Quiary nods, "Food and Ale are needed yes and some quiet right now. Let these two get their tale together and tonight you will have a show." Quiary finds a booth in the corner and collapses into it
After a little while Ameiko brings out some food, a loaf of bread, some cheese and cold ham along with three flaggons of a mild beer. "Sorry guys, you got here before dinner is done being made, but you look hungry enough I figured you wouldn't want to wait."
"It sure beats trail food. Though to be honest I think I'm hungry enough boot leather'd do. Thanks Si... Amieko." Cael catches himself, and hoping no one noticed he says quite loudly while raising his mug, "Here's to seeing another day dawn!" He then takes a long draught and attacks the food with enthusiasm. As he finishes his food he begins talking with the others about the assault and the crafting his tale.
Norm grabs one of the flagons and pours a cup for himself. Still holding on to the flagon, he empties the cup in one go, sets it down, burps happily and then pours another.
”I sure needed that! Could you pass me the bread, Cael? And the ham and cheese, now you’re at it.
Norm looks over at Quiary
”You look beat, my friend. All that running made you tired?”
Norm winks at him with a big grin on his face
”Here, have some beer. It’s nice and cold.” he says, as he fills another cup and pushes it towards Quiary
That evening Cael gets up to tell their tale. With much brovado he begins.
"The fair Shelelu went before us scouting out way. When she did not return, we knew, as heros such as us often do, that she had been captured. We hastened to rescue her! So Swift was our search that had we wings it could not have been accomplished with greater speed. We drove all before us. Nothing could stand before our wrath as we sought the lovely maiden. Visous hounds, unnatural monsters, and even demons attempted to bar our passing. All fell before us!
When, not one but two, fiendish hounds attacked we fought tooth and nail. Unflinching, the implacable Ansgar stood, filled with holy power from his God, and struck again and again, his great sword falling upon the beasts. I fought at his side, my keen blade in hand, with the clever Nomornigan and his trusty feline ally Cliff. We battled manfully, suffering many wounds, but in the end were victorious! Together we overcame thile first cutting, stabbing, and burning it till it fell. The second was cut down by Ansgar his mighty sword, guided by divine Providence, his arm filled with strength, splitting the devil's skull as if it had been an over ripe melon.
Following the battle our own holy Father, Father Zantus healed our wounds. We continued undeterred. For nothing would prevent us from our task. Next we came upon a witch! Not a grotesque hag, such as is spoken of in children's tales, but a beautiful woman. Beautiful and dangerous as a flame hypnotising in its dance. She tried to stop us, to distract from our purpose. The brave Zelinda however could not be beguiled. Charging forward she struck at the witch, halting her charms. Quickly we subdued her, and from her we learned exactly where Shelelu was being held. Without delay we rushed to rescue her."
Here he pauses. Feining husky voice and pain he says, "I'm sorry my friends my throat is so dry. I'm not sure I'll be able to finish tonight's tale. If only there were some way to sooth my tortured throat..."
Quiary quickly brings Caeldren a fresh beer, "Oh but great man your crowd awaits the finishing of you tale. Do us some justice and complete you ballad." Quiary then moves back to the bar and picks up his own beer a grin on his face.
"I think it continues about fighting a Bugbear and his concubines?" Quiary shouts
"Indeed my heroic companion! I have not forgotten with what keen skill you did strike. But I see your own mug runs low. My friends this should not be, for he is a hero of highest degree!"
After taking a few long pulls on his mug Cael resumes his tale.
"When we found Shelelu she was passed out surrounded by gobilns and a grotesque bugbear. My sharp eyed friend there was the first to draw the monster's blood. His arrow flew swift and sure dispite the melee that had commenced. The fearless Zelinda stood and fought by Ansgar's side, neither yeilding ground as the fight grew desperate, both enduring a hail of arrows from the filthy harum wenches. The fight was intense. When it looked as though Zelinda might fall beieath the heavy blows of the villan's flail she struck hard. I was not to be left out. Wetting my blade the beast fell, and with his fall the others were quickly dispatched leaving us to revive the rangess. Joy filled our hearts as Shelelu roused.
The maiden rescued we fell back and prepared to delve even deepeer into the foretress seeking leader of the dispicable mess. On the morrow we proved the ruin to it's very heart. There we found her. The traitor who had planned the attack on our town. Nualia, once so comley stood before us as we breaches the final door, a divil dog at her side and her arm perverted by a daemonic transformation. Unabashed to stood forth and attacked striking at Ansgar who stood against her unflinching before such evil. With amazing arcane skill the clever Norminagan touched Zelinda who instantly vanished, and so slipped into the room barred by the betrayor. I stood defending and as best I was able. Harried by the hound and Nualia both I was struck the wicked blade of the witch slashing my shoulder deeply. In spite if this I drove my blade deep into her chest, but filled with perverse vitality the traitor still fought on. Making way for Ansgar the Implacable, I drew on the bit of magic I know and with a clever spell I made Nualia drop her sword. Blows were stuck as Ansgar pounded with his shield and Zelinda's blade bit deeply. Still, unarmed and surrounded Nualia persisted in her maddness calling on her vile goddess for aid. At last Zelinda standing proud as an avenging Amazon, beautiful as a Valkerie, struck down the abhorrent even as Ansgar ended the demon dog's stain.
So fell she who sold her soul, bartering her own people in a vain attempt to gain power."
Quiary bangs his mug on the bar in honor of a story well told, beer sloshes out of the mug as Quiary flags for another.
"Now we have to Protect this town further." Quiary says quietly to Norm "Let them enjoy the tale and a night of revelry." Quaiary holds out another Beer for Caeldren
While drinks were had and merry made in the Rusty Dragon, Zelinda takes some extra time to groom Uma and the new horse, fussing over them to help remove any of the stresses of the last few days.
The half-elven woman was in the middle of brushing out Uma's mane, memories of the events in Thistletop start flooding back to her mind, nearly overwhelming her with the horrors and wonders that she experienced. Wiping tears from her eyes, she suddenly realizes that she was nearly hanging from the mare's neck, face buried in her mane, overcome with emotion. "Guess I'm not as battle-hardened as I thought, hey girl?" she manages between sniffles and gasps of breath as she tries to recover her composure a little. "I just hope that we can help to prevent any further tragedies from falling on these people."
She spends more time in the stables, partly to hide her tear-streaked face, but her recent bout of self-imposed weakness left her feeling drained and unwilling to face the energy of a room full of people into their cups. Instead, once she was satisfied with her work, she found a pile of hay in a corner of the stables and quickly passed out for the night.
Once Cael finishes his tale he accepts any congratulations, money or similar. He then goes to sit by Quality and Norm. "So guys what did you think? Pretty good eh?" He says with wide grin. Just the Ameiko catches his arm as she moves between tables. Leaning in she chides him, "Not bad, but you need to work on it a bit. Talk to me tomorrow night and we can fine tune it. DO NOT drink everything people offer to buy you, or you won't be able to get up in the morning."
"Ok ok. I'll be fine. It's not like I didn't drink plenty while working the caravans."
"Yeah, but then all you had to worry about was not getting paid if you didn't do your job, things are different for you now Cael. You need to keep your head on straight."
Sighing Cael says, "Yes Amieko, you're right. I'll try to take it easy." Amieko nods and turns back to her customers.
"So yeah, what did you guys think?"
”It was so good! You had them all eating out of the palm of your hand. I'm just sorry I couldn't do more. I really should learn to do some illusions. Well, there will be time for that."
"Here, have a beer. One won't hurt you”
Norm winks at him and hands him a mug
"And since I don't need to go practise performing with a pretty girl tomorrow, I for sure can have another!"
Norm laughs out loud of his own joke, before taking a big gulp from his own mug
Quiary looks around for Ansgar to show up, not seeing him the entire night after the night grows late and most people have gone home Quiary finishes up his drink.
"Well bed time, thought maybe Ansgar would show up but must still be busy with something. I plan to visit Father Zantus tomorrow to see what he plans to do with this Goblin baby we found." Quaiary nods to his companions then heads up to his room for the remainder of the night.
Ansgar nods to the Sheriff, then gathers his weapons and heads outside. As the afternoon breeze hits his face, Ansgar realizes he doesn't want to be in the tavern. A walk I think... Help clear my head some...
Ansgar takes a slow walk around Sandpoint, stopping at a well to drink and clean some of the grime from his hands and face. His wandering takes him past the cathedral. Ansgar finds a quiet corner to stand in while looking at it. We all left with our lives... That's what matters... Never had to interrogate anyone before though...
As the sun falls to the horizon, Ansgar heads back to the Inn. Arriving late, after most others would have left, Ansgar enters through the kitchen door again seeing Bethana in the kitchen. "Bethana, could I get a basin of water to clean up in? It doesn't need to be warm, just plentiful." Ansgar waits as Bethana gets what he needs and takes it outside.
In the cool night air Ansgar steadily cleans his gear, slowly taking his armour and under clothing off and scrubbing it as required. Once down to his tunic and pants, Ansgar stretches a bit. I do not want to sleep in a bed tonight... The road is much more comfortable...
Dumping the wash water, Ansgar gathers his things and walks to the stable. "At least she's dead now... Another oath upheld." Opening the door he looks around for a likely spot to sleep. Seeing a figure asleep in the corner Ansgar heads to the opposite one, lays down his and padding, and uses it as a pillow while he falls asleep.
...
Ansgar wakes fairly early in the morning, and slowly dons his weapons and armor in the stable.
Waking up to the sound of someone nearby in the hay and metal being moved around, Zelinda warily checks over the side of the stall, hands ready to draw her sword, when she sees Ansgar strapping on his own gear. "Ansgar? What are you doing here this early in the morning?" She thinks about that question for a moment, then corrects herself, "Or at all, for that matter?"
Cael takes the beer Norm offered him with a grin, "One more you mean. This'll be my third." He does try to take it a little easier though and only drinks one more after that. Laying down he is pleased with how things have gone.
In the morning Cael is slow to rise, having been up late the night before. He gets down to the common room and has a good solid breakfast greeting any of the party happily.
Looking up at Zelinda's voice to see her peering at him over the side of a stall, Ansgar continues to buckle his gear into place. "I didn't want to be around people last night... The interrogation didn't go as well as I had hoped it would, and I didn't want to listen to whatever story Cael was telling about our exploits." Finishing with his armour, Ansgar begins to put his pack over his shoulder. "Why were you out here?"
When Cael sees Zelinda he asks, "We missed you last night, it was quite the show. How are the horses? Is Shadowmist looking better now? I plan on buying a saddle and saddlebags today, if you could help me pick some out that would be great. I have been around horses a lot, but I never had enough money to own one. Do you think he's a war horse? He was mighty fierce." There is a boyish glee on Cael's face, and his excitement over the prospect of owning a horse is obvious.
Looking up at Zelinda's voice to see her peering at him over the side of a stall, Ansgar continues to buckle his gear into place. "I didn't want to be around people last night... The interrogation didn't go as well as I had hoped it would, and I didn't want to listen to whatever story Cael was telling about our exploits." Finishing with his armour, Ansgar begins to put his pack over his shoulder. "Why were you out here?"
Zelinda nods in understanding as Ansgar speaks. "Normally, I would be all about celebrating life, like we do with the caravans most nights, but I think that I also needed a little bit of quiet time. I'm no stranger to combat, but this whole thing just seems so much bigger than that, and I needed time to process it all. So I was grooming and spending time with the horses until I was too tired to do anything other than just curl up here."
She takes a moment to collect her thoughts, absently running her hand down the sheath of her sword. "I think I'm ready to face whatever comes our way, now." She looks the cleric in the eyes and adds, "I'm sorry that things didn't go well last night. If there's anything you need me to help with, don't be shy about asking."
When Cael sees Zelinda he asks, "We missed you last night, it was quite the show. How are the horses? Is Shadowmist looking better now? I plan on buying a saddle and saddlebags today, if you could help me pick some out that would be great. I have been around horses a lot, but I never had enough money to own one. Do you think he's a war horse? He was mighty fierce." There is a boyish glee on Cael's face, and his excitement over the prospect of owning a horse is obvious.
Zelinda is a little surprised to see Cael, but recovers quickly and smiles in greeting. "Good morning, Cael. The horses seem to be doing well, but we'll have to talk to Daviren about what his abilities are. He's the expert."
Quiary gets up in the morning, going throw all of his equipment and making sure that everything adds up and is in good working order. Once that is complete, Quiary heads down the stairs of the Dragon to common room, not seeing his companions up yet and having no word on Ansgar Quiary Orders some food and waits for everyone to arrive or get up.
When Cael comes down he sees Quiary finishing his breakfast. "You look spry this morning, sleep well? Have you seen Amieko? I want to talk to her about when we should get together to work on my, our, tale. I want to do some shopping today and she gets busy sometimes."
Zelinda is a little surprised to see Cael, but recovers quickly and smiles in greeting. "Good morning, Cael. The horses seem to be doing well, but we'll have to talk to Daviren about what his abilities are. He's the expert."
"Ok, let's do that soon. I want to do some shopping today and I was thinking I might buy some armor for him. Can you just imagine it, sitting astride a huge warhorse clad in armor, just like a hero from the stories?" Cael's gaze is distant as he smiles at the thought. "Either way I could still use some pointers. I've only ridden occasionally. You will help me out won't you?"
Ansgar nods at Zelinda's answer as Cael walks in and begins talking to her about horses. As their conversation takes off, Ansgar walks into the Inn and sits by Quiary, ordering breakfast as he does.
"Did Cael spin a wondrous tale of our exploits last night?" Ansgar asks Quiary.
"Ok, let's do that soon. I want to do some shopping today and I was thinking I might buy some armor for him. Can you just imagine it, sitting astride a huge warhorse clad in armor, just like a hero from the stories?" Cael's gaze is distant as he smiles at the thought. "Either way I could still use some pointers. I've only ridden occasionally. You will help me out won't you?"
Zelinda laughs at Cael's boyish exuberance, "We will. Just don't forget that he's been through a traumatic event, and horses take those kinds of things to heart. Even a war-trained horse is still a prey animal in nature. We'll make sure to have him ready to go again in no time, but for now just spend some time bonding with him. It will go a long way. Then we can look at some training in the saddle."
"He did yes, you were the hero of it all." Quiary nods as Ansgar sits down. "So we look in to the towns defense's today. Check on the Good Father and his charge then what?" Quiary takes a drink of his tea
Ansgar shakes his head at what Quiary mentions about the story Cael told. "We should sell some of the stuff we found. I'm content with what I have, but the rest of you could do with some new equipment, especially if we are going to be in a fight soon."
Denlar also needs to be looked in on... But that may be a task for me alone...
Norm is the last one to wake up, having maybe a bit to much to drink last night. Cliff is laying on the floor, all four paws in the air, still snoring away.
Norm tries to get up but he feels the room spin for a second and falls back down with a groan.
Finally, he pulls himself together and stumple out of bed, get him self modestly decent, before going down the stairs very slowly.
He sees Ansgar, Cael and Quiary at a table but walks straight to the bar
"Please, what do you have for a major hangover? Please say you have some miracle that can make my head whole again!”
The bartender grins and walks to the kitchen, coming back with a mug. Norm takes it and empties it in one go.
”Thanks. Could you bring me some breakfast too?”
Norm walks over to the others and sits down, putting his head on the table.
”Morning, everyone”
His head is on the table for a couple of seconds before he stands up very suddenly and runs out the back door.
A couple of minutes goes by before he comes back in, wiping his mouth
"Ahh, I feels much better now! Ah, the breakfast is here!"
Norm starts eating.
"So, what's the plan for today?
"Selling the items we found, buffing the towns defenses and then visiting the Father." Quiary says sipping his tea
Finishing his breakfast, Ansgar stretches his shoulders a bit while standing. "I am going to see how I can best help the town prepare. I think heading to the Sheriff first will be most helpful. Did any of you want to come now or were you planning on doing other things first?"
"I want to talk to Daviren first thing about the horse we found. After that I need to do some shopping. Once all that is done I'm happy to join in with the preparations."
Zelinda gives her shirt a smell before answering, "If you give me a few minutes to get cleaned up, I'll join you. I don't think that I'll inspire too many people smelling like hay and horses."
QUiary waits for Norm to finish. "Where is your large feline friend?" Quiary asks
"Oh, he is still sleeping. If you let him, he'll sleep all day long. Very lazy. Unless he is hungry. Or annoyed. Then he'll probably eat you. In both scenarios....So unless there is something important going on, I find it best to let him sleep."
"Uh, is that honey? I love honey! Hand it over!"
With Cael going to talk to Daviren, and Quairy and Norm still talking over breakfast, Ansgar waits for Zelinda to clean up and then heads out with her to speak with the Sheriff.
Quiary hands the honey over to the Halfling. "So are you from Sandpoint? Also I think you should eat faster so we can catch up with the rest but leave your large friend sleeping for now." Quiary says with a smile.
Zelinda makes arrangements to get a bath and takes some time to scrub the horse smell, sweat, and probably some goblin blood from her body and hair. Despite the need to get things underway, she even takes a couple of extra minutes to just soak in the warm water and enjoy herself.
Eventually, she finishes up, get dried and dressed and heads back to the common room. "Sorry for the wait. It's been too long since I'm had a good wash, and it may be a while before we get such luxuries again."
Making sure that her gear is in place, she looks to Ansgar, "Shall we go?"
Cael grabs a couple of biscuits and stuffs them into a pocket in his cloak. "I'm going to find Daviren. I'll catch up with you guys after." He then leaves to begin his search.
When he finds Daviren he asks him to take a look at Shadowmist and asks his opinion on the horse's training.
"Yes, lets get the town prepared." Ansgar says to Zelinda as they set off fort he Sheriff.
.
When the two find the Sheriff, "Good morning. After what we learned yesterday I wanted to come back and help begin preparing the town for the coming attack. What do you think would be the best place to start?"
Caeldren arrives at the Goblin Squash Stables to find a enthusiastic Daviren taking care of Shadowmist and Uma.
"So you joined the town heroes in their quest and came back to tell the story, even a hero yourself, eh?", he seems happier than usual. "And brought back a nice horse with you too. Shadowmist, I remember the name, those two merchants from Magnimar talked about him like he was the best horse ever bred. Lost him to a goblin ambush in the road a few weeks back, they said. Didn't expect to see the horse alive with much goblins hate 'em. Don't think they'll care if you take him for yourself, looks like after that ambush they have no plans of coming back to Sandpoint. This one seems quite well-trained too, you could even ride it to battle and it wouldn't flinch. Unless, of course, you're off to hunt a dragon or something stupid like that."
After eating and being groomed, Shadowmist looks much better than back at Thistletop, like he could easily belong to a king or a legendary hero.
---
Ansgar and Zelinda arrive early at the Garrison, where they find a sleepy Sheriff Hemlock waiting for them.
"I've never been in the business of war.", he answers. "So this news for me too. I'd like to know how many we're fighting and how long we have, hopefully Shalelu will find that out for us soon. Next, a plan for evacuating, train a few more militia, store on supplies, get some traps in the woods to slow down the goblins, maybe build walls toward the east, even if they're just palisades."
He sighs. "Will we have time for all that? I don't know."
”No need to wait, I can walk and eat at the same time. I'll just take one of these and two of these and another slice bread. ”
Norm gets up
”Ready when you are.”
While walking, Norm talks about his family
”I'm not really from anywhere precisely. My dad is a brewer and travelled all over Golarion to find and try new recipes and techniques. We would stay in one most places only long enough for him to learn what he came for and brew a batch or two of it. Then he would probably have heard of a new place he wanted to go and we would sell what he made on the way there. So the best I can say is that I'm from Golarion. What about you? ”
Quiary leaves his money on the table, noding to Ameiko as they leave.
"I am from Sandpoint in a sense, I was born here but my family move to Magnimar where things happened. I was taken in by a crime family there to pay off a debt, I am going to assume my parents are still alive in Magnimar but they probably don't know or care if I still am." Quiary says slowing his stride so Norm can keep up.
”Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. No child should have to go through that. But at least it seems like you turned out okay! Back in your hometown, the hero that have helped save them once and as it looks right now, will have to do it again in the very near future!”
Norm walks on for a little while
"Have you ever thought about trying to find them? Your parents, I mean. Or your siblings. Did you have any brothers or sisters?"
Ansgar considers the Hemlock's words. "None of us are really in the business of war here, but we will make do if we must. For evacuating, are there enough boats to float the non-combatants out to sea? It may be easier and will give us more time. As for making a palisade and training more men, I am sure that Zelinda and I can manage organizing these and we can ask the Mayor for help and funding. Ameiko would probably be the best person I know of here to organize supplies and be a quarter master. Traps might be something Quiary, Norm, and Cael can help with."
Cael is extatic to learn that Shadowmist'sbprevious owners won't be be looking for him, and when Daviren says that he thinks Shadowmist is battle ready he can hardly contain his excitement. "That is WONDERFUL! I'm going to go buy a saddle right now! And armor too!" He pauses for a moment to pay Shadowmist on the neck. "You're going to be great boy." Then he rushes off to make his purchases.
After rushing out to purchase the saddle Cael is reminded by the saddler that it is best to fit the saddle to the horse. He returns to the stable and sheepishly says, "I guess you need to come too boy." Shrugging but still grinning he waves goodbye to Daviren and heads back out.
"I think once the town here is save ya I could go find them, I doubt they will want to talk but I would like to know what the debt they had was so important that they had to sell me." Quiary says as they walk.
"To be honest," Zelinda says to the Sheriff, "my knowledge of warfare is limited to caravan protection. Usually we would do our best to create an enclosed area around those who couldn't fight themselves, and those with combat experience would do our best to keep the enemy from breaking through. I guess this is similar, but on a larger scale, which makes it really tricky with as few people as we have."
"I'll speak with the sailors to see how many we can keep on sea.", says the Sheriff. "Following Zelinda's idea, perhaps we could fit the others inside the cathedral or here at the garrison. Thanks for your help, I'm starting to think we might actually have a chance."
"Traps ya I am better at taking them apart but I can probably figure something out to help out. Goblins love fire as we all know so we need to have a fire brigade if possible." Quiary says leaning against a wall.
After finishing his shopping Cael rides Shadowmist up to the garrison. He is quite the spectacle. He sits proudly, wearing a new tricorn hat with a large bright green feather sticking out from one of the folds. On his arm is a shiny new bucker and in his hand he holds a lance upright, tied with a broad green ribbon which flutters in the breeze. Shadowmist is clad in new leather barding, and sporting a military saddle and saddlebags bulging with Cael's purchases.