"You liked it?" Moira replies flattered. "It honours me that you think it was my doing."
"How about I put you into..." Staelish stops mid sentence. "That can't be... "
Rereading the letter she frowns "I see why you dare to walk in that bold here."
Staelish removes her black vest—embroidered with the symbol of Cheliax—and slaps her ebon-handled longsword on her former desk. She retrieves her personal crossbow, as well as a few effects from her desk, keeping her frustration bottled. "So the Archbaron is too much of a coward to
do his dirty work himself"
"I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about what the townspeople are in store for with thugs like you in charge."
The deputies are enraged once they realize what this is. They throw insults at Moira and those with her. Curtwyn draws and loads his light crossbow, saying, "This ain’t right. You can’t just throw out this town’s only justice. It ain’t right!"
"You're right. I can't. But the Archbaron can. And he did. Don't shoot the messenger." Moira tells with a grin.
"If you shoot, I kill you and the justice instead of only throwing her out." Karthus threads Curtwyn
"Hey, Curtwyn, you're supposed to be the law here. Stop it." Stealish moves between the groups.
Once Curtwyn takes his crossbow down, the ex-sheriff leaves, not deigning to look at her niece. The deputies leave too, leaving the building abandoned.
"Hey Bony, want to become sheriff? There is an open position now." Moira jokes.
"Ugh, bound to laws, I would rather die again. I'm fine with someone else taking the job." Karthus replies.
"Why again? You're still dead." Moira comments.
"And no one said something about abiding the law. You just make sure there is no one to come after you, if you don't. But I can take the position too, if you don't want it." She picks up the sword and weighs it in her hands. "Nice work. It's a pity I don't know how to use it."
"Can we get our money then? Karthus asks and waits for Moira to leave the building together.
The deputies’ cool doesn’t last for long, though. They get outside and walk around the corner before deciding they can’t live with this injustice. Hefting their saps, they wait until the group comes back outside to ambush them.
As the group comes around the corner, they charge towards them and beat them up. But behind her shield Moira is well protected, and on Bony the sap hasn't the desired effect.
"Fools!" Karthus shouts at them as he uppercuts Ertha Casada.
Willow sings a lullaby for Curtwyn.
Cimri is baffled by the attack and dowsn't know what to do.
Moira finds herself facing three enemies and goes for a channel of negative energy, while presenting the holy symbol on her shield.
Curtwin doesn't fall for the lullaby, but almost all are hit hard by the wave of dark energy emanating from the mask on the shield. Ertha staggers back.
Curtwin, Ashel and Saster drop their saps, draw their clubs and continue beating on Moira. This time Curtwyn manages to hurt her.
Willow shakes most of the negative energy, but after giving Curtwyn another look to send him asleep, she retreats.
After Karthus'es enemy is almost down, he helps Moira with punching Curtwyn.
After taking the full blow of the dark energy, Cimri decides that this is not her fight and retreats with Willow. Shouting at Moira "You crazy b&*@+!"
"Always these complaints from the living." Moira mutters. And channels again.
Curtwyn resists the urge to sleep again, only to be sent into the land of bad dreams by a hard hit from Karthus and another wave of dark energy. Ertha follows Curtwyn. Ashel shakes the effects mostly, but is now also wounded and Saster has collected quite some damage.
They drop their weapons and surrender.
"Wonderful. How about you put yourself into jail?" Moira offers the deputies. "And no littering. Take this garbage along." she orders, pointing to Curtwyn and Ertha.
She casts a spell on herself.
The frightened deputies do as told. They pick up their companions, drag them into the jail and into a cell. Then they lock themself up and hand Moira the key.
Moira takes the seat behind the sheriff's desk, putting her boots on it. "What do you think? Should I apply for the now open position?"
She gets up again and puts on the black vest with the symbol of Cheliax embroidered on it. Looking at herself Moira tells "It's no perfect fit, but it suits me well."
Karthus walks back into the office and replies to Moira: "Well, my sheriff the suit fits you indeed. But don't you think this job takes too much time?"
"We'll see." Moira replies. "That's a job done, isn't it? Where do we go to report?"
"At the burned house I guess, maybe the talking shadow is still there." Karthus answers and heads toward the house with Moira.
"Indeed." Cimri agrees and once back at the Ash House, she leads upstairs too meet again with "The Shadow".
"I'm impressed. You have now successfully performed three tasks for me. In appreciation, I have two rewards for you. First, I increased your payment by half. It’s waiting in the parlor below, as always. Second, I invite you to meet me at Scarlet Crown, the manor of Archbaron Darellus Fex, at dawn the next day." Razelago tells.
"I want to introduce you to the archbaron, who has a proposal for you. Until then, you are free to do as you please."
"I guess that is some kind of promotion, if you get to meet the Archboron." Moira comments on the way down to the parlor.
Karthus grabs his reward as well and asks Moira: "Back to work?"
"It's my first day. No need to overdo it." Moria jokes. "Let us go into some dark corner of town and scare some rabble."
"When are you planning to release your prisoners, sheriff? Or at least feed them?" Willow asks.
Willow is not really worried about the deputies.
"Wanna come along and play with them? Or why are you playing worried?" Moira asks.
"That. Or I might have seen something of interest in the jail." Willow tells, with a mischivous smile.
"Then lets go and see what there is." Moira replies and leads the way. "I need a cloak for my new maid. We'll make a stop at the general store."
As the way leads now through the southern gate anyway, the shop is on the way. With a nondescript grey cloak for a few silver she finally arrives in the jail.
"Want me to get one separated for you?"
"Let's see what's around here first, shall we?" Willow suggests and searches the room.
The jail contains three cabinets, two in the common room and one in the sheriff’s office. The cabinets are locked.
cabinets also holds a key etched with the word “pillory”
In addition, a lockbox sits behind the sheriff’s desk. It’s also locked.
"There might be something interesting in there." Willow tells pointing out what she found.
"I got some keys." Moira replies and tries them on the lockers and on the lockbox.
The keys open the lockers, but not the lockbox.
"There are some interesting vials in there." Willow tells, "But the rest is boring weapons stuff."
Moira kicks the cell doors. "Who's got the key to the lockbox in the office!" she demands to know.
The deputy tries really hard to not sound smug. "Sheriff Staelish has the only key."
Moira frowns, but then she has an idea. She pats down the vest of the sheriff, she is wearing. And indeed - in one of the pockets is the key. "Tadaaa!" she exclaims. "The perks of being sheriff!"
She wwalks onto the office and opens the lockbox. A jozful squeal breaks her usual somber to mean attitude. "I'm wondering what that's for. Sheriff's equipment or seiyed stuff from crimes. At least some of it could be both."
Willow bags the potions from the lockers and comes over to Moira in the office. "What got you so excited?" she asks looking over Moira's shoulder. "'Her Highness’s Tea Service'?" she asks with a raised brow.
"What - no, you can have those papers if you want." Moira replies absentminded while putting the onyx stones into her pockets.
Pulling out the papers and flipping through them she asks "Where's that halfling slave? Seems to be only slightly damaged. Might be nice to have a servant - one with a pulse I mean."
"To each their own." Moira comments. "You need something else, before I lock up again?"
"I'll take that." Willow tells and bags the blue whinnies vial.
"Then that's that." Moira tells, bags the coins and locks up again. Then she moves out to the cells.
"I have an offer to make. You can either become my loyal servants in life or in death. What do you choose?"