"Squeeze, tell it to get on the ground. We need to tie him up." Ansgar says while stepping back to block the door, sword at the ready.
Viridi is quiet as Madame Niska explains about Nualia.
"...oh." She swallows and unconsciously rubs the scar on her throat. "I, um... I didn't know that."
Garbund splashes fiery acid at the old man and hits him. The damage is minimal, but enough to make him hesitate and give Garbund a chance to run away if he wants to.
---
"I'm sure we can make a deal later, looks like you need some rest at the moment. I heard you have a boar hunt or something tomorrow as well, right? Try to relax a little and enjoy that, ok?"
---
---
Koya steps into the room.
"Mother, Viridi, luch is ready.", she starts bringing food into the room.
"I can make a reading for you later if you want, child. Meanwhile, maybe you can tell me what are your plans for the future."
Now that he hast the chance, Garbund is going to do a runner!
Straight back to the inn, and shut himself in his room for a bit.
"Dealing with the goblins was more straightforward than that!"
"No way am I going to tell either Phéde or Antoul about this lark!"
"Phéde would have my guts for garters."
"Antoul would probably choke to death with a laughing fit."
"Ugh. Right. The Foxglove lad. Thanks for reminding m...Garbund?"
Kalais pauses, keen eyes following their half-orcish caster as he marches his way through the inn and out of sight without so much as a glance. To that Kalais looks back to Ameiko, shrugs, and halfheartedly raises her mug in salute to the tavern owner.
"Aye ma'am. I'll make this the last for today then." She takes a long draw from the pint, brow clearly furrowed at the thought of entertaining the noble's company. At least the idea of partaking in some proper hunting manages to smooth it out somewhat. By the time her ale runs dry, Kalais has quite clearly passed from broody to just plain drowsy, and eventually retreats back to her own room. Anyone attempting to find the archer later would discover her stiff as a plank of wood, having willfully fallen face-first into her bedding; her (now dry, if still somewhat bloodstained) boots hanging limp over the lip of her bed.
Seeing Squeezes inaction, Ansgar readies himself to do what needs doing. Ansgar stands in the doorway, sword at the ready, "Little goblin, lay down on the floor and I will spare you." Ansgar says while using his empty hand.
Viridi gratefully takes the offered lunch and starts chowing down.
"...I think I'd like a reading later, thank you." She nods. "As to the future, well, there is this boar hunt I've been invited to--I'm planning to go if only to make sure nobody gets hurt."
Garbund will come down to the common room after having a lie-down, to see if any of his other friends are about.
Squeeze translates for Ansgar and the goblin hesitantly comes out of the closet and obeys.
"Goblin got lost, longshanks no hurt me!"
---
"I had more of a long term future in mind when i asked you, child, but that will do.", she laughs.
Unless Viridi brings something up, Niska and Koya spend the rest of lunch with pleasantries. After that, Koya brings a harrow deck and Niska spreads nine cards over the table.
"Pick one."
"Thank you for coming peacefully." Ansgar says. "Now I have a few questions, if you answer them I will escort you free of the town. If you do not answer them I will hand you over to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is very angry at you so you might not like that."
After a momentary pause Ansgar will ask his questions "What is your name? What tribe do you belong to? Why did you come to the town? Who is your leader?"
Viridi thinks for a moment.
...well, seven's a lucky number, right? She muses as she picks the seventh one.
Squeeze translates once again, the goblin then anwers in broken common.
"Me Gresgurt! Gresgurt from the Thistletop goblins! Best goblins! Come to town to kill, haha! Boss is Ripnugget, best goblin boss!"
---
Viridi's pick reveals a card showing undead and a black sun, with the name "The Eclipse", Niska sighs. "My fortune-telling has the tendency of showing dark things indeed, the eclipse shows a loss of purpose or way, child, it could be yours, or it could be of someone you know. Keep this in mind as you move foward."
She shuffles all the cards, her old hands moving faster and more skillfully than one might think its possible, and then she spreads nine face-down cards on the table in a three-by-three grid.
"We'll start by reading the past; once again, this could be your past, it could be someone else's past, or it could be the past of no person in particular; and yet this past will be connected to your present and future in some way."
The turns all three cards in the left column, and then points to the top-left one, the image of a man being struck by the touch of the arcane. "The Vision represents the arcane knowledge, but it can also mean knowledge in general, and it has played a good role for you in the past. Now, this could simply refer to your mother. As you might see, not every card brings great revelations."
The card right below it shows someone dancing between planets. "The Dance is a card of harmony discipline that advises abiding by rules as a way of contributing to the greater good. Right here, however, it is placed in the unclear past. It shows that blindly following the rules can also be a bad thing."
The last card shows a cricket playing with cards, but she ignores it, revealing the three middle-column cards, the top one shows a locksmith, the second one shows a mad monster, but she point straight to the bottom one, a card that depicts a devil swallowing a person. "The middle column shows us the present and the near future. The Fiend is an evil card, it indicates great danger, no doubt it is related to the goblin raid that just happened, the townsfolk think the danger is gone, but something bigger and sinister lurks close to Sandpoint, and i'm afraid you could find yourself very close to it..."
She finally flips the last three cards. "The right column is the column of the future, the future isn't set in stone, child, and it might change, but the harrow can still show you some of the outcomes, desirable or not."
The cards depict a midwife birthing a fiendish baby, a unicorn, and a tangled briar. She points at the tangled briar.
"The Tangled Briar is a card about the return of old or ancient evil. It often indicated an object or person that was lost or murdered in a foul way returning to bring pain. I unfortanetly think this card will play a big role in the future, child.", she sighs. "Or i could simply be wrong, just look at what happened with Aroden, right?", she does forced cackle, but Viridi can see that she and Koya are worried.
"That was surprisingly easy...
"Thank you Gresgurt. I am going to tie you up now and lead you out of the town." Ansgar says.
Ansgar will tie up the goblin and throw his bedroll over him like a cape, trying to emulate Squeezes ability in disguising this new goblin.
Having recovered from his earlier indiscretion, Garbund will be waiting in the common room at the Inn waiting for the others.
"...oh."
Viridi had been uncomfortably quiet as Madame Niska performed her reading. She was not certain what Irori thought of portents, good or ill, but the fact that her future seemed to be dark and foreboding gave her pause.
"Well, I'll... I'll take it to heart, Madame." She nods and begins to get up to leave. "Thank you for the lunch and reading."
With some help from Squeeze, Ansgar disguises Gresgurt. As both of them leave Aeren's room, Petal starts furiously barking once again, this time at Gresgurt, Aeren's mother steps back, horrified.
"I-is that...W-was there really a...?", she hugs Aeren. "I-im sorry dear, i should've believed you..."
She thanks Ansgar profusely and he is then able to escort the goblin out of town without issue.
---
"Sometimes what we see in the future is not what we want, but remember you can aways change your future, child. I see potential in you, if you want another reading later, feel free to come back. Heck, maybe i could even teach you to make readings yourself, you certainly have some of the powers used by seers and oracles. Good luck."
---
A day passes, and Aldern Foxglove is waiting in front of the Rusty Dragon for the group, excited.
"Well good day! I heard all of you have been quite...", he glances at Garbund. "...Active, recently. Hopefully this boar hunt will be a good opportunity for us to get some rest and have fun! Has any of you ever hunted a boar, or something else?
At the Rusty Dragon, Viridi nervously fingers the spear at her side.
"I've never been on a hunt before. Is there anything important I need to know?"
Making sure Aldern doesn't elaborate any more than he has:
"Yes, I was rather busy training!" coughing nervously, he continues:
"Anyway … I'm as ready as I can be for this boar hunt."
"I have only ever had to hunt people..." Ansgar says.
"Including invading goblins, recently."
"Well, i never had to hunt people but i imagine they're different things. Boars aren't exactly intelligent, but they have sharp instincts and are quite fast, you need horses to keep up and corner them. If they get corner they'll usually charge against someone to open the way, so having a good spear and bracing against their charge is often the best way to deal with them. Our first stop is the stables, i'll get each one of you a good horse and we can head to Tickwood."
"Sounds good to me"
"Especially if it helps put distance between me and Shayliss's father!"
"And me as well"
As you stop by the Goblin Squash Stables, the townsfolk's mood seems to have changed from gratitude to something different, you can catch them pointing fingers and whispering between themselves as they give you cold looks.
The group stops by the Goblin Squash Stables, where three menservants await with horses.
"Those are Artur, Bavol and Cornel, they've picked good horses for all of you, and a pony for our gnome, of course. I imagine you all know how to ride, if not, i'm sure you'll learn fast, its much easier than fighting goblins. This way, this way!", Aldern eagerly leads the group toward west, crossing Tanner's Bridge and riding along the southern banks of the Turandarok River.
Squeeze doesn't seem very happy being close to this many horses, so he rides far to the back of the group, fighting to keep his mount under control. Kalais also takes her distance, she seems alert, as if expecting an ambush at any moment. As the group rides, Aldern turns to the remaining three.
"So, how did you all learned to fight goblins like that? I wouldn't think a small town like Sandpoint would be the breeding place for warriors like you."
"Um..." Viridi blushes a little as she rides along. "...beginner's luck, myself. I've never really been one for bloodshed--I usually stay back and heal those who do step up to fight."
"My friend in Magnimar, Phéde, taught me a bit of fencing."
"She's much handier with a sword than I'll ever be."
"She learnt from one of the best. Antoul, her father."
"Who'd probably carve his initials in my backside with a rapier, given half a chance",
Garbund reflects on Antoul's glacial feelings towards him.
"I have spent the better part of a decade in training, which is why I know my way around a blade/" Ansgar says.
Though before now I hadn't needed to use it overly much.
"Oh I see, I had some training myself, but it was just stabbing at straw dummies, hardly useful in a real combat situation. Much like lady Viridi here I'm not much for bloodshed, although sometimes I need a bit of action to break the monotony of nobility in Magnimar, you know, there was this time when...", he goes on to tell many anecdotes about the high life in Magnimar.
"If I'm not mistaken some of you are from Magnimar as well, right? How about you, Viridi, have you ever been there?"
Viridi shakes her head. "No, sir. I'm afraid I've never been there."
"I am from Magnimar. Though I spend most of my time there learning about various religions." Ansgar says
"You should go there visit me sometime. I also have a manor southwest of sandpoint, but it needs some restoration, and most workers I hire seem to think it is haunted.", he shrugs.
The group arrives at Tickwood after riding for about half and hour. The woods are known for its giant ticks, whose size is often exaggerated on stoies and whose reputation seems to have kept goblin tribes and bandits away. Tickwood is a narrow forest of pines, firs and redwoods, and as the group aproaches by horse, a couple of deers can be seens running to hide deeper in the forest.
"Now that were at the forest I'm guessing we go on foot and look for boar?" Ansgar says.
"Unless one comes to us, I guess."
"It dependes entirely on preference, my friend. Some like to sneak up to the boars while others like the speed their mount provides to corner the animal."
Squeeze jumps out of his poney, for both his and the poney's relief.
"Then Squeeze sneaks!", he runs towards the woods and disappears.
Kalais dismounts and looks for tracks.
"There is probably a boar that way.", she points north.
"Well then, lets begin. Any preparations you want to make before we go?"
Viridi shakes her head. "Nothing I can't cast once the boar is upon us."
"No I am ready" Ansgar says
"I'm also ready", Garbund says, quickly casting a spell:
« મેજ બખ્તર » . .
… and then picks up his boar spear and follows the group.
The group follows the tracks for a while longer as the traces of movement from the boar become more obvious in the form of scratch marks on the trees, big footprints and a lot of destruction. A couple of minutes go by when Kalais signals the group to stop.
"Do you hear this?"
It takes a while for everyone to able to hear, the sounds make it seem like the boar is fighting something.
"Which way is it?", Garbund whispers
Viridi swallows nervously.
"You stupid... Gah! That hurts, I am going to add your tusks to my helm. Now just DIE!" Lots of grunting happens
Feeling a sudden urge to state the the blindingly obvious, Garbund says:
"Oooooh! THAT doesn't sound like a boar!"
"Well we should probably help him. I will distract the creature" Ansgar says.
As he moves forward he gets his sword and shield out to distract the boar with.
Garbund moves forward with Ansgar, wielding his boar spear.
Viridi brings up the rear, her hands beginning to shake.
"I'll try to ride closer and help him flee if needed.", says Aldern.
The group moves close enough to see a ferocious boar fighting an armored half-orc.
Turn Order
Kalais, Aldern, Denlar, Viridi, Garbund, Ansgar
Boar
Ansgar will charge the boar, swinging his sword as he does.
"Focus on me, swine!"
Garbund moves in and tries to hit the boar with his (lovely new) boar spear:
And misses horribly.