[PbP Gameday VI] GM Ladile and the Pathfinder Society Present: Reaping What We Sow (Inactive)

Game Master Lady Ladile

I hope you're right. White Feather laughs. I don't want to be run out of town in my first mission!

Let's give her some time to think about things then, reflection is a powerful thing. Maybe we should enjoy the Festival and secure some rooms and either so if she will talk to us again tonight or tomorrow after she has slept on it.

Kara stands up and lifts her backpack "I am so glad I am with you! I always make a mess of talking to people. I never know what to say or do. Shall we go and get some rooms in the inn?"

Ivy chuckles as Seldiir turns a nice shade of pink. "Well in that case I'd better let you get back to your friends before you forget anything else, Seldiir Elberion. We've got plenty of rooms so just come back by when you get a chance and I'll get you all settled in!"
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The rest of you congregated by the well see Seldiir weaving his way through the crowd. With the group all together again he informs the rest of you that the Silver Flute has plenty of rooms and that the group can check in whenever they like.

Before the group can return to the Silver Flute as, well, a group, a hush suddenly falls over the crowd gathered in the square. Turning to look, the tallest of you can just see Bertinard exiting the temple and making his way over to the center of the square. Surprisingly spry for his age, he hops up on top of a hay bale to address the crowd.

"Good afternoon, my children!" he calls out. "Let us all join hands for the commencement prayer, and then we may begin the festival. We celebrate today another peaceful year in Rosehaven, and commemorate those lost in more turbulent times. We offer our gratitude to Shelyn, the Eternal Rose, Lady of Chrysanthemums, the Incorruptible. We are thankful for the bounty of our fields, and for the fish of the river. We are thankful that the tide of bloodshed has not come to our shores, and that we have such vigilant protectors as Lady Tivareau-" A feminine shout comes from the audience, "Captain Tivareau!" "Of course, Captain Tivareau and the Druid Elm," Bertinard continues, a grin on his face. "We are thankful for the little ones we have been blessed with this year, Jean Galt and Adrienne Chanteur. We wish a peaceful rest for those we have lost this year, Guillaume de Moreau and little Martine DuBois." He gives a sympathetic glance to a couple in the audience, who clutch one another a little tighter at the mention of their child. "This day of Mercylight is for repentance, and for forgiveness. Those we have wronged, we must seek out this day and make amends to them. Those who have wronged us, we should forgive whose regret is sincere, for there is little more beautiful than the act of forgiveness."

"We will now offer our humble tribute to the Eternal Maiden, by making art from the simple pumpkins and lighting them from within. Just as we are born from earth and will return to it, the gourd will pass from fruit to rot with the coming weeks, and just as we may, they can shine with the light of art and beauty while still they remain in this world. I will remind you all"-he looks pointedly at the children assembled in front-"that the creation of all art is sacrosanct to our mistress Shelyn, and it is not only rude but sinful to insult the work of others, or wax too much the braggart of one’s own. I would also ask you all to welcome the travelers who have come to our village, that they might spread good words of our humble local custom of Mercylight. Amen."

Bertinard puts a hollowed ram’s horn to his lips and sounds several blasts from it to signal the commencement of Mercylight.

As the festival commences, you see numerous people, young and old alike, head over to where a staggering amount of pumpkins are situated and begin picking the ones they'd like to carve. Katriane waves at Luna, and the rest of the group.

"It's time! Grab a pumpkin and get to carving!" she calls out. "Don't worry, you don't have to worship Shelyn to participate and you can carve whatever you'd like! There's plenty more pumpkins in the fields, so don't be shy!"

In addition to the pumpkin-carving there are still the various stalls set up on the square's perimeter as well as other games, such as bobbing for apples, dart-throwing, and even a cakewalk. The air is filled with the sound of music and you see a few people dancing here and there, laughing happily. It's an idyllic scene, almost like something you might see in a painting. And though you're all strangers to Rosehaven the locals welcome you as their own, happy to share in their joy.

2d5 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6

Kara stands as the priest comes out and joins hands with Seldiir and White Feather. When the short ceremony is at an end she nods to both of them "Sometimes I wish it was this easy for us. You seem almost not to think when making enemies or when forgiving them again."

She lets go of the hands and moves to the couple who lost their child "I am sorry to hear of your loss. I wanted you to know that, although it probably will not help to ease the pain."

At a loss for any further words she points to the pumpkins "Would you like to show me how that is done?"

Luna cheers "It's time, it's time!" She rushes over to Katriane and the pumpkin she had already scouted out "Kronas, look! I picked one for you too." She chirps, pointing at the slightly smaller pumpkin next to hers. Kronas lets go of Lebraerio's and a stranger's hands and excitedly skips up next to his sister with the biggest smile on his face "Thanks, sis!" He stares at his pumpkin for a second, contemplating the possibilities, and declares "I'm going to make a Pumpkitten!" Luna gives him a dirty look "No! That's what I'm doing... You need to pick something else!" She says, very matter-of-factly, prompting Kronas to think a moment longer "A Pumpking then! He'll have a little crown and everything..." They both stand there for a moment, bobbing along to the festive music, and turn to face each other in unison and say "How do we start?" Luna then turns to her new red-haired friend, showing off her big puppy-dog-eyes "What do we do?".

Seldiir makes the sign of Shelyn as the priest speaks and mouths an old bedtime prayer of his mother's. She would love to be here. I will have to write to her about the festival.

He shrugs once all is done and follows the gnomes to the pile. He picks a small, unlovely pumpkin, hoping that nobody will mind if he ruins it.
"Well, looks like you've got to hollow it out first: see, like that tall lass is doing."
Seldiir pulls out his dagger and cuts a lid from the top of his pumpkin, then he rotates his shoulders uncomfortably and takes a second to remove his armoured coat. That done, he gestures to Luna and her pumpkin, "C'mon, I'll hollow it out if you help me carve something decent on this one."

Luna looks at the woman Seldiir is pointing to, and sees her scooping out large handfuls of orange goop "Eww, that looks soo sticky..." Turning back to Seldiir with a big grin, she nods and says "Deal! But I want to do some of the scooping too, it looks like fun." She then looks at Seldiir's pumpkin and starts giggling "That's so small and weird looking... Oh, you should make it look like Kronas!" She starts laughing as Kronas smiles and pokes out his tongue "It doesn't have enough hair to look like me." He says "Oh, we can fix that! Seldiir you should put loads of hay on top, like this..." Luna grabs a handful of hay and holds it over the small pumpkin "See! Then you only need to make some eyes and a goofy grin."

With two siblings of his own, Seldiir knows this game...
”You know, you too look very similar so...”

White is actually quite solemn during the ceremony and starts a little as Kara's hand slips into his own but he welcomes it and gives it a warm squeeze.

He doesn't select his own pumpkin, rather enjoying the craft of others and tapping his foot in time to the wonderful music.

With the others engaged in carving, he leans down to Kara and asks;

My lady I am curious, how well can you move in that armour? Would you care to dance? his head cocks slightly to the side and even behind the mask she knows he is smiling.

The afternoon and evening is a delight of music and art and White Feather is enraptured.

Lebraerio wanders around the festival, his finger playing with the tied gold locks.

We met into this kind of fair, miss Saint-Germaine, so many months ago.. Too bad we went into our separate ways, but at least the Society bring us together, and we are aware of each other existence. Maybe another mission will see us fighting side by side. I do hope so. I miss you

He shakes in love-full daydreaming, to focus on the show and the various games and art displayed.

He asks a villager

I am in the mood for some poesy, even if I lack the skills. I am hoping for Sheylin's inspiration, even if the words won't be enough to describe the beauty of Kara Saint Germaine. Is that possible?

With two siblings of his own, Seldiir knows this game...

”You know, you too look very similar so...”

"But he's a boy..." Luna protests, totally oblivious to the family resemblance "He looks way goofier than me." She looks at her brother with an exaggerated frown, trying to picture the similarities between them, but he starts pulling funny faces and she giggles instead "See!" She says to Seldiir "You're just being silly, we look nothing alike." Kronas agrees "Yeah, she looks much more like her pet frog! I always get them mixe- Ow!" He starts rubbing the dead arm Luna just gave him "Luna has a better left hook though, that's how you tell them apart." She sticks out her tongue, and they both start laughing.

Seldiir makes a mock-serious examination of the both, then he points at Kronas, ”So, you’re Luna, right?”. He turns to Luna, ”And you’re Kronas.”

His hearty laugh makes it clear he is joking.

”My sister is dark and tall, like me; my brother, meanwhile, is short and fair.”

Seldiir, Kronas + Luna, Zarunkumar
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Luna's new friend Katriane takes a seat next to where Seldiir, Kronas, and Luna are engaging in some friendly bicker-banter about what to carve, who gets to carve it, who to carve, and how to do it. "Seems like things are coming along well here," she smiles. "Luna, this is your brother? And another friend? I'm Katriane, nice to meet you both," she says, setting her carving knife down to shake each one's hand in turn.

"Your friend Seldiir here's got the right idea," she explains after some quick introductions. "You start by cutting a hole in the top so you can scoop the insides out," she says, offering another demonstration. "Some people like using a spoon to scoop but others like to just stick their hands in there and do it that way - it's a little sticky but that's all, I promise! And then once you've got it hollowed out you can carve it however you like. I'm still thinking about what I want to make first!"
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More to come in a bit for Lebraerio and the rest of you!

Kara
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The couple look down at the dwarf woman, for a moment taken aback to hear condolences from a stranger. Both appear to be quite young, maybe no more than maybe 20 winters or so at the most. After a moment the young man's stoic expression softens. "I...thank you, miss," he responds quietly. "She would've been a year old in just a few more weeks. A little corker she was, started sleepin' through the nights by three months and hardly ever cried. Always smilin' and laughin'," he continues, a small smile on his own face and a distant look in his eyes as he thinks of his baby girl. His young wife sniffles and dabs at her eyes. Too overcome with emotion to speak, she simply nods in agreement with her husband.

"We...we were really lookin' forward to the festival, before...before she passed," the man continues, as the distant look leaves them and he returns to the present. "Martine would've loved it, 'specially the pumpkins. I was gonna-" here he loses his composure for a moment, choking on the words -"was gonna help carve her first pumpkin." He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, slowly exhaling before opening them again. "Still gonna carve one, for her. And maybe she'll see its light from Nirvana. That's where Bertinard always says Shelyn's flock go when they leave the world."

He looks down at Kara. "Ah...I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to carry on but thank you for listenin' and for carin' - me and the missus both 'preciate it."

Sitting down, he takes a pumpkin from a nearby pile and grabs a carving knife as his wife also has a seat close by, seemingly content to watch for now. "Never carved a pumpkin before, miss? It's not so hard, you just start with cuttin' a hole in the top here..."

Lebraerio
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The man whom Lebraerio speaks to about poesy strokes his impressive handlebar mustache, looking thoughtful. "Hum...well if you're wanting something ready-made to impress your lady then Ivy over at the Silver Flute might know something good. We get all types traveling through Rosehaven and sometimes they're types that know a thing or two about putting words together into something beautiful. Or they just like to flap their gums," he chuckles. "Anyway, Ivy doesn't care about the talent or lack of it, says it's the effort that matters. So she writes everything down in some sort of journal or something. I bet she's got just the one in there that'd speak to your lady."
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I'm hoping I understood Lebraerio's request/question correctly :)

Thank you, sir. I'll go and meet this talented miss Ivy at the Silver Flute. Let's hope she will find beauty in my emotions, and will be able to paint them with words.

Kronas shakes Katriane's hand and smiles as Luna helps with the introductions "Katriane is the bestest at finding pumpkins! She helped me pick these two." She says, pointing to the fine specimens of squash-hood they are about to carve into, and Kronas says "Any friend of Luna's is a friend of mine!"

Given the choice between hands and spoons, both Kronas and Luna raise their arms above their heads and wiggle their fingers "Hands!" They cheer. Luna lets Seldiir do the tricky part of cutting a hole in the top of her pumpkin, but she gleefully dives straight in and starts scooping out big handfuls of pumpkin guts. The Kronglic siblings then start carving away happily, giving each other tips as they go, both of them have their tongues constantly hanging out as they concentrate hard on their art. Luna also helps out Seldiir, proudly showing him how to make his pumpkin look just like Kronas.

Luna finishes hers first, and quickly moves on to help Seldiir with his, but not before skipping off to find another small pumpkin so that the tall marine can make a carving of her as well. Kronas finishes his soon after and takes a step back to admire his, and especially his sister's work. Beaming with pride, he bounces over to Katriane to see what she has been making, and to maybe tease a story out of her "I'm really curious about how Mercylight started... It's just so much fun! Someone said that it was because Bertinard fought off some kind of evil, or something? I loooove stories, and I bet that the beginnings of this festival is a good one!"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Seldiir leans in, eager to hear a good story.
diplomacy aid another: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Kara grabs a pumpkin and her knife. She carefully removes the top and then empties it. Turning the pumpkin in her hands she tries to get an idea what the pumpkin should become, when she suddenly sees the knobbly growth protruding from it's side. She starts carving eyes above it and then gets a lot of hay "I want to make a beard out of this, do you have any idea how to fasten it?"

Seldiir, Kronas + Luna, Zarunkumar, White Feather
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"Uhm..." Katriane responds slowly, shifting her gaze down to the ground as she absently rubs her thumb over the haft of her carving knife. "I don't really know, that all happened before I was born. And no one's ever really wanted to talk about it, not mama and papa or Bertinard or old Matilda or Ivy or anyone. They just say that it doesn't do anyone any good to dwell on the past."

She looks up, her expression brightening. "And that makes enough sense to me - especially now during Mercylight. Mercylight's supposed to be about looking forward, right?"

Kara
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A short distance away from where the majority of her companions sit chatting and working on their pumpkins, Kara sits with the DuBois couple. Instead of chatter there is quiet, but it's a peaceful sort quiet as dwarf and human each carve and shape their respective pumpkins.

The young man looks up, a puzzled frown on his face. "Uh...well, I'm afraid I don't rightly know, miss," he responds apologetically.

"Cornstarch," his wife responds, speaking up for the first time since Kara had spoken to them. "You can make a sticky paste with it - mama taught me how. Just mix a little water and cornstarch in a bowl and stir. It gets thick and goopy fast! I...I can run home right quick and make some for you, if you like," she says to the dwarf.

Lebraerio
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"You're more than welcome and I hope you find what you're looking for to woo your lady," the man replies with a friendly wave as Lebraerio heads over to the Silver Flute.

Stepping inside, Lebraerio enters into a cozy common room, dotted here and there with well-kept wooden tables and chairs and a bar along the northern wall. The fireplace isn't lit at the moment but Lebraerio figures that it likely will be once the sun sets later.

A middle-aged woman turns, having just finished putting away the last of some freshly-washed glasses. She smiles broadly at Lebraerio. "Well, another stranger! Welcome to the Silver Flute - name's Ivy," she says as she offers her hand for a shake. "You wouldn't happen to be one of that Seldiir fellow's friends would you? He was just in a little bit ago, real nice. Ah but anyway, I'm rambling! What can I do for you?"

sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 14

"That would be very kind of you miss." Kara puts down her knife and extends her hand "I realize I did not introduce myself, I am Kara"

Kronas looks a bit disappointed "Oh... Okay then." But quickly brightens up when Katriane does, and he nods "Looking forward! Makes sense... But there is a story time, right? A nice old man said that story telling is part of Mercylight." Ever curious, Kronas hops around to get a better look at what Katriane has been carving into her pumpkin "I'm good at telling stories too! Well, my sister enjoys them anyway, especially when they have dragons and knights in them." He says proudly as he marvels at Katriane's creation.

Meanwhile, Luna keeps trying to put handfuls of hay on top of Seldiir's pumpkin to make hair, but it keeps sliding off. It seems her latest plan to get the hay to stick is by wagging a finger at it and telling it sternly to "Stay still!"

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

I'd like to send a letter to the woman I love, and I'm afraid my words won't be up to the task. Could you please help me?

He clears his throat and starts talking

"Do you know, my walking heartbeat, how much I crave you?

Sincerely yours,
Lebraerio Hantwell

Could you do something good out of that?

Sense motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

We suck at Sensing Motive by the looks at things.

White just nods sagely as as Katrine says she doesn't feel the need to relive the past.

Sometimes we just need to look to the horizon. he agrees. But we shouldn;t forget the lessons of the past. he adds.

While he speaks, White takes one of the hairpins Luna earlier dressed his hair with ad starts poking holes in the top of her pumpkin. He then shows the gnome how to thread the hay through patiently, but successfully.

Lebraerio
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Ivy considers your words. "Well let's see, that's a lot of feelings that you're holding in your heart and in your nethers," she responds without batting an eye. She bends down slightly and reaches under the bar, pulling out a large, dog-eared book.

"This is where I keep all the stories and poems and everything else that I hear from folks who pass through here," she explains. "Some of 'em I write down myself and some of the longer ones I let the teller write it themselves." Opening the book she begins flipping through.

"Let's see...you've got a lot to say to this Kara but sometimes you can say a lot with just a little...aha!" She flips the book around to Lebraerio and points to a small poem. "What do you think of this one?"

'The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.'

"And you know, if you wanted to really make it good then I think Bertinard's got a few roses still in bloom over in the old tower ruins," Ivy continues. "I know he wouldn't care a bit if you wanted to pick one to go with your message!"
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Poem is The White Rose by John Boyle O'Reilly.

Kara
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"Ah...I'm Felicity, Felicity DuBois," the young wife responds as she tentatively takes the dwarf woman's hand in her own in greeting.

"And I'm Remy," her husband adds, looking up again and offering his hand as well. "It's nice to meet you Miss Kara."

"Yes, it is," Felicity agrees as she stands up and brushes some hay off of her skirt. "I'll head home and see if I can whip up a little sticky paste for your pumpkin, okay?" For the first time since making the couple's acquaintance, Kara sees a small smile on Felicity's face. "It's no trouble at all, really. I...I could use a little something to keep my mind occupied tonight."

White Feather, Kronas + Luna, Seldiir, Zarunkumar
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"I guess that's true too," Katriane admits when White Feather offers a bit of wisdom of his own. "But I think it'll be okay if we let the past alone, at least for a day or two, right? Kronas here is right, there's still storytime and other things later!"
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Next post will be for everyone but feel free to add anything else that you might want to add to your current activities before responding to the Everyone Post!

Everyone
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With the Mercylight festival in full swing, everyone finds themselves having a surprisingly good time, maybe even a wonderful time. Songs are sang, dances are danced, pumpkittens and pumpkings are carved and each of you feel as if you've perhaps grown in some small way from sharing in the Mercylight festival with the welcoming locals of Rosehaven. As morning gives way to early afternoon, the pumpkin supply runs low and you see Bertinard call to a couple of young, strong boys to go and fetch more from the fields.

"They'll be going to Elm's fields," Katriane comments as the boys head out along a dirt road that runs north out of Rosehvan. "I think I told Luna...or was it Kronas?...earlier that he grows the best pumpkins around!"

Perhaps twenty minutes or so pass before the boys return, their cart loaded down with more pumpkins. Most of them set to work unloading the newest batch but where before they were engaging in raucous laughter and chatter they now work silently, their movements oddly stiff. While the others deal with the pumpkins, one tall boy with a mop of curly black hair hurries over to Bertinard and whispers into his ear. As you watch, Bertinard's jovial expression slowly fades and the color drains from his face. For a moment, he seems every bit his advanced age, frail and with a hint of fear in his eyes. But then, he sets his jaw and straightens his back like a ramrod and for a moment you glimpse Bertinard as he might have looked 30 years ago in his prime as a handsome, brave champion of light. He gives the boy a curt nod and then whispers something in return before giving him a supportive clap on the shoulder and sending him on his way.

He approaches the group, now having quite firmly staked a place near the village well, and beckons. "Mr. White? Could I have a word with you and your companions? In private?" he says, giving Katriane and anyone else lingering nearby a rather stern look.

White looks over his shoulder at the odd salutation of his name. His body stiffens almost imperceptibly as he lays eyes on Bertinard.

Of course, is everything alright.

He gets everyone's attention and lays a large but gentle hand over Luna's who is still beavering away at her pumpkin, easing her to stop and listen without saying a word.

When White Feather places his hand on hers, Luna looks up at him with the biggest smile on her face, clearly having the time of her life. However, her smile quickly fades, making way for a worried expression as she notices a stern looking old man drive off her new friend, Katriane. She hesitantly leaves her pumpkin, still half bald, and hides behind White, peeking out from behind his robes every now and then so that she can hear what is about to be said.

Even though Kronas is terrible at reading people, even he can see that something very disturbing has just happened "What's wrong?" He asks as a hundred different scenarios run through his mind *Gasp!* He goes wide-eyed and places a hand over his mouth "Did someone steal all the pumpkins?"

"My apologies Felicity and Remy, I am needed. Thank you for your company, I enjoyed it." Kara carefully puts her pumpkin dwarf down and moves to stand with White Feather and the others.

As the young men approach, Seldiir takes a few steps in their direction, hoping to assist in unloading the pumpkins.

However, as soon as the exchange begins, he steps back and picks up his armoured unniform, whispering to himself, "I've seen that look before."

As the group steps forward, he speaks quietly to Kronas, "Maybe little sister should wait here?

Bertinard's stern expression softens as he spies Luna peeking out from behind White Feather. "Your sister?" he asks of Kronas. "Aye, your friend is right. It might be best for her to wait with Katriane while we talk," he agrees. "This isn't fit for little ears to hear."

"Yes, she can stay with me for a few minutes, I don't mind," Katriane says quickly. "We still have to finish our pumpkins, right?" She smiles at Luna, but the worried look in her eyes can't be concealed. "I'm sure it's nothing serious, probably just a boar or something in the pumpkin patch."

Meanwhile, Remy and Felicity share a look before nodding at Kara. "Don't apologize, it was nice to meet you Miss Kara," Felicity smiles, though both she and her husband look rather worried as well. "I'll keep the rest of this paste and we can finish your pumpkin a little later."
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Bertinard beckons you all to follow him, heading towards the flower garden in the ruined tower. "This is a good a place as any," he sighs as he has a seat on an old stone block. He rubs at his face for a moment, clearly still disturbed by whatever the boy had shared with him. "Mr. White...are you and your friends brave? We have a situation on our hands and I'm certain that Constable Tivareau is going to need all the help she can get with it. And, well, if you forgive me for saying so, you folks look like the type that know how to handle yourselves in a tight spot," he says, nodding at the various sheathed weapons most of you carry.

"You heard me mention Elm during my speech earlier, yes? And I'm sure you've heard bits and pieces about him while you've been enjoying the festival. He...He's a good man, Elm is. Little odd yes, but I've heard most nature devotees are in some manner or another," Bertinard continues, staring out across the fields. "I sent those boys to his fields for more pumpkins. They noticed the door to his home standing open when they got there. And when they looked inside..."

The old priest pauses, closing his eyes as if hoping the whole thing might simply be a bad dream.

"They found him. Dead."

"I have big ears!" Luna protests, stepping out from behind White Feather, but Kronas gives her a little nod and she reluctantly takes Katrianes hand as everyone else heads for the flower garden "I like boars, they're cute and have such great hair..." Her voice slowly gets quieter as the party moves further away, the last thing Kronas hears is something about how she wants to ride one one day.

At the garden, Kronas sits down and listens carefully to Bertinard "What... I mean, how did he die? I take it that it wasn't natural..." He looks around at his companions, shocked at how such a fun day could turn so easily "You wouldn't ask us over if it was, right?"

Yes sir, I daresay we can take care of ourselves, and others if needbe. But let's not jump to conclusions. White warns Kronas, though gently, he too already had started having dark thoughts. Those boys were probably frightened by the sight of a body, can't say I blame them, it's a horrid thing.

Has anyone else been up to see the body and maybe determined how he died? Had he been ill at all?

"Seeing a dead person can be hard for those youngsters, but was it just his body lying there? Or was there something more that they saw? What causes you to think you might need armed strangers to look at the situation instead of this being an old man coming to the natural end of his lifespan?"

"You folks ask sensible questions," Bertinard observes as a few of you attempt to offer other possible alternatives regarding Elm's fate, ones much less dark that what has been implied. He gives a satisfied nod. "Good. That makes me feel better about asking for your help in the first place. Wish I could say that poor Elm maybe just keeled over from a bad heart or something - you have no idea how much I wish I could say that. But it's not like that, according to what Cecil said he and those other boys saw," he continues, shoulders sagging slightly.

"They didn't go inside the house but they said it looked like he'd been attacked by something - there was blood and Cecil thought maybe even some burns," Bertinard explains. "But far as I know no one else has been up to Elm's today, not until I sent those boys. So if it's not too much to ask, I'd like you folks to go with Constable Tivareau to have a closer look - and maybe give her a hand if whatever took Elm's life is still lurking around out there." He gestures back towards the village. "I sent Cecil to fetch her, so she and a couple of her men should be out here in just another minute or two."

"You're all well within your rights to refuse though," the old priest continues with the utmost sincerity. "I know you're strangers to Rosehaven and I understand that our small town problems might not be much concern to you. But you know, I figured it sure wouldn't hurt to ask since you're here."

”I’ll stand with Rosehaven.”

The sentiment is sincere but, once it leaves his mouth, Seldiir blushes at the grandiose phrasing.

Perhaps a little more cautiously, White asks;

Do you have trouble like this often, Bertinard? Are there creatures around here that we should be aware of?

"We've only been here for one morning, but everyone has been soo nice to us, you all practically feel like family already! I won't let whatever happened to Elm happen to anyone else, I swear..." Taking a cue from Seldiir, Kronas draws his sword and holds it up high in the most heroic pose he can muster "I stand with Rosehaven too!" Still holding his pose, he asks "But err, White has a point... Is there anything you know that could have done this? The more we know, the better prepared we can be."

I'd be glad to help you, too. If there is a crime, we must do our utmost to catch the culprit.

"Yes, you have all been very kind to us. Of course we will do this for you."

Bertinard offers a relieved smile as you agree to offer your help and you think by the twitching of his lips that he might even be fighting to keep a straight face in the wake of Seldiir and Kronas' rather heroic bravado. "Very good. I'll leave the details up to the constable, because she'll have a better idea of exactly what sort of help would be handy."

"But no, this sort of thing...it's practically unheard of in Rosehaven," he adds, shaking his head vigorously. "Even though the town has Constable Tivareau and the militia, they actually spend most of their time with repairs or helping with the harvests or any other odd jobs that need doing around the town and the farms. We do get travelers in town somewhat regularly since we're right on the river but I think the worst problems we've had have just been small thefts and occasionally some vandalism from idle hands. Nothing like...this."

As if on cue, you hear the jangle of armor as a woman with short, closely-cropped black hair comes striding up to the group, her armor gleaming in the sun. With her are two of the local militia, though they look as though they'd be more at home working the land than bearing arms.

"Bertinard! Cecil told me what he and those other boys found," she exclaims, sounding slightly out of breath. Though she wears it well, you get the impression that she rarely has cause to don her armor and might even be a little out of practice with wearing it. "Me, Adrien, and Emile are going out there to have a look a..." she stops, staring at the group as she only now registers your presence. "Not meaning to be rude, but who are you?"

With stiff formality, Seldiir proffers a hand, ”Seldiir Elberion, Pathfinder and Sable Company Marine.”
He gestured to the rest of the group in turn, ”My fellow Pathfjnders: Kara, Lebraerio, Kronas, White Feather. Some of whom are seasoned and experienced explorers.”

And those of us with limited experience of the Society are nonetheless capable Constable. White adds in support of Seldiir. We will help, if we can.