Cian had been all set to follow Triel when the woman came rushing in. Was the goblin raid not over? We're there still goblins hiding in town? Or, worse, had he be caught with Shayliss?!
The panicked woman tries to calm herself through tears and sobs as she attempts to explain what is happening. "My husband... He, he, he... I'm sorry, I can barely talk right now..." She takes a moment to try and breath as Bethana comes over and tries to calm her down. "Mrs. Barett, it's okay, you'll be fine. I'm sure that these folk will help you. Take a seat, let me hold onto Verah. Just relax and breath, just relax and breath..." the small woman says to her as she reaches for the infant. Mrs. Barett nods her head as she hands Bethana the child and takes a seat at the table in front of you.
"After the raid the other day, our little boy Aeren kept having nightmares at night. He would wake up screaming in terror, claiming that there was a goblin in his room... Alergast, my husband..." she pauses a moment, trying to force back tears long enough to keep talking. "He kept trying to tell Aeren that there was no goblin in his closet, and that he was just having nightmares. That's all we thought they were, nightmares... Earlier this morning however, our dog yelped from Aeren's room as Aeren began screaming. Alergast went to go see what happened and didn't say anything. I was busy with Verah, so I didn't think to join him in the room. After some time though I noticed it odd that Alergast didn't come out, so I went to check and... and I..." as she pauses once again, this time unable to fight back the tears as they come streaming down her face like a faucet. "I found Aeren missing from the room and Alergast... he... he... HE WAS FACE DOWN IN THE CLOSET IN A POOL OF BLODD!!!" she finally screams as her frenzy of tears and emotions come rushing back. The room falls silent very quickly after her shout as the only thing now heard is Mrs. Barett's frantic sobs and cries, and the small, high pitch cries of the little baby Verah.
Triel listens to Mrs. Barret's tale, not saying anything.
"We'll deal with it. Where do you live?" She asks, her voice clear.
Keep an eye on the bigger picture. Townsfolk need reasons to trust me. Investigate this and the Glassworks, and everything will work out. Ideally.
Still, I really wish she'd stop wailing. It's not helping me.
Kidnapped children? Missing tavern owners? What's wrong with this town? It is exciting at least!
"Had you checked the closet at all before this?" Ithylia asked as gently as she could.
Mrs. Barett continues to sob for a few moments before getting a slight amount of clarity once again. "Like I said... We had thought... That Aeren was having... Nightmares... We never checked the closet until... until...untill..." as she once again starts crying while making sounds that can't be understood. Bethana steps forward to you. "She lives on Bishop Street, the corner house closest to here on the Mill Pond side. Can you go take a look? I will have someone go get some help so they should not be far behind. Hopefully Ms. Ameiko will have returned by then and our worries will have been for naught."
"We will hurry." She gives a comforting hug to Mrs Barett. "Don't worry.
Triel nods, her helmet bobbing up and down. "There's no time to waste. Let's go."
Who's coming to help us? I doubt we'll need the help...
She starts heading out the door.
You see a tall, slender male elf slowly rise from his chair in the back of the room and walk toward the woman in distress. I'm sorry to interrupt, miss, but I overheard your plight and wish to offer my services. My name is Arathorn.
Vanya looks over her shoulder at the newcomer. "oh, who's this?"
Arathorn politely bows to Vanya. "Would it be presumptuous of me to ask to tag along with your party? With a team of this size, we should be able to fight this goblin with ease, though I'm afraid I'm not quite up to date on all the dealings with goblins. I arrived quite late for the festivities, only to hear that there was some goblin raid."
For everything the elf says, Vanya only hears he missed the festival. "Oh! You poor dear! The festival was brilliant! Even the goblins weren't sooo bad, I mean all told. And, I did get to meet a wonderful gentleman, too!" As if she realized she was rambing, she smiles and says, "Um, sure. You can help. Always more room for heroes."
Triel stops at the door and looks back, her eyes briefly widening behind her helmet.
Vanya was speaking with an impressively tall elf. (Huh. About as tall as Qilué. I wonder if he can fight as well as she can...)
An elf who wanted to help them deal with a goblin problem. (This is... well, if this isn't utter madness, I'm afraid to ask what sanity looks like.)
Still, he looked like he could hold his own in a fight. "Come on then--let's get moving."
I suppose, in the end, that's all that matters to Gorum... *sigh* ...this is ridiculous.
Arathorn nods his head in Triel's direction. (this could be a very interesting encounter with this group.) He walks towards the door in a gesture that he's ready to go. "Splendid, what shall I call you? I've told you mine, but I fear I have no heard of yours, other than heroes".
"Welcome. I'm sure you're skill will help. Arathorn, was it? I'm Cian Molan, mage."
"I'm Ithylia Nassym, and this is Triel and Vanya." Ithylia pointed to her companions in turn. "It's nice to meet you, Arathorn." ^^
"How do you think a Гоблін hid for so long in a closet? Or was it under the bed the whole time? Did it not make noise?"
"From what I overheard, the mother said her child heard noises in the closet, so I suspect the Гоблін was hiding in there, waiting to make an attack. Though, why it waited so long, I cannot fathom a guess."
Ithylia paused for a moment and just blinked before she spoke all excited and bouncing.
"Ви говорите Varisian? О, це так здорово!"
Triel fully turns around as Ithylia and Arathorn begin conversing in Varisian. She briefly squeezes her eyes shut and breathes in & out.
...calm down. Calm down. There's nothing wrong with them having a conversation that you can't understand and for all you know they're--No. Don't go down that road now.
*ahem* "Charmed. Now that introductions have been made in their entirety, we should go. A child's life is at stake here." She says, pointedly looking back out the door. She winces and closes her eyes again as the sunlight hits them.
"Right!" Ithylia snaps out of her excited talk to rush out the door to look back at the others, smiling but determined. "Time to catch the monster in the closet! ...Or was it under the bed...?"
Arathorn stares blanklet at Ithylia while she prattles on in Varisian. "Uh, my dearest apologies, I don't truly speak Varisian, but I've heard the word goblin in just about every language to know exactly what you were talking about. I actually speak goblin as well if there's a need for it. I apologize for the misunderstanding"
"Why would you learn just one word of a language? Unless it's 'hello' that seems odd..."
Arriving outside the house, you all notice that the front door is left open. No one is really on the street, as a slight breeze wafts through the air, giving a slightly ominous feeling to the situation.
"...Do you think she ran out and left the door open...? ...something doesn't feel right..." Ithylia eyed the open door cautiously.
"She may have, she seemed pretty out of it." Vanya peeks inside.
Triel eyes the open door with some measure of wariness.
"Come on." She steps forward and through the open door, drawing her greatsword.
Triel beckons the others to join her.
"Aeren? Aeren Barett? Hello?" She calls out into the house.
"Let's make sure the house is clear and then we may return to the topic of languages" Arathorn takes out his schimitar in preparation of a possible attack.
Now Triel is even more wary. "Eyes open. I just heard something shuffling from deeper in the house." She whispers.
Could be Aeren, if he's smart enough to hide. Could also be a goblin. Hoping the former is what made the noise, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Ithylia looked up from where she had been checking possible hiding places near the fireplace. She gave Triel a nod of acknowledgement.
Triel edges her way to the north door and tentatively pushes it open. She keeps her greatsword readied.
Arathorn follows close behind Triel in case trouble erupts quickly. He glances around the room, eyes flicking to the fireplace and the different shadows in the room.
As Triel and Arathorn walk towards the small bedroom, it becomes quite obvious that this is Aeren's room. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly what one would call a children's room now. In the middle of the room, the cold corpse of a dog lies in a slump, it's fur now soaked in blood and it's throat viciously cut. Even worse, Mrs. Barett's claims become painfully clear as the body of who would be Mr. Barett lays face down, his upper torso pulled in towards the closet, as blood fills the area around his limp body.
Cian swallows the bile that rises in his throat after looking into the child's room. This.. This was bad. He could only pray the boy was alright. He started walking back toward Ithylia's to help her look around. The bed room didn't really need his efforts, did it..?
Triel looks back and sees Cian's discomfort. She sighs and points down the hall, as if to say 'check that room out'.
The sight of Alergast's body and the dog's corpse isn't a pretty one. Children should never have to see something like this...
She briefly closes her eyes and shudders. Not now. Stay focused.
She looks at Arathorn and nods at the closet. "You want to take point? I have healing magic."
Arathorn notices a brief shutter from Triel.
I'd have to agree with her feelings. This is a gruesome scene, even for one trained in battle.
He nods his head and steps around her. He quietly calls the boy's name. "Aeren? Aeren, are you there? If you can hear us, say something."
As you call out the boy's name, no response is heard. However, there does come from the closet slight muffled sounds that are inaudible to hear very clearly.
Triel nods at the closet and tentatively steps into the room. She keeps her greatsword in front of her, ready for the worst.
"Pojď ven. Vím, že jste tam." She growls, narrowing her eyes behind her helmet.
As Triel calls out into the room, everything falls eerily silent. Then without warning, Alergasts body launches back in a spray of blood as his limp body hits the wall opposite of the closet. Jumping out of the closet stands a goblin with a crudely fashioned dagger in his hands as he looks at you with a crazed look on his face. "Tento pokrm je moje! A ty moje jídlo taky!!!"
Triel readies her blade. Лицо мне и умереть, то.