Smiling at Harness, Tessa opens her mouth to speak, but stops short. Hearing Snyk's question and Cavenn's subsequent response, she turns to the pair.
"To be fair, do you have proof he or the goblins did that to his father? A confession perhaps? I don't believe so..."
"We have simple supposition, assumptions, and coincidences. It's it likely the young Tutso had a hand in the poor man's fate? Yes. However, there is the ever so slight possibility he and his goblin army didn't."
"Perhaps while they were busy plotting to wipe out the town, someone else disposed of the father in the glassworks... I'm just saying, perhaps we should confirm our suspicions before condemning a man for the wrong crime. He has enough crimes we can prove to condemn him as is."
Cavenn suppresses a laugh and let's out a sigh with an eyebrow raised. "Well, unless you have a way to see into the past, I'm not sure how one could ever be absolutely sure of anything. I'm going on the evidence at hand and it sure points to Tsuto and those goblins."
Ameiko speaks up at this point, "The Innkeeper can speak for herself, thank you. As she glares equally at Cavenn and Snyk, she continues. As for my brother's things. You may have them. I have no wish to own any of the things that he did anymore. And put that knife away. He'll be dealt with by the law, according to the law. And the law in Sandpoint does have provisions for this sort of thing. First and foremost (after he's locked up), is to have the local priest or otherwise trained individual inspect for magical manipulation. I could, of course, forgoe this option as both his next of kin and the aggrieved. And I'm sorely tempted to. But he IS my brother. So everyone stop talking like I'm not right here and let's go to the damn Sheriff!
"That sounds like a good option to me."
At the barracks, Cavenn looks at the fellow half orc with interest.
Harness dumps Tsuto unceremoniously on the floor then states abruptly:
"An army of 200 goblins is about to descend upon the town. Plus some other creatures - a bugbear and a...closet. I think. Perhaps it is animated. Also we saw a sorceress. The Innkeepers Ameiko's brother drew naked pictures of a demon."
All motion from the man behind the desk stops as Harness starts speaking. When he finishes, the paper he is holding in front of his face to read slowly lowers until you all can see his face. A look of utter bewilderment paints the otherwise gruff features of him as he stares unblinkingly at Harness. What?, the word slips from his lips as his eyes begin to look around the room at the others in it. First at Tsuto's body, then at Ameiko, Snyk, then the other Half-Orc. Cavenn? Is that you?
He stands up, looks at Ameiko, and says, Okay, someone explain to me what in the 7 layers of Hell is going on.
Ameiko chimes in with her part, I received a letter from my unfortunate brother here to meet him last night at father's glassworks to discuss him possibly being connected to the goblin attack. When I arrived, I was attacked from behind while my brother distracted me and drugged. I woke up with this lot standing over me and Tsuto was unconscious. We found my father in the glassworks, dead, covered with glass. I...I'm requesting Father Zantus check him for magical compulsion. Also, I believe one of these adventurers has Tsuto's journal. Might explain a little more details. I have no idea about the closet.
Cavenn lowers his head to his chest as Harness brings up the "closet". "Heh.Heh.Heh."
Cavenn? Is that you?
"Yes, it is me! It has been many, many moons since I saw you last, my friend. How has this life been treating you?" He then walks over and greets the other half blooded orc with a somewhat feral looking handshake.
"All of these things are true essentially." he says looking back with a smile at the warforged, and winking, says: "Can you hold this man and see that justice is served? I trust we may catch up soon also?"
Snyks hand audibly hits is forehead at Harnesses mention of the closet.
Sphen stands as you approach and responds to your greeting with a gesture to the desk littered with papers. Some days better, some days worse. I'll have him put into a holding cell. If you lot could go get Father Tobyn for us, that would be exceedingly helpful. My men are stretched pretty thin still with the ones the sheriff took with him not here to back us up.
He glances at Snyk when he smacks himself in the head, then looks at Harness, then the strangest looking half-elf he's ever seen. Yeah, catching up sounds great. I imagine your story will be more interesting than mine.
Sphen stands as you approach and responds to your greeting with a gesture to the desk littered with papers. Some days better, some days worse. I'll have him put into a holding cell. If you lot could go get Father Tobyn for us, that would be exceedingly helpful. My men are stretched pretty thin still with the ones the sheriff took with him not here to back us up.
He glances at Snyk when he smacks himself in the head, then looks at Harness, then the strangest looking half-elf he's ever seen. Yeah, catching up sounds great. I imagine your story will be more interesting than mine.
EDIT: This was meant to say Father Zantus. That's a my bad.
Eyeing Harness with concern, Tessa whispers "I thought he was coming out of the closet...never seen a closet fight personally. Though..." pausing a moment as she looks over the mechanism again, "Never seen a...uh...man made of that either."
Turning back towards the half-orc, she smiles. "Well, certainly. Seems a simple enough task. Now.....where is he?"
Yeah, catching up sounds great. I imagine your story will be more interesting than mine.
Cavenn nods then says: "Alright, my friend and thanks to you. I will stop back by later and swap stories. For now, it's off to take care of some things."
With that, Cavenn leaves and goes to make his purchases and sell items:
hmm...
Happy that he has been helpful...nay...instrumental in securing the safety of the town he is feeling more a part of everyday Harness beams.
"Snyk. We need to but some things. Can you make the purchases?"
Now to find out more about Robori!
Harness attempts to sequester (read: pester) Tessa about the tenets of this all powerful natural force. Then goes to "meditate" with his newfound knowledge, inspiration and spirituality.
With a broad smile, Tessa readily shares with the mechanical creature.
"Well, it's really quite simple. You can't eat meat...at all. No cursing or saying things in a rude tone...NO BLUE CLOTHING! I can't stress that one enough. Just can't do it."
"Ummm...well if you have any dogs, they should be on a leash. And no gambling. Even saying..." pausing as she looks from side to side, she whispers "I bet is wrong."
"In my home town, we don't spread false gospels...we refuse to acknowledge any other gods...but it seems there are many beyond the walls of home so perhaps we should try to keep our voices down on that front."
"So you see? It's really rather straight forward. Beyond that, we should try to help our fellow creatures, spread the good word of the amazing Robori...and try to ready the whole of Golarion for his spreading love."
After he buys the necessary items, Cavenn heads back over to the barracks to see if Sphen is available to chat. He will then spend the rest of his evening catching up, laughing and swapping stories with the other half orc. He shares bits about his past, careful not to reveal too much about the more sensitive areas. He asks about the past several years of happenings of Sandpoint, particulary curious if Sphen knows anything about Nualia, Tsuto or Father Tobyn.
@The Whole Group: Sgt. Sphen responds to Tessa's question: Well, I imagine he's at the cathedral. Church is generally where you find a priest. I'll have one of the boys put Tsuto here in a cell for the time being. Sphen also looks one oddly at Tessa as she touts the many virtues and seemingly random rules of Robori.
Ameiko makes her excuses when you leave the garrison: Thank you all for your help. I'd best be getting back to the inn to check in on things there. Bethanna is probably worried sick. I know I promised you all free room and board for a month after your help with the goblins. Consider that offer extended indefinitely.
@Cavenn: When you arrive in the evening, Sphen pushes the some stacks of paper to the side and gets out a small flask of something strong. His story is not as interesting as yours, but he has a few stories to tell. Nualia he presumes died in the fire with Father Tobyn some years back. Tsuto, he tells you, has always been a bit of a trouble-maker, a scoundrel, but never enough for official involvement.
So....shopping is done. Is anyone actually going to go to the cathedral and get the priest or not?
Cavenn will take a hot bath, soak for a long, long while and then will sleep at the inn, happy his first couple of days back in Sandpoint have gone well. In the morning, he will get up and after eating breakfast, clean and straighten his clothes and gear and head over to the cathedral to grab up Father Zanthus.
"Father, we've a problem over at the barracks. We'd like you to come take a look at Tsuto, Ameiko's brother. She fears he may be under magical compulsion. I'm afraid I'm no expert at such things."
Is everyone else willing to wait until tomorrow for this simple errand? It was only midmorning (as a reminder), when you went to the glassworks. Latest would be early afternoon by the time you drop off Tsuto. That's an entire day wasted just to cross town and talk to the priest.
"time is a finite resource"
"Well...shall we to the priest?" she asks. Without awaiting a response, she trots towards the church. Hesitating for but a moment, she steps inside with a shudder. 'Robori forgive me for stepping in this place of the heathens!'
"Father Zantus! Your presence is required at the barracks!" she calls out in the sanctuary, looking around for the man. "A man may have killed his father. Need to know if it was his doing."
Whoever goes to the church finds it empty of most of it's previous occupants, those townsfolk who were injured during the goblin attack just a few scant days ago. Tessa, once inside you find the most unholy of places you've ever seen. Clean swept stone floors meet the beautifully carved walls at clean angels. Vaulted ceilings reach high in the main sanctuary, and stained glass windows let it a rainbow of light upon the freshly polished wooden pews that line the floor.
Father Zantus sits in one of the pews speaking across the isle to a young woman sitting in another. Their conversation quiet, but not furtive. He stands abruptly with your sudden arrival, sweeping towards you hurriedly and speaking as he does. What do you mean? Someone else is dead? Who? How am I to find out if he killed him?
Doubling over at the sight, Tessa turns an unearthly green. *HrrK* barely able to stifle the bile within, she turns and rushes back out, mumbling. "Please...out...outside!"
Once outside, the woman pants and takes a few big swallows before turning back to the priest. "Sorry. Uh...didn't expect such...well...yeah. Anyway...so, the innkeepers dad has been killed in a rather gruesome fashion. It is believe his son did the deed."
"The jailer said you would be able to see if he was under magical influence? Regardless, he asked us to retrieve you."
With a single glance back towards the building, she shudders and quickly begins marching back to the barracks. "Please, come now."
Saira stands and follows behind Father Zantus quietly. She looks concerned but waits for the Father to address her before joining the conversation.
I like churches. Its a shame the craftsman don't put this much effort into other more useful buildings. But I suppose if you believe the church is the property of a supposed all-powerful being, you'd be motivated to keep them satisfied...
...of course, the coming goblins would tear it down all the same.
Back at the barracks, Cavenn listens in as Father Zanthus does his thing.
Father Zantus looks around at those who didn't flee the cathedral while vomiting into their mouths, his expression is perplexed to say the least. He begins following slowly, but stops at the doorway and looks back at Saira. Well Sister, you'd best come too. At least until we can figure this out. He turns his attention back to the group as they walk through town (any of them that are there). Will someone please give me more information? Who has died?
"The owner of the Glassworks, the innkeepers father. We believe his son to be colluding with enemies of Sandpoint.
Saira follows the Father and listens to conversation intently. "Lonjiku is dead?"
Tsuto? Really? The boy has always been a bit of an outsider, but who can blame him, really? This conversation concludes as they rush through the streets, walking fast...faces past...they're Tsuto bound. (sorry)
When Father Zantus arrives, he looks towards the Sgt. and receives a nod in the direction of Tsuto's cell. He takes Saira's hand and leads her further in, whispering to her how he'd like her to help. Just concentrate on your gifts. Will the power forward, like you're going to heal someone, but then hold it without using it. It may be difficult to do at first, but just keep trying. You'll feel me pull on it once you have it, don't resist. I can use it to strengthen my own spells. The two priests enter the cell of the still unconscious Tsuto (who is never-the-less restrained) and kneel on either side of the pallet he is laid upon. They begin praying.
Light begins to well up in Saira's hands and then bleed over into Father Zantus' hands, then down into Tsuto's body as Father Zantus begins to slide his open palms over Tsuto's form from head to toe to head. When he reaches the head again, Father Zantus' prayers come to an end and he sits back on his heels before standing and helping up Saira. He turns and gives a start at how close Cavenn is standing, still not entirely comfortable with his presence.
Well, there is definitely something wrong with him. There are traces of magic all over his mind. But they're in to deep for me to be able to remove. There are only a few ways to fix this. One is to find a much more powerful purveyor of magic than myself, which will be exceedingly costly. The second is to get whoever cast these spells to remove them. That is assuming they all came from the same person, which I doubt. They seem to change slightly the deeper in they go. Maybe family members to each other, or a coven. Last....last would be to kill those who cast the spells. He says this last part with a sigh, looking back over his shoulder at Tsuto's body, sadness in his eyes. But whether the sadness is for having to kill someone or because of something with Tsuto, you don't know. I'll tell the Sgt. He should be detained for now, and carefully watched. Who knows what other things his orders may have him attempt.
Unless you folks have any further questions, Father Zantus leaves your immediate presence and you all gain 100 exp for completing the Glass Works part of the adventure.
Watching all the scenes quietly, and still contemplative about what the voice could be, and what is really going on in this town, he keeps listening without a word, until Father Zantus finishes his speech.
It's a shame he was manipulated into doing something like that. If he's a good man, he'll regret it when he comes back to his senses. No matter what way we choose to remove all the magic on him, we should not wait too long to do it.
He pauses for a second, seeing that finally they have some time free from duties, and speaks to the rest of the group I am going to the tunnel below the glassworks. I want to figure out what that voice is. Does anyone want to join me? I wouldn't want to risk going alone in there.
Father Zantus raises his eyebrows in surprise at his own forgetfulness. Oh, yes. Of course. My apologies. Saira, this is the heroes that stopped most of the goblins when they raided the town a few days back. He points to Harness, Snyk, and Eydor. This is Cavenn...a..um..former resident of town, and Tessa who..is....... They have also decided to help. I think that with Elery acquiescing to the wishes of her aunt, he leans in close, Mayor Deverin, that they could use your help. Everyone, this is Saira Hosk. Her uncle runs the stables in town. She is here as an official representative of the church of Desna. She is technically my assistant at the cathedral, but I think that what you folks are doing seem important enough to lend the churches aide. He seems eager to have her along, but also wary of it.
Now, what is this about a mysterious voice and some tunnels?
yes! another inventory to catalog!
with a slight tug on Sairas robes Snyk offers a small polite bow
If you will be officially joining our party, would you allow me to take inventory of your equipment? This will reduce equipment redundancies and streamline party purchases. says Snyk masking his excitement.
Please, tell me this is not going to end into another religion fight... He takes a look at Tessa, looking at her reaction when another god besides Robori is mentioned.
Frowning at the claim of a god beside Robori being possible, Tessa bites her lip....hard, but stays silent. Nodding as the man speaks, she offers a curtsy to the newcomer.
"Pleased to meet you uh...Saira was it? I'm a Priestess myself, though..." glancing to her companions, she frowns momentarily. "Lets just say we have different theological views?"
'Oh, good save. Robori would be proud!' she considers, beaming at her ability to learn social etiquette.
"We are a strange bunch, but hopefully things go well."
Cavenn looks sternly at Saira. “Official representative, huh? Ha! From where?”
”By Desna’s Wings, I cannot seem to get far enough away from these officials! Even all the way out here. And here I was thinking things were going pretty well. I hope she doesn’t have a stick up her ass.”
Harness watches the priests of a different facet of Robori tend to Tsuto. He doesn't really understand what they are doing but it seems...interesting.
When Eydor asks for aid, Harness is quick to respond.
"We will aid you!
As they head off, Harness talks companionably to his friend.
" Snyk, how do you feel about biting your enemies from time to time? I think I know a way to make those teeth of yours really sharp and your jaws powerful - at least for a little while. Robori has showed me!"
Robori...good grief
"I would hope that my extensive training in the use of knives and art of subtlety would not go unused by someone as wise as yourself, Master. Even so I will do as you wish.
after a beat passes
"though if we encounter a Brie elemental, I would have no qualms." Snyk adds with a smirk.
...Wouldn't want anything to go missing."
almost offended, Snyk tries to reassure her. "Of course. Nothing is more important to me than rightful ownership of property."
after a fleeting glance at Cavenn. "Nothing."
Cavenn eyes Saira with a momentary hint of contempt which seems to fade quickly. ”I see. Well, I’ve had some experiences with the Mother’s Church in Magnimar too...though...well...it doesn’t matter anymore. We welcome you back home and look forward to your help moving forward.” Just the mention of the Magnimar Church of Desna seems to give Cavenn a bad taste in his mouth. Father Zanthus jumping at his presence seems to irritate him a bit too. “He appears to be a good man so far. Doesn’t hold a candle to Father Tobyn though. He’ll get used to me soon enough. I’m half orc, not half demon.”
”I’m ready to go back down and investigate if the rest of you are. Tessa, Harness, Snyk? You ready? Eydor, I know you are.”
Catching Snyk’s sideways glance, Cavenn shrugs and smiles sarcastically.
"Well, I suppose we should go make sure Eydor has lost his marbles then." replies Tessa. "Saira, time to show what your made of."
With a wink, Tessa turns and heads towards the glassworks.
Saira takes her leave of Father Zantus and follows along behind what are now her new comrades.
"ready to go"
Well, if everyone is ready, we should go now.
After what happened with Elery in the Glassworks, Cavenn wants to discuss how things are done moving forward. “How does everyone want to proceed tactically moving forward? I don’t want to just have one of us jumping into the fray alone, especially if we have a greater threat than just goblins to deal with. I’m not going to tell anyone what to do but I would like to have an idea of how we are going to proceed when exploring. Eydor and Harness in the vanguard? Tessa, myself and Snyk next with Saira in the rear? I’m pretty good at searching for things and I know a bit about each of you but I like to plan ahead. What are your thoughts?”
After what happened with Elery in the Glassworks, Cavenn wants to discuss how things are done moving forward. “How does everyone want to proceed tactically? I don’t want to just have one of us jumping into the fray alone, especially if we have a greater threat than just goblins to deal with. I’m not going to tell anyone what to do but I would like to have an idea of how we are going to operate when exploring. Eydor and Harness in the vanguard? Tessa, myself and Snyk next with Saira in the rear? I’m pretty good at searching for things and I know a bit about each of you but I like to plan ahead. What are your thoughts?”
Harness listens intently.
"I am fine with that. I will make paste in the front."