm gear for Abbhen mountain pass! Wondrous magical items of all types!”.
The door opens with a cheery jangle of bells and a rush of warm air full of pleasant herbal smells. From the door Cel can see most of the store’s goods, neatly organized and placed. On shelves and walls around the shop are stocks of food, armor, weapons, potions, winter gear, clothes, toiletries, bottles of mead and liquor, jugs of ale, candles, lanterns, toys, and all manner of things. There is fire roaring in a large, elegant fireplace in the rear wall and a woodstove near the door.
The shopkeeper, Risa, is a woman in perhaps her 60s from her bearing, dressed practically with her silver hair pulled back.
Marna smiles. “So modest for one so young,” she says approvingly.
She nods grimly at his first request. “Not to turn away the undead, but to evade them perhaps. Let me check.”
Marna bends down to reach a shelf underneath the counter. Xizoh can hear the delicate sounds of glass bottles clanking together as she searches. A minute later, she stands again and sets two bottles down on the counter. “I have two low level potions that will allow the drinker to escape the notice of the lesser dead,” she says. “Fifty gold each.”
She reaches for a larger bottle as though she knows exactly where to find it. “You’re in luck, I do have a fairly powerful healing potion just in stock for three hundred gold.”
Marna taps her fingers on the counter. “Courage. That’s not a request I often get, but I think maybe...” She makes her way to the cabinet and spends a few minutes searching. “Ah, yes.” She brings another bottle over and sets it on the counter. “This is a potion to inspire courage in the face of death, and I think it also offers some healing effects. I've had it a long time now, but I’d part with it for three hundred gold.”
"I have a pile of fresh, clean bandages I've just packed up. I'm happy to give some of those to you as a gift." Marna says.
Narwita returns Dulae nod as she passes.
Dulae walks into the waiting room to find the captain's office door closed and the room empty except for Private Zahan. "Hey there Sergeant," he says without his usual enthusiasm. "Never did get to buy you another round last night."
Five minutes after Dulae passes, Lieutenant Buhari also makes his way past Dara and Lieutenant Narwita to the captain's office. "Morning," he says pleasantly. Narwita nods at him.
"Not modest, honest. Give me the two for evading the dead, and that liquid courage please. Thank you for the bandages ma'am, I'll make sure they are put to good use."
Pulling forty of the platinum coins out, the young healer asks, "Will these work? I know they may be hard to break, but they're all I have."
Marna smiles at Xizoh's further modesty.
"Of course, I get these from the military folks all the time," she says, accepting Xizoh's platinum pieces.
Marna ties up the bandages neatly with some twine and sets them next to Xizoh's potions. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help, and please take care," she says.
"Woooow, this is fancy stuff! Hi, how are you? Do you have any specialties you trade in?" Cel asks as he stares wide-eyed at all the things.
"No, that's plenty already. Thank you once again."
Waving to Marna as he steps back into the cold, Xizoh makes his way towards the military headquarters. With each step he burrows further into his furs. I feel like Anathema right now. I hope the military building has at least some warmth.
"Good morning, Zahan." Dulae props the longspear up against a wall and sits. "Necromancers can be inconsiderate like that. Are you joining us on the mountain?"
Risa sighs heavily. “I would’ve said magical items, but that cursed thief took my whole stock,” she says testily. “Can I help you with something?”
Xizoh enters the military building and finds it is indeed comfortably warm. Just inside, Dara is standing to the left of the door as though she’s waiting for something, and Lieutenant Narwita is standing to the right.
“Welcome,” Narwita says crisply. “We’ll be meeting in the captain’s office soon. One of your party is already in the waiting room.”
Xizoh arrives a short time later, bringing a burst of cold air in with him.
“Welcome,” Narwita greets him. “We’ll be meeting in the captain’s office soon. One of your party is already in the waiting room.”
Zahan grins. “Glad to see you’ve got some spirit in you for the day ahead.” He glances wistfully at the captain’s office. “Sadly, no. Not with you, I mean. The captain’s got a few picked out to go up with an orb, and I did ask, but I’ll be following with the reinforcements.”
Lieutenant Buhari strides into the waiting room, quickly greets the two of them, and lets himself into the captain’s office after a nod from Zahan.
Alaina stayed by the door with her arms crossed watching Cel look around like a kid in a sweets shop. He's adorable. She thought.
Dara gave an affirmative nod as Xizoh entered the building. "Hello again Mr........you know, I don't think I actually caught your name? My apologies, I'm usually better at that."
"Oh that's right...I'm sorry you lost your things," he says with a frown. "I think we might be able to get some of them back, though! We found some stuff up at the mountain, and we're going back!"
Cel things for a minute, rifles around in his pack, and says, "I don't think I can afford any of the things I would want right now, but thank you!
Turning to face the voice, Xizoh shrugs his shoulders. "No worries, I can't say I know yours myself. I'm Xizoh Shadelock, the expeditions medic."