The Sorcerer retrieves his dagger, clearly showing the signs of being weakened by the stirge. He chuckles at Morbury's minor struggle "No problem my friend. Come, by me a drink at the tavern and we'll call it even. Then you can sit back and watch me entertain the townsfolk."
Morbury smiles. "Fair enough, good sir. Fair enough. But I am curious... what kind of entertainment do you offer? Do you spin fantastic tales of events that you have experienced firsthand or have heard throughout your travels? I have heard of those who have a such a gift, but I personally have never actually seen or known one to possess such."
Kayela pauses for a moment as combat ends as she walks over to the stirges felled by akidyka's sorcerery and steps on each one till she hears a satisfyign pop.
While doing so she casts detect magic on the area looking for any strange lingering aura's.
She then turns to the rest of the group, "Well than how bout ah drink!" as she happily saunters towards the laughing demon.'
It might bump of trust score up on the cheap, which could be useful and at least be jovial.
Anyone else like that idea?
She then turns to the rest of the group, "Well than how bout ah drink!" as she happily saunters towards the laughing demon.'
"Usually a good idea - especially now, when some of us have lost a bit of liquid ourselves" Hasmir quips, quickly back in a good mood. "Where could those vermin have come from, though? Maybe there is? He shrugs and shoulders his bow again, but eyes the surroundings suspiciously all the same.
"Now that's what I'm talking about". "I do feel the need for a drink or seven".
"Too much blood in your alcohol stream, eh?" Hasmir grins, then checks the eaves of the gazebo. "Can anyone give me a hand, by the way? Maybe there's a nest of those darned things up there."
Woah... where did the darned gazebo go?
Morbury moves over to assist Hasmir. "That is a good idea, Hasmir. I will assist you. Better to be safe than sorry."
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You find no nest in the gazebo. Why they were there and where they came from is a mystery.
In the tavern, you hear more gossip as the people are less suspicious of you. You happen to hear two rumors. The first is that Jominda Fallenbridge does more than brew potions—she brews drugs and poisons as well and sells them through agents in other towns. Why else would the sheriff be so interested in her business?
The second is that they say that Harrowstone’s executioner still guards the execution balcony on the western side of the prison, and that on some nights, his scythe can be seen patrolling the balcony on its own, as if carried by an invisible spirit.
Over a mug of ale, Hasmir shares the details of some of what he's found out, almost without exaggeration. Well, considering how things get left out of official documents, he is fairly sure what he is saying may be just as close to the truth. "... and this is why they call him Father Charlatan. By the looks of it, he was quite the arse. Makes you wonder why the gods didn't do anything about it, really - apparently, not even send someone who could."
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With help from the others, Darcy uncovers this morsel of information while digging through the records at the Temple:
The Lopper (Vance Saetressle): When the Lopper stalked prey, he would hide in the most unlikely of places, sometimes for days upon end with only a few supplies to keep him going while he waited for the exact right moment to strike. Once his target was alone, the Lopper would emerge to savagely behead his victim with a handaxe.
Meanwhile, at the Unfurled Scroll, Kayela finds this disturbing bit of history:
The Splatter Man (Hean Feramin): Professor Feramin was a celebrated scholar of Anthroponomastics (the study of personal names and their origins) at the Quartrefaux Archives in Caliphas. Yet an accidental association with a succubus twisted and warped his study, turning it into an obsession. Feramin became obsessed with the power of a name and how he could use it to terrify and control. Soon enough, his reputation was ruined, he’d lost his tenure, and he’d developed an uncontrollable obsession with an imaginary link between a person’s name and what happens to that name when the person dies. Every few days, he would secretly arrange for his victim to find a letter from her name written in blood, perhaps smeared on a wall or spelled out with carefully arranged entrails. Once he had spelled his victim’s name, he would at last come for her, killing her in a gory mess using a complex trap or series of rigged events meant to look like an accident.
Dice Checks:
As Kayela enters the bar she sits down and eyes up the crowd and bar man. After a moment she stands up swiftly and speaks loudly to those loudly to all those present at the tavern. "As yah might all know we ah strangers tah your humble little hamlet. We where drawn here to tragedy tah oversee tah passing of dah beloved professor Lorrimor. We have been in mourning, but where ah come from ah part of tah grieving process is ah celebration of tah the deceased life." She then slams 3 gold pieces onto the counter to punctuate the statement. "I'm partial to celebrating with drink, so everyone dah first few couple of rounds ah on me! If yah dant know dah professor or perhaps dant care for him above all drink tah life!"
Upon hearing of how Arigoder got his scars Kayela listens intently as she stirs her drink with her dagger. She occasionally makes the off-hand comment about orcs being dishonorable filthy green bags of bile and and filth. After hearing his tale she becomes a bit stoic and sad before she raises a drink expecting Arigoder to do the same "Tah yah mother!" she shares a toast taking a swig with him "Tah yah sister!" she takes another swig "Tah yah father" repeating the action a third time "An tah all dah orcs we slay" and she chugs the last of the ale before patting Arigoder on the back playfully and saying "I'll remember what day did tah yah an keep the thoughts of yah family close tah mah heart the next time my steel draws orc blood"
Kayela then returns to drinking and sharing the info with the rest of the group while occasionally asking stranger if they know anyone that's been injured or been taken by illness lately.
After Kayela buys the first round, Akydi pulls out his pan pipes and begins to play a jovial tune. He accompanies this with colorful lights, sounds of a few other instruments, and a few entertaining parlor tricks.
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Kayela's generosity and Akydidya's performance (I will assume that Hasmir joins in with this, not sure if he is back yet) go a long way in loosening up the crowd. Gossip flys fast and thick as the villagers treat all of you more warmly than before, especialy after your group's heroics in the town square. A few more interesting rumors go by you as people drift in and out of your party.
Rumors:
The food at the Laughing Demon isn’t all fun and games—and it’s no coincidence that Zokar serves more corpse chowder after unpopular merchants “leave town,” never to be seen again. If Zokar invites you into the Demon’s back room for a complimentary taste of that evening’s chowder, watch out! (of course, since you are in the only competing establishment to the Laughing Demon, this rumor may be a bit biased).
Now and then, if you visit Harrowstone near sundown, you can hear the ghost of the warden’s wife wailing and sobbing from somewhere within the ruins. She haunts the prison now, forever mourning her husband and attempting to frighten anyone who intrudes on the prison.
Arigoder nods in approval of Kayela's toasts, and rubs the fresher scar across his throat and says, with fire in his eye, "It's certainly what I think on when I kill them." He raises his tankard and smiles into his cup. To think, here I am enjoying myself, despite the strange circumstances and even stranger company... Or perhaps because of the strange company...
He listens to the performance and rumours for a time, then motions to the barmaid. With a smile, he places a full tankard before Kayela and smiles, saying, "I showed you mine..."
Kayela looks grimly at the ale before stating "Fair enough", "If ah was tah tell you how I got all the tatoos we'd be in this tavern all week so I'll just show yah dah ones I got dat were unintended" she jokes.
She plops her leg up onto the bar and draws up the hem clothing revealing a scar across her leg up to her knee, "Ah got dis fah being careless while climbing ah steep cliff when I was no more than 13 winters" She then unlatches the wolf skull that adorns her left shoulder and her clothing drops revealing her left shoulder blade and she points proudly to 4 scars that run from the tip of her shoulder diagonally down her back. "I got dis one when undergoing mah rites as a member of mah clan, I did battle wit ah fearsome Cinderwolf in dah Yawning Cave deep in dah Mindspin Mountains".
She then reattaches the skull as she downs the ale Arigoder provided and begins to lower her voice.
"Dah next two ah hard tah speak of." she says under her breath. "Ah got dis one when ah killed mah brother." pointing to the scar across her eye. "If I hadn't stumbled back at dah last moment his spear would'a taken mah skull." she fiddles with her clothing and reveals a scar along her lower abdomen "An ah I got dis in dah same fight when mah uncle thrust my brothers dagger into me." she says pointing at one of her daggers.
She sighs motioning to a barmaid for another drink, "Ah was careless, I was tracking ah corpse thief and in mah brashness attempted tah confront dem mahself. Little did ah know dey wah mah family nor dat they wah under dah control of dah lesser spawn of ah vampire. she thinks to herself staring at her ale."An since ah am afflicted with dah curse dat muddles mah speech and obfuscates others words when ah hear em I couldn't understand dem in battle nor hear their last words as ah cradled em in mah arms as dah light left their eyes" she downs the next ale "Bot ah got mah vengeance dat night on dah wicked abomination." she grins.
"Mah quahs elders where not so understanding for daybreak turned any proof ah had tah ashes and ah lost mah place in mah home and branded ah tshamek tah day after tah night I lost mah family" she mutters seething with a hint of anger.
Arigoder winces slightly at Kayela's tale, and rubs his neck once more. He leans in and whispers...
Arigoder's voice creaks slightly as he speaks in a whisper, "You've probably noticed this one. This is the one that hurt the most, really. When the Orcs were done with me, they left me for dead, and I was found by a band of mercenaries who took me in and tended to my wounds. I spent the next 12 years of my life with them, working as a runner, messenger, watchman and finally a member of the band itself. The Band had been down on its luck for a few years, but we finally got a contract to defend a small village from raiders.... We thought it would be easy, but the raiders came, better organized and in larger numbers than we expected, and they knew exactly how and when to hit us when we were at our least effective. The raiders offered to have the Band join them. They said yes... I said no. And this..." He pauses to rub his throat again as his voice cracks, whispering clearly requiring some effort, "...this is where the very man who looked after me and trained me for years hit me with his battle axe. It was a hard blow, and I was killed immediately, though he must have hit a piece of armour as the scar doesn't seem to go all around, so I know I wasn't decapitated... I lay there dead for more than a day before the Judge of Gods came before me and praised my dedication to protecting the people of the world and resurrected me. Sadly, I was left to heal on my own, and this raspy voice and sore throat is the result."
He looks her in the eye and says, quietly, "So I understand the way that some scars burn forever, the way they smoulder in your skin and soul and leave you feeling seared by injustices... but when I agreed to serve the Lord of the Vault, he promised that I would, one day, deliver justice to the Band.. or the raiders.. or whatever it is that they've become.... and, honestly, before I came here and met you people, that thought was one of the few that kept me going."
Morbury is quite fascinated by the show Akydidyka and Hasmir put on. "That was quite the show!" He says in an almost childlike manner. "You both are quite fantastic! I must sadly admit, I have never seen such in all my days. Quite impressive..." he trails off a moment thinking back to his childhood, or lack thereof. "Quite." He repeats, as he takes another sip of tea, and then draws himself back within his cloak out of habit.
Kayela listens closely to Arigoders tale.
Kayela seems quite interested at the start with the promise of a glorious battle against raiders.
Her demeanor turns from interested to disgusted upon the mention of the betrayal. It further shifts to horrified at the mention of Arigoders death and resurrection.
Still speaking under her breath to Arigoder, "If yah ever find dah band of cowards yah have my hand in dah task of spillin der blood." she says with a smile. "Bot dis talk ah being brought back from dah is most shock'en! For yah be dah cutest lookin dead man I've evar seen walkin." she jokes.
She then becomes quite serious. "Bot mah honor demands I at least fight you fah skirtin tah boney hand of death, might ya step outside and we'll settle this small matter with fists." she says with a coy smile "I'll patch up us both up after ets ovar dah loser buys dah next round." she adds in a friendly manner.
Darcy is really here only to have a good time. She watches with interest as her two new friends put on their show, and tell their story, but is more interested in trying out the new Wasted Wyvern shot on special, than really discussing anything important. That can wait for tomorrow. All the studying and research today, as well as that stupid flying tick's attack have left her drained, and ready for relaxation.
Arigoder laughs, "Surely you should be fighting The Lord of the Vault -- he's the one who brought me back?" He then winks and says more seriously, "I am his servant now, so I guess it's me either way."
He stands, drains his cup, and pulls out Kayela's chair for her. "After you, lady. I am always one to settle matters of honour."
She smiles "Next time ah see dat lord of dah Vault I'll give em ah good shining, but you'll do fah now"
Kayela finishes off her ale before pulling out Arigoder's chair for him "Dis shall be most fun!" she exclaims in glee. She turns to the rest of the party and states "Me an Ari are gonna" *timely-drunk hicup* "Have a friendly fight fah honor!" before she grabs Arigoder by the arm and heads outside where she removes her gauntlets and tosses them to the ground.
Hasmir, now much more relaxed, has tried reciting the Lay of Vanyo the Magnificent to the tune of Akidiki's performance. "Hark now, ye good folk and true, to the story of a great soul with so much to do. Vanyo was his name, great it was and good, a lover of virtue, and love, and good food. Yet one day he was challenged by not a small foe: Kancho the Terrible, foul bringer of woe. Man - nay, fiend - of great power, and stature as well, a head shorter than grown oak, and as proud as an elk... and he trails off for a grand story of epic quests, betrayal, and watered-down wine, to which the sentence is grim and ironic indeed...
Some time and a few drinks later, he goes back to the two would-be warriors, and declaims in an official voice. "I say, a fight for honor, eh? Most good, most good. Shall we do this the Margrave of Pichkovtsi style, or as a regular brawl?"
Arigoder follows Kayela out of the bar and gently places down his shield. "It wouldn't be fair to use it, and beside, it's bladed."
He takes up a ready stance and waits, saying, "Let me know when you are ready to begin..."
Kayela replies to Hasmir "....pichkov...bwha?....." before stating with a measure of seriousness "A brawl it is". *timely drunk-hic-up*
Kayela smiles when Arigoder says .....when you are ready to begin... and replies "Well.... ladies first!" before throwing herself at Arigoder and initiating the fight.
Kayela
Kayela
Arigoder
Kayela opens up strong with a swift punch to the gut. It isn't long however before valiant Arigoder wins out his last attack sending her reeling dazed and confused in a drunken blur. She kneels to catch her breath and spits a little blood onto the dirt road before exclaiming, "Mah yah warrior spirit is strong" she grins "It's no wondar Tshmecks drove us tah storval wit tah strength ah Abadar at der backs" with a hint of bitterness in her joke.
She rights herself and dusts herself off before muttering a prayer in shoanti healing herself before she does the same to Arigoder. She slap him on the back "Ah good fight ah be lookin fah a rematch sometime oh bastion of Abadar, but for now I believe ah owe ya ah drink."
Once done giving his rousing performance, Aykdi overhears the comments about a fight for honor. He follows the his two companions, grabbing a small group of patrons as he goes. When he gets outside, he begins taking bets from the dozen or so mostly drunk folk that tagged along.
Sadly its not much of a fight, but he does collect a few silver, which he uses to buy more drinks for the now decently rowdy tavern.
Arigoder reaches out a hand to help Kayela up, first with a smile, but then with a puzzled look from her bitterness, and says soberly and in a low voice, "Not everything done in Abadar's name is truly blessed by him... and as his servant, that is perhaps the most upsetting thing of all."
He then helps to pull her up and then starts rubbing at his face to assess the damage when the healing magic washes over him, "Thank you... I was worried that eye might swell shut otherwise."
He laughs good-naturedly at her joke, despite the slightly troubled look remaining on his face. He jests, saying, "Aye, well, I'll rarely say no to a free drink.. especially from a lovely lady."
Hasmir observes the fight with interest and quite a lot of enthusiasm, though he winces slightly at some of the blows. I hope to the gods they don't take it too far... they've both had a bit to drunk, and there might be a bit of bitterness at Kayela's end... not at him, personally, hopefully. He tries to keep the thoughts off his face and show only good-natured merriment.
"All's well that ends well, oh brave warriors," he says, beckoning them inside with a smile. "Now, I imagine a few more drinks are in order to stave off the night's cold?"
He will, when possible, mouth a quiet. "Hope you didn't go too far," to Arigoder, but apart from that seems to regard the whole event as a slightly drunken jest.
Kayela's joke at the end was a Galorion specific in cannon joke about the Shoanti being driven from their fertile homeland by Chelexian settlers, about 300 years ago long before the death of Aroden, and into the harsh environment of the Storval Plateau / Cinderlands.
She's not really bitter about anything (as it's not in any way personal), it's just a idle joke about civilization and by extension (Abadar see portfolio:'cities') overcoming the wilds of nature and culture of a primitive non-sedentary people.
Kayala smiles as she continues walking back with Arigoder to the bar, "Should yah axe hold dah power to burn the cities of Varisia tah dah ground ah might take yah up on the offer..." she jokes "..bot fah now lets turn it's blade tah vengeance fah good Lorrimor an wiping dis world of dah dead dat cling tah dah material rhelm."
Kayela returns to the bar and buys Arigoder another drink before drinking a few more herself to... stave off the cold (of course). She'll regale random folk with strange tales, challenge a few people to arm wrestling, and loose a few coppers playing cards before the night is through.
Hasmir seems to be listening to some of Kayela's tales, then pushes a drink he got from the bar in her direction. "Seems like you've seen an' heard quite a lot, Kayela. So what do you make of this here thing?"
Kayela levitates the mug of ale with Mage Hand inspecting it closely for any particularities before she snatches it out of the air and drinks it down. As she sets it down she turns to Hasmir quite replies quite seriously "Ahhhhh believe it ...was an ale." *timely-drunk-hicup* "Bot nah it's simply a mug" she jokes with a giggle.
@Akydid
Hasmir is slowly sipping from a mug of his own, taking his time to enjoy the brew (presuming, of course, that it is at least remotely enjoyable). "A mug with ale without the ale is a mug, yes." A few more sips. I meant to ask you about the things we've been digging up lately. Remember that catchy, morbid rhyme you told me about, the one with the skipping girls? He hums the words in a sing-along, with a slight smile on his face. "Cheery girls."
"Oh yah mean dat one wit tah verses dat most strangely fit perfectly wit dah criminals we been learnin of?" she says most casually. "Ah thought I'd finally got dat tune out oh mah mind!" she cries as she punches Hasmir in the arm lightly before joining in the morbid sing-along with a whistle.
As she motions to the bar-keep "Ah think ya owe me another fah casting it back inta mah mind like dat, oh elvish travellar"
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The next morning everyone wakes up (some in worse shape than others) to a repeat of the other morning. A crowd is gathering by the memorial where a second bloody letter has appeared. Now the blood spattered monument has a "VE" on it. The revelry of the night before is quickly suppressed by the new disquiet of the villagers.
Arigoder looks at the monument and shakes his head, I hope this does not cost us the goodwill we may have gained in our dealings thus far..
He steps back toward his friends and holds his throat to help him whisper, "I do not like the feel of this. I worry what happens when whoever finishes spelling out whatever they are dealing with."
Morbury studies the monument, trying to determine who, or what, the letters might stand for. "I agree Arigoder. Whoever is responsible for this, obviously has a message to deliver. I suggest we speak to Father Grimburrow and see if he may know someone, or something, that might begin with these letters. It may be imperative we find out before this is finished."
"I'll bet it's going to spell 'Vengence', Darcy quips.
Morbury turns to Darcy, back to the monument, then back to Darcy. "That is a clever assumption, Miss Darcy. It is difficult to disagree with that. If that is the case, then my next question is who's?"
Kayela looks up and down at the new defacement casts detect magic and focus's on the memorial for the full 3 rounds needed to determine the strength of the Aura.
She'll also experiment a little and pour some water on the letters and try to scrub them away.
She will then look over the monument and read any writing that's on it (Obviously not the blood soaked letters).
She'll continue to search the area for any tracks she might pick up on or anything else she might find.
All the while she responds, "Hmmmmm.... dis es strange" while scratching her hair nervously. Upon hearing Charon's comment "I'll take dat bet child, das ah gold crown (1 gold coin) sound right fah ya".
Looking a little shaken, "Wat plagues mah mind is.....where did das blood come from?"
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No matter how hard or what substance you try, the letters will not wash off. As far as writing on the monuemnt, there is a list of names of all the non-prisoners who died in the fire at Harrowstone. There are three names tha begin with "VE". One guard with the first name of Vestro, one guard with the last name of Vesolak, and the Warden's wife, Vesorianna. You also find no tracks (big surprise there with that 0 SURV roll :) )
Looking at the names, Morbury is now even further at a loss. "Well, either one of these three is the future name on this monument, or Miss Darcy is right. Or possibly both."
Akydi peers closely at the letters, lost in thought. "VE, VE..hmm, Vengeance does make sense, but so does one of those names. It could possibly be both. Didn't some of the townsfolk mention rumors about the warden's wife haunting the ruins? and her name is Vesorianna. Vesorianna's Vengeance?"