Taltōsh moved closer to the room, so that he could see, but did not enter.
"I shall stay out here for now," he said.
Gryfford stares at the girl lying on the floor, and an unsettling idea dawns on him.
"Is she gonna be all right ? I'm beginning to think she was standing behind the door when I broke through it and she fell backwards landing on the floor."
As Arasmes leans in and kisses the unconscious girl a dark glow flows into her and her eyes flutter open. She gasps when she sees you all at the door and attempts to stand, but only stumbles back a few steps.
"Please don't hurt me... I don't know anything... please!" her eyes glance back and forth between each of you, trying to size you up.
We are not here to hurt you girl. Remain Calm.
"We told you before we had no intention of harming you, we are just looking for something important." Alexia says from the door, still not wishing to step inside the room yet.
Gryfford puts his falchion back into its sheath.
"I am called Gryfford" he says to the young woman with a reassuring smile. "What is your name ?"
Without waiting for her answer, he offers his hand to help her stand up.
Arames interposes himself between Gryfford and the girl, facing Gryfford.
"Everyone back off, be quiet, and give her a chance to think!" he announces loudly. In a quieter voice he adds "We broke in, smashed down her door and knocked her unconcious. Let her look at us and realise we're not going to hurt her."
Alexia shrugs, leaning against the doorway while clutching Elorin's bow tightly. "I'd just like to point out while that could be it we don't yet have proof to trust her either." She glances over to Elorin, "Don't you have an ability to at least tell if she means foul business? I have heard holy warriors could do such things."
The girl looks terrified at the group, and attempts to stumble back farther. She reaches out her hand to grab the first thing she comes in contact with, which happens to be a piece of a broken chair. She swings the broken chair leg at Gryff..."I said stay back... I'll use this...I'm not afraid of you...!"
I can make her sleep before she hurts herself...
Gryfford takes a few steps back. He spreads his arms wide and holds out his empty hands to show he means no harm.
Taltōsh sighed. From his vantage point, he could only see a part of what was happening, but felt that staying out of it was the best option for now.
Elorin looks the woman over.
The young woman stumbles back and falls over one of the benches in her haste... landing on the ground again with a thud...
Alexia sighs softly, stepping forward as she hands Elorin the bow." Men step back... maybe she will be a little more trusting of her own gender." She walks forward, not too close though and kneels down near the woman. Pulling a glove off her right hand to show her birthmark, the symbol of Ketephys on it. She puts her hand out to the woman where she can see. "You seem to be someone of the temple, hopefully you recognize this, I've been a servant of Ketephys since my birth, I can almost promise you are not our quarry and have no reason to fear us."
The woman blinks at Alexia... "You are a servant of Ketephys? You are an elf? " Her eyes drift back to Arasmes and she shudders, but keeps the chair leg pointed at him.
"Well... born among them yes... I am actually Aasimar though." Alexia answers with a slight smile.
Gryfford notices the girl looking at Arasmes, and then looks at the white-haired man himself, before speaking to Adriel and to the others.
"She seems awfully concerned about Arasmes. I think we'll need to dispel some misconceptions she might have about him. My guess is that she fears a lot the... what's that word Arasmes uses ? Ha, it doesn't translate so well... the "Twice-Born", in his own words... a fancy way to mean <Undead>, apparently."
Gryfford looks at the girl again, before speaking to her directly:
"Do you speak Elven, by chance ? Boy, this would be mightfully awkward. But, really, we mean you no harm."
A pause. And then, murmuring to himself in a hoarse tongue much more suitable for shouting:
"Goat's Rut ! Am I so frigthening to her ? Haaa, "puny humans", we sometimes are, indeed !"
Elorin looks at Arasmes after Gryfford's comment, his eyes narrowing a bit.
The girl sits up when Alexia explains. "I'm sorry, If you truly follow Ketephys then I should allow you the benefit of the doubt. I have been here a long time. It makes me suspicious." She glances at Arasmes again.
Then in a near perfect Elven she speaks again, "Melen nomar Marie, iel drasti dol Angradd." A small smile crosses her lips.
Alexia smiles back at the woman, offering her hand this time. "Let me help you stand then, don't worry about Arasmes, he isn't here to harm anyone other then our intended targets as well."
"Very pleased to meet you, Marie. And, hmm, sorry about your doors !"
Gryffords turns to Arasmes:
"Maybe you could explain to Marie here, - she's a cleric of Angradd, by the way - why we've come in her church, Arasmes."
Gryfford is trying to get her to trust me. The hate of the Light for the Dark is strong in her, I think.
"Well, there's a long story, a short story and a short-short story. I can see by Gryff's expression he wants the short-short story though."
"Once upon a time there was an evil Haeomvore. He wanted an amulet that would let him do bad things. This amulet was hidden somewhere. A group of brave heroes tracked down clues to get to the amulet first. The clues all pointed to an old church. The heroes went in to the church, and there they found a girl already there, hiding behind a locked door."
"'Let us in!' Cried the heroes, but the girl said no. Again and again the heroes tried to reason with her, but still she said no. Finally Alexia got the unrelentingly handsome Gryff to break down the door! But alas! The girl was knocked out! Quick Arasmes leapt forward and healed her by channeling the power of the Dark!"
Arasmes sighs
"I'm sworn to this quest, and I keep my word. You don't have to like me Marie, you don't even have to trust me. You can trust my companions though. They're a bit naive, but they're trying to save people."
"Naive ! Ha ! The word you're searching for here, Arasmes is "charming" Gryfford says with a charming smile.
Speaking to Marie: "The haemovore in question is one "Nikolaï."
Gryfford's face hardens
"That Nikolaï is truly a monster, in all senses of the word. And he has other monsters, like werewolves, to aid him in his vile endeavors.
The others and me we gathered initially at the call of Angus Mac Darrow, dwarf paladin of Erastil in the nearby town of Sandpoint. Mac Darrow's ancestor has battled this Nikolaï in the past, and we sort of continue this battle."
Alexia chuckles softly, her hand still extended to the woman. "Yes, yes, It was my idea to break the door down, I apologize for the result injuring you but please let me help you stand."
Angus steps forward and you realize that he hadn't been with you until just now. "Goodness, what is going on in here?" He looks at the splintered door and Marie.
The girl accepts Alexia's hand and stands up. "You must be Master McDarrow? I'm sorry again, But I am the only cleric left in this temple. And to be quite frank I am not fully a cleric. I was apprenticed here and my master was called away quite urgently on a mission. I've been watching over the temple in his absence." She looks nervous and shy.
She looks to Arasmes at his story, "What clues have you followed to get here? If what you say is true, I'm not sure what I could do to help, but I will try."
What the hells? Mac Darrow? Chatterbeak where did he come from?
Adriel puts some distance between him and Angus and readies ear piercing
scream
Taltōsh was likewise startled by the paladin's sudden appearance, as the sorcerer had been the closest to the way down.
"I got stopped I couldn't figure out how you got down here. The hole was small enough it took me a while." He rests his hand on his hammer and squints around the large room.
We have found someone..no sign of anything else yet.
Ariel wonders just how blind the Oracle/Paladin Really was?
Taltōsh wondered about the paladin, but figured it was just his imagination.
"It is good to see you Master McDarrow."
"Indeed." Alexia agrees.
Marie dusts herself off and begins to look around the room.
"So you're out to stop a vampire. What brought out to this temple?"
"Research at the Great Library in Magnimar," Taltōsh said abruptly from his place in the hallway.
"It indicated that there was some link between the vampire we seek and this temple, which was supposed to be abandoned," he added pointedly.
Arasmes realises his presence is not helping and starts drifting around the room, poking and prying while the others talk.
"As I gather what they said is true. If it helps us find the vampire then this trip was worth making."
You have yet to reveal what YOU are doing here miss
Gryfford nods at the somber elf's comment. He looks at Marie and smiles expectantly.
"Uh, as I mentioned before I'm holding the fort for my mentor. He left a few weeks ago on an urgent mission and I am maintaining the place in his absence." She looks around nervously and then sits down shaking her head."I'm sorry I must have hit my head pretty hard. Now what were you told would be here?"
Angus moves over and squints to look at her. "My grandfather Alastair stayed here when he first arrived in this world. I visited him here when I was very very young. There might be something here of value relating to my grandfather. May we look for it?"
Elorin maintains his stance near the door as the others talk to the young lady.
You have been here long? and why only 2 of you? We understood this place to be abandoned.
Alexia is going to move towards the doorway and glance out towards the hallway. These closed in spaces are too easy to be trapped inside.... She ponders to herself with a slight frown.
Noticing Alexia's unease, Taltōsh moved a little further in the hall and maintained a wary stance.
"This temple was abandoned. In fact many years ago there was a town right near where we stand today. There was a horrible massacre in the town and over half the population were killed. The town was settled to be demolished to eliminate the reminder of that day. The clerics stayed around to aid the people who worked in the demolition."
Marie gets up and begins to walk around sorting papers and books as she goes. "It was after this that all the clerics moved on to different temples in the area. However five years ago Father Meldin decided reopen this location in the hopes of drawing more to Angradd's following. He got here to find the place in shambles. I was sent from Magnimar as a mere acolyte to help the Father rebuild. We started working down here and then will move upstairs once we have completed the basement renovations."She smiles and looks at you.
When the young dhampir was close enough, Taltōsh whispered, "What are you reading?"
"Could it be that this massacre you're talking about had something to do with Nikolaï ?" Gryfford asks.
"What really happened here ? And if you don't know: are there documents here or somewhere else who could reveal it to us ?"