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Bridgebourne begins to take on new life as night descends, and the younger children are shuffled off to their homes. The square enjoys the laughter of the performing troupe, as well as the community coming together to shirk the weariness of the day's labor.
Sun sets, moon rises, and the cold night air is met with several bonfires to keep the blood circulating. The troupe is certainly drawing quite the crowd. Folks wander into the tavern, then return to the festivities, bellies fuller from the wine on tap.
Your earlier communing with Trion indicated that Flax was present in Bridgebourne this day, and likely within the inner keep's walls.
As the party gathers once more in the town's western square, the inner keep doors open, and two militia make their way to the sides of the road, while Ayreth and an older woman wander slowly towards the square. Tarian follows close behind the two women. His laughter echoes hollowly, contrasted with the women's hearty mirth.
Via telepathy: Risley, begin searching for evil. I don't believe I recognize the woman with Ayreth, so pay close attention to her.
Yes, very wise when one must be on guard. I am unaware of anything palpable, I'm afraid. The old woman included. Shall I continue?
As the small contingent of officials files from the inner keep, the old woman pats Ayreth on the back cordially, and offers her hand. Ayreth shakes her head in apparent bemusement, and instead of accepting the hand, motions to the others in the crowd.
The older woman nods in understanding before motioning to the two darkclad individuals at the gate. The two nod their heads, and seem to be preparing to head in the opposite direction of the others.
Ayreth steps forward and raises her voice above the troupe's musicians and performers.
With that cue, the old woman, Eola, takes the hand of the villager in front of her, and the two begin to rise into the air. She hums a light melody, and the man laughs in the thrill of suddenly becoming airborne. The crowd ooo's and ah's, drawing closer to watch the spectacle unfolding.
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Telepathically to Risley: Yes Risley, please do. We know there is evil nearby, we need to ferret it out.
In a whisper to Simon: Try to keep an eye on those two darkclad fellows, but keep a safe distance.
Lareg carefully moves through the crowd working to get out of sight of the darkclad fellows, using nearby buildings to gain cover. Then he returns via a different route, hoping to get closer to the pair without them noticing. Once he's close enough he tries to gather the men's intentions.
,
Simon nods to the Revered Bartholomew, and manages to first move around the building along the keep's road, then circle back to encounter Lareg pursuing the same line of investigation.
The villagers begin a light local song, in the manner of a waltz, and it seems to encourage Eola and her airborne partner to twirl about.
Ky regards Tarian and Ayreth and wonders if they have noticed her.
Ky casts Conceal Thoughts on herself (+10 Bluff vs. Sense Motive and +4 save vs. mind-reading effects), and then moves through the crowd to within 20ft of the stage.
The crowd enjoys the spectacle of flight, and Eola and her partner make a rousing go of it, changing altitude, swooping down on various villagers, before returning to the steady height of 60'. Eola gestures for quiet, and largely gets it, as those in the crowd inebriated enough to lack attention are made aware by others in the crowd.
Eola waves her hand back and forth.
She points at each creature, drawing the crowd's attention, while she washes the creatures with a strange tongue. The crowd shrieks in fear, then awkward laughter tries to come forth, as they realize they are not advancing.
Binky, Div, and Hoarluk continue to look on, debating what has begun to unfold.
Lareg's ears strain as he overhears the activity in the square while keeping a watchful for the dark clad men.
Also, does she still have that guy suspended with her?
Telepathically to the group: She's ordered those creatures not to attack, though that may not last long.
Bartholomew will cast Prayer.
Eola's voice rings clearly for all to hear, as she continues.
She waves her hands over the villagers' heads, and light does appear from nothingness.
She again slips into the alien tongue.
Eola's face becomes the very picture of loss.
Seeing the fellows heading toward the main gate, Lareg moves to follow. Doing his best not to be spotted. He mentally shares his observations.
"Headed toward the main gate, dark clad men on the move."
Lareg, Simon, and Innith observe the dark clads stop short of the main gate, and begin to rustle around in a black backpack between the two of them.
The soldiers in front of them look curiously at the two, but do not advance.
Lareg watches cautiously. What's in the bag? What does the pair seem to intend?
,
I will go ahead and cast Telekinetic Force to bring her human shield back to earth... gently.
One of them seems to cover his mouth, while the other pulls what appears to be two rod-length items.
Bartholomew surveys the scene
Via telepathy: She is still telling them not to attack. Hold for now, but be ready should she command them to strike.
Not sure of what he's seeing, Lareg guesses at some possibilities - sharing them mentally.
Via telepathy: "The men have pulled rod shaped objects from their bag. Could be a firework display or something much worse."
In the night's sky, the villager lets out a sudden yelp, as he separates from Eola, but does not plummet to the ground. He manages to drop 20', but no further.
So, is there still a force holding him off the ground, or do I have him? If so, set him down on his feet gently.
Innith holds action
Eola speaks again, raising her voice to be heard over the excitement of the crowd.
A creature the likes you've never seen appears to the south, amongst a goodly number of Bridgebourne citizens. The shrieks are inevitable.
Lareg and Simon watch just long enough to see the two darkclads produce a tindertwig, and ignite it.
Round 1
Via telepathy: She's given the attack order. The large one will be seeking us out.
Bartholomew moves to the middle of his comrades, and casts Magic Circle against Evil.
Lareg charges toward the dark clad individual with the tinder twig.
Via telepathy: I'll be there as soon as I've taken care of this fire hazard.
, .
The tindertwig falls listlessly from the lanky fellow, who grunts in surprise.
"What in the hells?! Why'd ya go and do that?!" The unstunned darkclad speaks with a youngish-sounding voice.
Looking sternly toward the other fellow.
"Now is not the time to be playing with such things. There is danger nearby. I don't want to hear of you doing anything more than what these guards give you permission to do."
Round 1
It looks like Ky is still pulling the guy down to earth. But did hell hounds or something just spawn underneath him?
If so, I will tweak his trajectory and bring him over to our circle.
The villager abruptly stops descending, seemingly unaware of any danger below or new control coming from below. Instead, he moves twenty feet in the direction of the party, floating above the approving crowd. He even goes so far as to pump his fist, raising cheers from unwitting spectators.
If he is no longer next to whatever those things are, Ky will put him down in that large cluster of people. Hopefully that will avoid drawing attention to our location, assuming the bad guys haven't already figured it out.
(initiative is +4) Will illuminate the floating b@&*+ with Faerie Fire...
(also, unable to interact with the map on roll20 - can scroll, but cannot select Div, move him, etc. Site doesn't allow me to select anything on the map...I'm, probably stupid in the head, but I'm open for suggestions, including "did you plug it in" ;)