[dice=Knowledge (history) check regarding "The Lopper"]1d20+7[/dice]
Ella leads the way out of the house, wrapping her cloak around her. "I agree with Lorant, though I'd hate to make you uncomfortable, Mr. Locke," she says firmly. "Let's at least alert the Sheriff as to last night's goings-on, and then we can depart for areas you find more to your liking."
So saying, she leads the way to the sheriff's office (unless anyone raises strident objections).
Cassiel nods and moves to accompany Ella. "It shouldn't take too long--a couple of minutes, at most."
Aid another
Judah sighed and nodded. "I'll just wait outside again."
Ella nods. "That's perfectly fine by me, Mr. Locke," she says. "Let's be off." She leads the way up to the Sheriff's door and knocks smartly.
Cassiel lets Ella step into the Sheriff's office first before following her.
"Sir, I wish I could say we're here under more pleasant circumstances..." The paladin clears his throat.
Okay, time to broach this as carefully as I can...
"...but, well, last night Ms. Lorrimor's father came knocking at her door and attacked her." He cringes. "And when we went with Father Grimburrow to have him reburied, we were attacked by skeletons rising from the town's graveyard. I have no idea what provoked them into attacking."
"Oh, for the love of--" Ella steps forward. "Sir, why on earth would we be reporting this to you if we had something to do with it? This is ridiculous. You need to remember where you live, sir: in Ustalav, the lands once conquered by the Whispering Tyrant. We are all of us, the living, at the mercy of the dead. When we tell you that there are dead walking, it is no childish prank but a dire warning."
She subsides, but only with what sounds like a "humph."
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As if to emphasize her point, Cassiel lifts up part of his armour and shows the Sheriff the lingering claw wounds on his body.
"I must have gotten these while I was sleepwalking, then." His voice isn't so much laced with sarcasm so much as utterly dripping with it. "I REALLY should ask Ms. Lorrimor to put a sturdier lock on my door."
"Ask Father Grimburrow if you don't believe us. He was right there with us, and helped us with the reburial of the corpses. And besides, sir--I'm a paladin. I'm literally honour-bound to not make s!!! like this up."
"--It isn't." Cassiel sighs. "Frankly, I wish it was, but as it stands, it isn't."
"Thank you for at least listening to us, sir." He gives the man a quick nod and turns to leave the office. He holds the door open for Ella first.
Ella sweeps out of the sheriff's office, clearly still riled up. "Well, that was a bust," she growls. "Come on, Mr. Locke, we're leaving. Where next? Zokar's?"
Cassiel wrinkles his nose and closes the office door behind him.
"...I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm starting to understand your issues with law enforcement, Judah."
Judah was chewing a long stalk of grass on the porch like a country bumpkin. He pitched himself up and fell in line with the others as they started walking.
"Let me guess. He tried to turn you two into the bad guys just for being there and deciding to speak up?"
He didn't bother waiting for response.
"Law enforcement is around to keep the peace. They only care about problems that exist in view of the public. Anything out of sight they don't care about and annoying dragging things to light is part of the problem."
Judah was chewing a long stalk of grass on the porch like a country bumpkin. He pitched himself up and fell in line with the others as they started walking.
"Let me guess. He tried to turn you two into the bad guys just for being there and deciding to speak up?"
He didn't bother waiting for response.
"Law enforcement is around to keep the peace. They only care about problems that exist in view of the public. Anything out of sight they don't care about and annoying dragging things to light is part of the problem."
Cassiel wrinkles his nose and snorts. "At least in Lastwall, when news of an undead incursion comes up, the commanders don't stick their heads in the dirt and hope the problem goes away--they mount up and do something about it."
"That's military. Very different priorities." Judah shrugged.
"That's actually not as big a distinction as you think." Cassiel scratches his head. "Lastwall's soldiers more or less ARE the law--given the blessing of Iomedae, too."
"Which works very well against the undead, I'm sure," Ella says as she leads the way to the Laughing Demon, "though students of history and governance might tell you of other instances in which combining the military and the government has worked out less than well for those of us who are civilians..." She pauses with a sigh outside the pub. "Well, I guess this is as good a place to start canvassing the town as any," she says with a sigh. Pushing her way through the door, she looks around to see if there are any familiar or friendly-looking faces in the place.
"Hey now--it works just as well against the orcs of Belkzen, too." Cassiel sounds mildly hurt & amused at the same time.
Judah grinned. "Good choice." he said, realizing where she'd lead them.
He glanced around for games of chance, darts, or drunken marks with fat pockets.
Lorant sighs a bit as they learn about the Lopper.
"And here I thought the other prisoners might be LESS awful than The Splatter Man."
We knew this was a prison of monsters but just not to what degree. I think our research is a critical component of the exploration of the prison, if not as important as the exploration of the prison itself. Maybe the temple of Pharasma will yield similar documents and the others can also pursue research there?
"I doubt it. They've got good information on the spiritual side of things, but these are historical matters."
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At the Pub, the group looks upon unfamiliar faces. Only Zokar bears any familiarity and he smiles broadly as you enter. "Welcome, friends" he says, spotting you across the taproom. The room is largely empty; only three tables are occupied. Near the door, two people, a man and a woman, sit discussing something. Three men, probably farmers by their garb, sit drinking at another. Near the hearth sits a man alone, nursing a pint. Finally, a bard drones on in a lonely dirge in one corner. No one much seems to be listening.
"Good afternoon, Zokar," Ella says politely as she leads the way into the pub. Glancing around the room, she waggles her eyebrows at the two following her and says, "I love this part of the common room--excellent light."
It's pretty clear to Judah and Cassiel that she thinks they should try to chat up the man drinking alone. Ella takes a seat at a table two over from him and orders a glass of wine. She sips at it and makes small talk for a few minutes before glancing over toward the man drinking alone and asking in her best off-hand manner, "And you, sir? Are you a native of Ravengro? The three of us are strangers here, and we're trying to get to know the town somewhat better."
Judah moved over to take a seat near the bard and closed his eyes, smiling, enjoying the music.
The alchemist is hard at study.
The inquisitor is assisting him.
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"Native? Oh, aye. I am... what in the Nine Hells?"
The man stops short, his words hanging in the air, as he stares at something behind Eleanora. There, suspended in the air, their wings beating rapidly, are two of the most hideous "birds" that you have ever seen. The insectoid creatures have two pairs of bat wings, a tangle of thin legs, and a needle-sharp proboscis.
Within blinding speed, the creatures dart and dodge, almost as though in time to the music being sung. Both attack Cassiel; one is unable to penetrate his armor, but the other finds a soft spot and plunges its proboscis into the paladin's shoulder. Cassiel feels a stabbing pain and then dizziness as blood is drained from his body !
INITIATIVE
Enemy
Eleanora
Judah
Cassiel
"Ahhhh! Ella cries. Even as she shrieks, one of the creatures appears to stutter in its flight before recovering. As she scrambles across the room to the bar, she yelps, "What are those? And where did they come from?!"
Judah hated bugs.
Before he'd really realized what he was doing he'd hauled out his crossbow, loaded it and taken a shot at the disgusting thing hanging over Cassiel's head.
but he missed.
A mug of ale dies across the room!
"OW!" Cassiel yanks his sword out of its scabbard and tries to bring it down on the oversized mosquito that decided he looked like a good snack.
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Eleanora gestures, and a mug of ale flies at one of the creatures, which dodges nimbly out of the way. Judah quickly levels his crossbow,but the shot goes wide. Cassiel slides his sword from it's sheath and with an awkward motion, slashes the offending creature that has landed on him. He is rewarded with a bright splash of his own blood as he bisects the creature, the remainder of which falls from his arm.
The remaining creature circles warily before diving towards Eleanora. It lights upon her back and stabs it's proboscis into her (Eleanora takes 1 point of Con damage)!
"Dammit! Get off her!" Judah said, tossing his crossbow aside and running forward to try to drag the thing off by hand.
Ella shrieks as the creature stabs into her neck, and turns as Judah grabs it. Reaching up to her throat, she yanks on a slender chain around her neck and pulls out a strange, slender dagger that looks almost more ornamental than useful. She lunges at the creature...
...and almost stabs Judah by accident. "Sorry!!"
Cassiel walks up to the monster stuck in Eleanora's back and swings at it.
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Eleanora, in her panic, nearly stabs Judah with a dagger that she produced from her necklace. Judah, deftly dodging her wild swing, grabs the thing and attempts to loosen it from her, but finds that it clings tenaciously. Cassiel attempts to strike the creature, but for fear of hitting Judah or Eleanora, his blow is too light to penetrate the thing's leathery hide. .
The bard has ceased playing and is fleeing for his life, as have most of the other patrons. The barkeep peeks over the rim of the bar, watching with wide eyes.
Cassiel tries again. "Hold still!"
Judah did his best to wrangle the disgusting bug into a good position to be hit by Cassiel.