Any of the Hollow's Heroes that take rooms at the end are given a very low rate, and that only if they bring it up.
Dorial yawns at the mention of sleep, [b]"I've forgotten how long it's been since we last slept."[b] She gathers her things as she nods to the others, bidding them goodnight and looks to purchase a room from the inn.
**********
In the morning, she spends an hour meditating, regaining her spells.
HP: 17/17
Equipped: n/a
Windblast: 7/7
Druid Spells Remaining:
0)Detect Magic, Light, Flare (DC 14), Guidance
1)Flare Burst (DC 15), Entangle, Speak with Animals, Whispering Wind (Domain)
**********
Her spells readied, she heads out to the mill to meet up with Kast and the others.
Kast greets his companions.
"Well, shall we split up? I'll take a pair of you and we'll search the wreckage for clues...to see if anything survived the fire."
Dyrant points at the burnt mill.
"A second team will talk to the millers about future plans and about what they knew about Qelb. It's essential that they return to the old way."
Dyrant scratches his head.
Scholars lead?
"Why don't I take Dorial and Chyrstosm with me? Othoe, Nimeon, and Simon can talk to the nice peoples. Does that work?"
Assuming that it's not, but Kast goes to search the mill anyway, trying to find traces of whatever. He will cast Detect Magic as well, help move large pieces of char, and continue to cast Create Water on hotspots.
Take 20 (repeatedly) = 19 Perception.
Simon rouses in the afternoon, glad for the rest after the long night. Joining with the party, he nods in agreement to Kast's plan. "Yes, let us talk to anyone available, should we start by asking to see their feet?"
Why don't I take Dorial and Chyrstosm with me?
"OK!"
Chrystosm tags along, helping Kast and Dorial search the smouldering wreckage
Dorial smiles at Kast, "I think that set up will work very well. I'm not good at talking with people."
She falls into line behind Chrystosm and Kast, pointing out the small items they miss.
"Let us start there, we'll meet back here in a few hours?"
Nimeon will have the unholy gem in a jar in a bag secured to his hip.
"Simon, Othoe, are you ready?"
"Ready Nimeon. Simon, you're respected here, you should start the questioning."
Othoe joins the others in tracking down millworkers. They look to their feet for the brand, and question them about their work at the mill hoping that the answers will reveal the more nefarious members.
Othoe just likes checking their feet for the brand. The idea of a foot brand really bugs Othoe.
The companions arrive back at the wreckage of the mill, only to find a large half elf, a short halfling and 4 men at arms overseeing the place.
"Yes, your "honor" we'll be looking in to it, don't you worry." says the half elf with a nod.
The small halfling nods sagely, "See that you do, Sheriff. And I don't want to see any of those cretins out wandering the streets until they've been fully cleared. We have to protect the town!"
One of the men at arms snorts, only to get an elbow to the ribs from one of his companions.
Deldrin, the sheriff, used to be a poor lumberjack toiling in the cutyards under Gavel Thuldrin Kreed’s oppressive thumb. One day he refused to pay an “axe tax” on a lumberaxe he had already bought and paid for. Boss Teedum tried to take Deldrin’s axe, and the half-elf smashed Teedum’s face with the flat of it. As one of the few locals to stand up to Teedum and Kreed, he was elected Sheriff the following week. Now he carries the same axe around on his shoulder to remind Kreed and Boss Teedum he is not afraid of them. Deldrin is tall for a half-elf, towering over most humans, and his well-muscled, imposing form is further enhanced by his sharp goldflecked eyes.
Those in search of mill workers are met with tears, please or recriminations. "Please, you have to help him. My Hector wouldn't be involved in anything like they're talking about. He's a good honest man. And that mill didn't do right by him no how. Made him work all day, sometimes right through to dawn, then just let him go with the first snow. Said they didn't need him no more. Can't you help him? He didn't do anything, I swear it!"
"Hector? Slow down and take a deep breath. Where is Hector?"
Clearly she senses that Othoe's heart isn't really into 'saving' Hector as much as it is in determining Hectors guilt or innocence by his own measure - the balls of his feet!
Let Simon speak first you idiot. He cares deeply for these people and it comes through. Sigh.
The small group makes their way about town, talking to anyone and everyone that is willing to take a moment. Simon shows sympathy and courtesy to all, especially those that have lost anything, from a loved one to a job, and pledges that the town can try to recover if the old ways are restored and the fey pact renewed. In the same conversations, he also presses for any information about the workers at the mill, the people about town, and anything odd or unusual that people may have noticed. After some time about town, the little group makes its way to the mill and the crowd gathered there.
"Good day Deldrin!" Simon approaches the half elf with his hand extended and a cheery smile on his face. "Glad you're here seeing over this matter."Simon shifts a glance to the wreckage of the mill "My friends and I were hoping to speak with the people here, see what information we could gather about the workers, who is missing, and what strange things they may have seen over the last few months. How about you and your men, have there been any reports that we could follow up upon while you and your men continue the vigilance over the mill?"
Know (Local) untrained
"Oh, them there is the Magistrate and the Sheriff. We better be on our best behavior. I guess."
Kast goes to do his search as he mentioned in his previous post.
"Oh, them there is the Magistrate and the Sheriff. We better be on our best behavior. I guess."
"Really?"
Chrystosm looks surprised, but helps search anyway, unless the Sheriff decides to come over and ask them what they think they're doing, of course...
Dorial nods, "Perhaps we should ask if they have found anything?"
At the mill:
As the group approaches the ruins, for that surely is all that is left of the once prosperous mill, the sheriff's men move, intercepting them before they get too close. "We don't have time nor patience for looky loos, my friend. If you've come to help in the demolition, then you'll need to sign up at the Magister's office tomorrow. If you're looking for the workers, they're being held at the Hollow Tribunal until such a time as we can interrogate the lot of 'em." Either too busy to keep up on who is who, or just not bright enough to recognize you from the day before, the guard doesn't seem to recognize you.
Deldrin, however, does, and moves to silence his man, putting one hand on his shoulder. "Don't you recognize them with clean faces, Ubrecht? This is Kast, and the lovely Dorial, and his man, Chrystosm, as well, I should think. Well met, Heroes. Don't mind Ubrecht here, he's new to us and takes his position very seriously. "Ubrecht mutters something in way of an apology, coloring lightly as he dips his hat to Dorial, then excuses himself as Deldrin intended.
"Now, what can we do for you, friends?"
moving throughout town
As Simon, Nimeon, and Othoe canvas the town, the story is the same, until they come to a small shack on the edge. As they approach, they can see the young girl from the the day of the fire standing peeking around a corner, then ducking back again to hide. At a house not far away, two of the sheriff's men stand knocking on the door.
Othoe approaches the sheriffs men, but this time lets Simon speak first.
I wonder what they're up to?
"We thought", begins Chrystosm hesitantly, "That it might be worth looking around, seeing as Qelb lived here - we want to know who's behind him, you see. Might not be much left, but we're happy to help search - we wouldn't dream of getting in your way, though"
Have I said too much?
Kast nods, agreeing with Chrysto's words.
"Yeah...sadly, the place burned down before we were able to finish talking to Qelb. We wanted to poke around a bit, but you all are on it, we can come back later. Of course, if you need an extra set of eyes and hands, we're pretty good at this stuff."
Scholars talk?
"I'll see about the deputies, Othoe perhaps the girl will respond to you?"
Nimeon approaches the two men.
"Ho there, what are you searching for fellows?"
At the door with the sheriff's men:
"Eh? What business is it of yours, Long ear...What? Why as I live and Breathe! It's Nimeon! I haven't seen you in, Oh, I don't know how long! I heard you'd left the Hollow for more elfy quests! Did you find what you were looking for out there? Still it's good to see you. Give me just a minute here, official business, you understand. " He turns his back to the half-elf, knocking on the door again. Finally, a short man with large forearms opens the door. He wears a large white apron over his rather round belly, and both it and his hands are stained with blood.
"What is it, can't you see I'm busy?!" The man eyes deputies with more than a little annoyance.
Quietly, to Othoe, as the sheriff's men speak to Nimeon.
"Othoe, go see if you can find that girl, the one that just peeked around the corner, her spying eyes may have seen something interesting."
Simon waits patiently as the sheriff's men speak with Nimeon and then the annoyed butcher that answers the door.
They get the adults while I chase down the children? Sigh.
Othoe ducks around the corner following the girl. He looks in his pockets for some candy, but comes up empty.
@ Othoe(and Simon and Nimeon, if they're close enough to overhear), over on mud street, behind the butcher's place: Around the corner, Othoe finds all of the children from earlier save for Jurin. "It'll be ok, Mikra, I promise you. You're dad didn't even work at the mill." the young girl says to the largest of the group. The boy sits on the ground, tears streaming down his face while Hollin and another boy pat him on the back with surprising gentleness.
"But th-the-they took Javros's da, and he don't work at the mill either. And th-th-there there are, talking to my dad now, I can hear... who are you?" he says suddenly, raising a tear stained face to look directly at Othoe.
The Girl spends around, gripping a rough stick in her hand as she faces the intruder. Hollin too steps forward, and Javros, the smaller dark haired boy, reaches into a pocket, though what he could do against a grown gnome is anyone's guess.
"We weren't doin' nothin'." the girl says with a touch of belligerence.
"It's ok, Hollin" says suddenly,"He's one of Chrys' friends. I saw im at the fire."
**************************************************************
@Kast, Dorial and Chrystosm, at the ruins of the mill: "That's too bad, but you got the bodies and all, that was something. " He eyes them all for a moment, then grins, "Well, I make you a deal, same as the rest of the folk I've talked to; show me your feet, and then we'd be glad to have your help." He leans in, conspiratorially, laughing a little. "Kreeds got it into the Magister's head that there's proof to be found on a person's foot. I haven't found a thing so far, but thought it was better me and my boys started looking before he had his step in."
Kast tenses as the man asks to see his "feet".
"My feet? Are you sure?" Kast looks down at his twisted left leg.
"It's OK kids, your parents will come home. They're just answering questions. Everybody has so many questions after the fire. They'll be home before you know it!"
"I don't suppose any of you saw anything in the Mill did you? Maybe something late at night?"
Othoe doesn't really know what to ask, so he fishes with a few open ended questions to try and get the kids talking.
I'm really not cut out for this kid stuff.
Kast tenses as the man asks to see his "feet".
"My feet? Are you sure?" Kast looks down at his twisted left leg.
@ Kast, Chrystosm and Dorial:
"I'm afraid so, soldier. Why is there somethin' wrong with your feet? I had the worst case of swamp rot on my feet once, back in '02 it was. I thought I was gonna lose a toe or three." Deldrin says with laugh, then sobers, "Don't worry, unless you got some brand or tattoo of a bug on there, you're probably fine. But if you'd rather, we can go back to the office and you can de-boot in private."******************************************
@Othoe:
Each of the kids in turn shake their head, "No sir. We usually have to be inside by then. Well, not Kimi so much, and Javros can get away with anything, but me and Mikra, we have to be inside." Hollin answers, though they all nodd along.
Kast's face darkens, but accedes to the request with no more than a grim unhappy look on his face.
Soldiers do.
Kast lowers himself to the ground with his bardiche and begins the slow process of unlacing his boots. First the right, then the stumpy left, he shows them both a clear look of annoyance on his face.
"Take a good look...see how I've been blessed. Take a good long look."
Kast waves his misshapen toes around as much as he can. Few move.
@ Kast:
Deldrin has the good grace to look embarrassed, "err, yes, well. No scarabs there." He scrubs at the back of his neck, clearly annoyed at this turn of events. "When you've got your boots on again, could you start looking in the south east corner. Reports are that's where Qelb's office was."
He almost seems to think twice about it, but then straightens his shoulders and turns to Dorial and Chrystosm,"My apologies Ma'am, but best we do this quickly before others take it into their head to get involved. You too, Slick." He nods to Chrystosm, and waits.
Kast is quietly grateful for the man's heavy dose of shame and puts on his boots, trying to muzzle his irritation.
Rising again using the leverage of the bardiche, Kast will limp away towards the mill.
"Thank you, Deldrin. I'll let you know if we find anything."
Kast will start in the south east corner, taking 20 and sifting through the wreckage.
Take 20 Perception = 19.
Dorial nods to Deldrin, finding a stump to sit on while she slides her feet out of her boots. The lack of laces makes it an easy task, and she wiggles her toes at Deldrin. "See, no icky tattoos here."
Once satisfied, she puts her boots back on and heads towards the area that was closest to Qilb's office.
Chrystosm sits on the ground and removes his boots.
"Sorry about the smell! I couldn't stand the regulation issue socks they gave us in the He... er, in the Army, so I used to fill 'em with tallow instead. Comfy, but it does get a bit ripe, especially on hot days"
Once the inspection's over, Chrystosm replaces his footwear and goes to help the others search
Nimeon smiles at the friendly greeting despite his flubbed attempt to diplomacize them, then watches as they confront the local butcher/sociopath.
Dorial nods to Deldrin, finding a stump to sit on while she slides her feet out of her boots. The lack of laces makes it an easy task, and she wiggles her toes at Deldrin. "See, no icky tattoos here."
Once satisfied, she puts her boots back on and heads towards the area that was closest to Qilb's office.
”Thank you, Ma’am, “ Deldrin says, tipping his head respectfully and subtle sigh of relief that there were no surprises within Dorial’s boots.
Chrystosm sits on the ground and removes his boots.
"Sorry about the smell! I couldn't stand the regulation issue socks they gave us in the He... er, in the Army, so I used to fill 'em with tallow instead. Comfy, but it does get a bit ripe, especially on hot days"
Once the inspection's over, Chrystosm replaces his footwear and goes to help the others search
"Ugh! You should see Martha, over on Mud Street. She makes the best socks! You keep that up, and you're feet will rot off. "
@ Kast, Dorial, and Chrystosm:
The ruins prove dangerous, even when cooled by a day’s time. Parts of walls that seem perfectly solid give way at the least vibration, and parts of the floor look completely solid, but give way beneath an unwary foot.
map
***************************************
@Nimeon:
While the man, Firkin by name, if remembered correctly, seems genuinely glad to see Nimeon, it takes the half elf a moment to place him as one of the many children that taunted him when he was young. The man turns back to the butcher, his re-union put aside to deal with business.
"Yes, Sir Master Butcher. We'll be needing to have a look around if it's all the same to you. Sheriff Deldrin would like us to invite you back to the Tribunal if you've a problem, so he can explain it to you personally."
Kast looks at the debris of the Mill and his shoulders sag.
That ain't good.
He will look around for a mill worker and ask in what area Qelb's office is (and try to relate that description to the map).
One by one the released workers come back. Some to help, some to watch, some to stare into the unknown future. Kast is directed to the South East corner. "It was on the second floor, and well, as you can see, there's not a second floor left, now is there? But there's bits of it in there, or fallen through to the basement."
"Thank you, kindly," Kast says to the helpful worker.
Kast will focus on S14 to W14 (5 squares) and S15 to W15 (5 squares).
Chrystosm will search from T14 to W14, counting on his nimble feet to keep him out of trouble... .
The notch in his ear burning and his hands temporarily tightening at his childhood nemesis, Nimeon relaxes and chants to himself the Third Primary Admonition of Erastil.
I will not crap where I eat, I will not crap where I eat...
@Othoe:
Each of the kids in turn shake their head, "No sir. We usually have to be inside by then. Well, not Kimi so much, and Javros can get away with anything, but me and Mikra, we have to be inside." Hollin answers, though they all nodd along.
Othoe, totally flummoxed by the children, thanks them for their time and returns to the rest of the troop chatting with the guard.
"The kids don't know anything. Well nothing to the purpose anyway."
@ Nimeon, Simon, and Othoe
Colbrin Jabbs, the town butcher, takes one look at the group of men on his door step and bristles. "I got nothing to hide, mind you, but I pay my rent, this place is mine. You can' just bust in here. My customers up front (for his shop faces out the other side of the building) will think I've been up to something."
************************************************
@ Kast, Chrystosm, and Dorial
Searching through the debris in the one small corner still takes a long time, but eventually, the time is rewarded. Kast's bad foot catches on a burnt tin box sticking out from beneath a stack of crumbled debris.
Kast examines the box before opening.
Perception
"It's probably nothing," he says as he hands the box to Dorial. "What do you think?"
Nimeon continues to watch the exchange.
Simon gives a concerned look to his companions and intervenes in the conversation. "Easy, Colbrin, we've no intent of hurting your business, just asking questions as we are of everyone in town. How about we wait in the back of the shop while you serve the waiting customers, then when you have a moment we can all talk." Simon gives the man a reassuring smile and steps forward to enter the shop.
Taking the box from Kast, "Well it's pretty burnt so we may never know if there were any markings on it."
She examines the box closely, looking for any markings that may still remain and checking to see if it's trapped.