"What in tarnation?" Lucanor mutters as he hears the ranting.
Michael dismounts as they reach the sheriff's house and slings his shield over his back. He listens to what he can of the argument.
"Someone yelling about being chief administrator? I'll bet it's someone from the lumber consortium."
Michael approaches the man and asks, "Hey, are you from the consortium? I got a few questions for you, if you have the time."
After hanging around Silas for a while you've notices that when he wants to, he can project his voice a long way without shouting. The benefits of an expensive education...
Silas enters the room and sees the bickering with dismay. In a loud but mild tone Silas makes himself heard, "Gentlemen! Please, getting angry won't solve anything!".
Silas walks over to Baleson and says, "Sherrif, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is we found what Laurel wanted us to find, the bad news is we had a welcoming committee who were none too pleased about it. We've got one of them outside, figured you'd want to talk to him..."
As the group arrived at the sheriff's office, Hecktor heard the ruckuss.
Well now, what is going on in there?
Having put the cultist on Adrienne, he was the one taking the load off too.
"Time to see the sheriff, bud."
Following close behind Silas, he stops a feet behind him. Upon the notice of the captive, Hecktor gives him a firm push forward, making the man lose balance and drop to his knees.
Percival becomes more and more restless as the party heads deeper into town. As the cultist is discussed, he mutters "This is spending time many do not have... we need to get these materials to the herbalist, and their degradation period is unknown..."
@Michael and Silas; You walk into the common room of the house which serves as the office of the Sheriff. You see Baleson arguing with a halfling man of about middling age. They quiet down to listen as you walk in.
After Silas' message to Baleson
Halfling man: Do you see! Another reason to protect the town!
Baleson: Master Harg, the Sheriff decides where the deputies go... not the magistrate.
Vamros Harg sets his face with a grim look and marches out of the room giving the PC's a semi-dirty look.
Baleson responds to the PC's
Tell me about this "Welcoming Comittee"
@ Hecktor this exchange happened as you were getting the cultist ready for transport.
@Lucanor I wasn't sure where you wanted to be in this, so you either went inside or you were watching the cultist. OR
Prior to going into the sheriff's:
Hecktor hears noises of a heated arguement. His comrades went in as he took the cultist off Adrienne. As the cultist got on his feet Hecktor took him in the neck of his robes, holding him in a tight grip.
Suddenly an angry looking halfling marched out. A quick look suggested this guy might have been part of said arguement.
Tell me about this "Welcoming Comittee"
"Here's one of that comittee.", he said as he shoved the man forward, making him drop to the knees. "Now be a good roby and start talking to the nice sheriff."
"Sheriff i have a few questions aside from this cultist.", Hecktor is choosing his words carefully, as this is a delicate matter, "When we went to the different places to get the ingredients, we happened upon some extraordinary bodies. In the vale we found a duo, one of whom was wearing this ring."
Hecktor takes from his pocket the ring and shows it to the sheriff. "Would you happen to have heard or seen a man wearing such a ring? Rings like these are usually worn by important people, like diplomats
or envoys as proof. Then there was another body,.."
(To the perceptive among us, Hecktor slightly narrows his eyes as he speaks about that last one.)
"The man had a strange tattoo above his eyebrow, a bar with the half moon through it."
The robed and hooded cultist refuses to speak. He stares blankly ahead but doesn't move from his knees.
Baleson eyes the group and bends down to look at the man.
What's this about you accosting travelers on the lumber roads?
To the party the Sheriff says
Do ya know anything about this man? He doesn't seem like he is gonna talk.
Lucanor looks to the Percivel and Gared, "Let's get these ingredients dropped off. Hecktor and the others seem to have it in hand." And unless they object, he'll head towards the Herbalist with the goods that she'll need for the remedy.
Lucanor, Gared and Percival head towards Laurel's shop which is a few minutes walk across the town. The streets are fairly deserted still but as you cross a broad avenue you notice a few toughs ahead...they seem to be guarding Laurel's shop...
Silas ponders the cultist for a moment before saying, "I know relatively little about this man, but perhaps it's best if I start at the beginning. As you recall we set out just over a week ago to find the things Laurel needs to cure the taint. First we found some moss from the eldest tree, and some corpses as Hector mentioned. On the way to the witch's place we found evidence of faeries being tortured to death with iron nails no less. It seems somebody has been spreading some vile rumors around town... After that we found the witch's hut and I was attacked and nearly killed by an animated cauldron! Fortunately Dr Lawson found the pickled rat's tail herb we needed on the way out. A few days later we cleared out most of an abandoned Dwarven monastery up in the hills. We also found another corpse there before being attacked by various creatures including a Kobald who tried to lure us into a trap. After defeating the first wave of creatures we found the beast that killed Gared's parents. It was a close run thing but Greypelt the Warg is dead and Hecktor here has his head. I'm hoping we can get rid of it as it smells bad and is spooking the horses! Oh we also got the Ironbloom mushrooms Laurel needed.
On the way back to town we were ambushed outside Elara's by a group who initially claimed to have a broken cart with medicine for the town (kind of suspicious as the cart had obviously come from deeper in the vale). The cart turned out to be an illusion and, before escaping on horseback, their leader gave some spiel about the 'Palled Princess demands that Falcon's Hollow be remade' and that it was 'too bad the Warg didn't do his duty...' We then had to fight some undead and a few cultists including Mr silent here. I don't know what his story is, but I've seen him around town a few times, however he's no local since he grew up in Taldor if I'm not mistaken. He's given us no trouble since, it's as if he expects to be saved or perhaps he's made his peace and is just waiting to die...
If you ask me, I think there's been too much death around here already, I don't need to see him strung up or burnt at the stake. Beyond attacking us, I don't know what he's done if anything. I don't know if he joined the cult willingly or was coerced. I have suspicions the taint may have been started but no evidence. So I'm hoping he'll talk and maybe save himself and perhaps the town too, but I can't make him. Anyways, until there's been a proper trial I reckon he needs to be kept safe and away from the owns folk, I reckon that's your department Sheriff."
Lucanor, Gared and Percival head towards Laurel's shop which is a few minutes walk across the town. The streets are fairly deserted still but as you cross a broad avenue you notice a few toughs ahead...they seem to be guarding Laurel's shop...
"Why do I not trust this..." Lucanor states to his compatriots softly as they approach.
"How about we tie him up on a bed and simply torture him with a feather to his feet? I've even seen some of the most annoying of thugs break that way, i'm not kidding."
Gared holds his hand up to the others as a signal to stop. "Who are you, and why are you standing outside Laurel's shop?"
Who are we?! We're the gods damned Free Lumberjacks of Darkmoon Vale! And we aint about to let some ALKEEMIST charge us out the nose for her codswallop!
There are 4 of them, they don't seem to be armed. At least not openly.
Lucanor eases up at that, "I think we're on the same side here folks, more or less. One of our own already agreed to pay for a lot of folks to get the cure, and we went to get the ingredients so she could do the job and save lives. Priestess of Iomedae even asked me to take part because the church is just as concerned as you folk about making sure all that can be saved are. Just please, let us on by and we can get that done."
Just as Lucanor makes his fairly impressive speech the three of you hear
FREE lumberjacks! Pshaw! Ain't no such thing, everybody pays, everybody.
This comes from the opposite side of the avenue from a large bulbous bald headed man who is flanked by two other rough looking fellows.
The Free Lumberjacks roar their defiance and it seems likely a brawl will ensue in the next few seconds.
Michael lets Silas get on with his speech, and when the man finally finishes he gives him a little lighthearted chiding.
"Learn to take a breath once in a while, Silas. He asked about Culty McRobeson there, not the whole trip."
He then turns to the sheriff.
"But that is just about the gist of what happened these last few days from when we last talked until we walked through your door just now. Figure that Graypelt makes up for a lot of the rumors about werewolves in the woods too, so hopefully those issues will start to go away. Beast was about as big as my horse, as fierce as anything, and quite the talker too. No lie, we actually had a short conversation with the thing before Gared charged in and killed it. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there myself."
"As for the cure, I figure we've got this plague beat if it works out. The rest of the guys are taking the stuff over to Laurel's shop to drop it off now."
Hecktor looks at Michael and in a low tone:
"I recall Gared going brazenly down for the count against that mutt. With the rest of us having to fight it."
Leaning over to Hecktor and whispering, Michael replies.
"Throw the man a bone in front of his boss. We know the score, that's all that matters."
Hecktor chuckles with a grin on his face.
Silas winks at Michael and says, "He'd have asked for the whole story sooner or later. Besides reporting the 3 corpses and the fae could be important, there's stuff going on we don't understand."
"I'm quite curious about those bodies. Finding them so conveniently on the sites we were visiting."
Worgs and a cure to the plague you say....
The Sheriff trails off in thought and calls his deputy in from outside.
Take this one to cool his heels in the cells. The Sheriff says gesturing to the silent man kneeling.
Baleson then turns to the party
I guess Vamros will have to speak with you pretty soon. Watch yourself with the halfling,he is a sneaky git. As to being ambushed on the road, well not much I can do about it, my deputies are stretched pretty thin, what with the damned Consortium and Free Jacks tearing things up these last few days. T'all started over this godsdamned plague, Free Jacks think the Consortium be poisoning people an makin um sick then chargin em for the cure, the Gavel and his cronies, well they just want their cut, no matter who is ill.
Baleson takes a breath then continues
Quicker we can end this plague, the better, things'll go back to fairly normal. Don't leave town for a while. I might have need of ya, and go see Harg sometime soon an give your statement abut the attack. But not today, he's all riled up.
Silas shares a look with Hecktor and says respectfully, "No problem Sheriff, we'll be at the Sitting Duck more than likely if you have need of us. Although right now I'm keen to go to Laurel's and see if the cure is effective, Gods willing."
Lucanor watches the fight break out and sighs.
Fun skill combat!
You are 50' from Laurel's Shop
Roll either stealth, bluff, acrobatics or diplomacy to get past without being stopped as the melee breaks out.
DC 15 means you cannot move further
DC 20 means you move 10' with the ingredients, +10 feet by every 5 by which you beat the DC.
If you roll 10 or lower you must engage in (hopefully) nonlethal combat for one round. With a randomly chosen brawler...
Also, more combatants are arriving each round...round 1 5 more combatants piled in to the melee with the 7 who were already there making a total of 12 melee combatants.
Since there are three of you, one person rolls for the 3 the other two can roll aid another checks to assist with the roll.
If the sheriff has no further things to say:
Hecktor and the others will head for Laurel's shop.
The problem isn't that the door is barred its that the road you have to cross is full of brawling lumberjacks!
Michael hangs back a bit as the other two guys leave the sheriff's office.
"Before I head out again, I've got a question for you, sheriff. You seen my folks lately? Letter from my ma saying that my pa was sick is what brought me back here, but when I went to the house it was empty. I figure the Consortium evicted my folks since pa wasn't working while he was sick, but I haven't had time to find 'em since we headed out to get the stuff for the cure. Just looking for any info at all."
Seconds before the fight breaks out, Percival's hands blur, diving into his pockets and mixing another concoction. He throws it forwards between the two groups, far enough that neither are hurt, just shocked by the explosion of light and sound. Their attention caught, he calls out to the crowd-
"I HAVE JUST RETURNED FROM A BLOODY TREK TO RETRIEVE THE INGREDIENTS I NEED TO CURE YOUR WIVES, CHILDREN, PARENTS AND MAYBE EVEN YOURSELVES OF THIS THRICE-CURSED PLAGUE! I WILL NOT BE INTERRUPTED BY A BLASTED COMPETITION DISPUTE! NOW, EITHER SAVE THIS FIGHT FOR TOMORROW AND GET OUT OF MY WAY SO I CAN CURE YOU ALL OR I'LL BLAST EVERY ONE OF YOU UNCONSCIOUS, SET YOUR WOUNDS AND CURE YOU LATER!"
The usually calm healer reaches into his pockets and mixes another bomb, holding it up threateningly.
Gared nods at Percival's actions.
"You heard the good doctor boys, move on or spend a night in the cells and then you'll get the antidote," Gared looks at the men sternly.
Ok, gonna roll and add a bonus for awesomeness. +10. hich is plenty high enough to intimidate the crowd into backing down.
As the smoke from the bomb clears and Percival shouts into the melee.
The combatants seem to shrink away from Percival and slink off in opposite directions.
The way is now clear to Laurels!
Laurel greets you at the door to her shop.
Mister Lawson, Bravo and well done. You said you have the ingredients I asked for?
Lawson washes some sweat from his brow and smiles at the woman. "We do, ma'am." Idly, he tosses his still-held bomb over his shoulder into the nearest bin or rubbish tip.
Once many people flinch, he turns. "Did I not mention they are only combustible for a very short time period?" He grins, breaking any remaining tension, before turning to the woman, all business.
Laurel responds by looking around and saying quickly
Come in and make haste.
Once you hustle inside she turns and says
Much has happened in the few days since you left, the Free Jacks and Consortium are almost in outright warfare. The silly Free Jacks blamed me for their problems and set up a blockade in front of my store, can't say I blame them they are angry and I'm an easy target. I've heard rumors of "activities" at night, stuff nobody should be doing. She pauses for a second and catches her head..
What am I rambling on about, show me the ingredients! Cirthana! are you back there! Mister Lawson on this table if you please.
Laurel becomes more business like and begins working on seperating the ingredients into measures and pretty much ignoring you.
Lucanor tips his hat, "Doctor, you are three shades of amazing when you need to be."
Much has happened in the few days since you left, the Free Jacks and Consortium are almost in outright warfare. The silly Free Jacks blamed me for their problems and set up a blockade in front of my store, can't say I blame them they are angry and I'm an easy target. I've heard rumors of "activities" at night, stuff nobody should be doing. She pauses for a second and catches her head..
What am I rambling on about, show me the ingredients! Cirthana! are you back there! Mister Lawson on this table if you please.
"Well, having done Iomedae's work in getting here...speaking for myself," He nods to the others knowing their faith is not the same, "I confess I favor the Freejacks despite their ire. We going out there and picking sides, or just waiting in here ?"
Gared shakes his head at Lucanor's words.
"If we go out there and pick a side, people in the Hollow will remember. There are enough numbers on both sides; we just need to keep the peace until we can sort out the matter..." Gared stops himself from mentioning the Urgathoan cultist just in time. Flicking his gaze over to Laurel, he continues, "Err, that other matter. We go picking sides and it'll be war in the streets of the Hollow and far more people will wind up hurt or dead than this taint ever managed."
While Michael is talking to the Sheriff, Silas is going to use the time to try and gather all the local gossip in the market near the Sheriff's before heading onto Laurels when Michael is done. Presumably Hecktor will come with us?
"Reckon you're right, Gered. I just don't much care for sitting on the sidelines when I think folks are wronged," The inquisitor paces a bit.
The Sheriff responds to Michael's question
Can't say I heard in specific about them ousting your Ma and Da from the house. But come to think of it, I haven't seen them either. Have you spoken to Payday, that ugly bastard, about it? Or the Gavel?
Hecktor will accompany Silas on his tour before heading for Laurel's.