Feldspar shakes his head, his face grim. "Have you forgotten the role the Creedys played in the attacks on this town? How many people have died or been terribly wounded because of these boys and their greed? Those people deserve justice. It is not for us to take it from them. And if, once freed, these young men cause further harm to others, each of us would be every bit as responsible as they are. We cannot simply allow them to go."
"Now that it is known where they are, we will have to move them. As to where, perhaps that is a decision for the sheriff to make."
"but Feldspar", Algus responds, hearing out both Jo'no's and the Paladin's words, "don't you remember that these people were merely puppets driven by greed? for the gold the Kaijitsu noble gave them, they would've probably done worse. I think that the townsfolk would find greater justice for finding the mastermind behind the attacks, and not the meat puppets that he sent out to carry out such deed."
"Although, I agree that they should still be kept somewhere safe. I rather they remain under the Sheriff's protection while we storm the glassworks. we should prepare for the worst, as well: Ameiko could and most likely is dead by now."
"Feldspar, you're hardly making any sense! You're willing to risk their lives just to properly punish them of a small crime, forgetting that they fully cooperated, surrendered and gave their ill-gotten fortune? What if we return and they are dead? Could we live with this on our head? I say they have paid enough. Or..."
Tania seems to think for a second: "Or we ask them to surrender to the sheriff in two weeks, when the dust has settled. They'll be judged and punish, but they'll be able to say so and not live as fugitives for the rest of their lives. It's a call on their honor, and they know we'll go after them if they don't honor it. What do you say?"
"Feldspar, these men were not told to steal the fireworks so the town could be burnt down or to assist in a goblin raid. They were just told to steal fireworks -- they were told nothing more than that. They are guilty only of theft. We have more important things to do right now than worry about the punishment of petty criminals. I am releasing the Creedy's now. We have far more important duties to serve the town than to provide escort duty. If you feel you must neglect your duties to the town by turning these thieves over to the Sheriff, then take them but I am no longer taking part in this ridulous action. Get it through your thick dwarven skull that they did not know that what they were doing, was going to affect the town, and even the Sheriff will tell you that theft is all they can be sentenced for."
Jo'no crouches down on one knee and looks at the girl's face.
"You are a brave and resourceful warrior. I will reunite you with your family now, but if these two men decide to take them into the authorities for their crimes, then there is nothing I can do but I will not interfere any futher."
Jo'no places the magical coin half into the girl's palm."This is rightfully yours. You need to understand that your family held here commited crimes and that is why they are in the predicament they are in today. I hope this will be a lesson for you as to why to avoid committing crimes and more specifically, stealing from others."
Jo'no stands up, grabs the cellar key and looks down at the girl as he places a hand gently on her back, "lets go".
"If these people here insist on taking them to the sheriff, then all I can do is ensure that you have time to embrace your family." Jo'no sighs and walks towards the cellar door.
After opening the cellar and releasing the Creedy's -- either to the streets or to the party, Jo'no will turn towards Tania and ask, "Shall we meet at the Glassworks then?"
Feldspar touches the mark at his forehead with two fingers as he turns to Algus. "I pray that Ameiko still lives, given that it may well have been her father who took her. There has thus far been no sign that she's been harmed. Of course we need to find the one behind all the evils that have been committed in Sandpoint but the men still need to stand for their crimes.
He shakes his head at Tania's words. "What danger are they truly in? The attack on the prison was concerning the smugglers, not the boys. It is not about making the boys suffer but to see that they are judged and sentenced accordingly by those who are responsible to the law. It is our responsibility as their captors to see that they are so judged.
For the first time, Feldspar eyes reveal anger as Jo'no insults him but he forces the anger away with a deep breath.
If you will not allow me to help Ameiko -- which I have striven to do while the rest of you neglected your duties to hunt, I will remind you -- then so be it. I am constrained by my oaths to Torag to see that the boys are safely imprisoned for their crimes, regardless of how insignificant you might judge them. If I have to conduct them to the sherrif myself, I will do so. Furthermore, I have a duty to this town to do what I can to ensure that no one else is harmed by the actions of those boys. None of you can guarantee that they won't do further ill."
He forces himself to take another breath and turns so that he can look at each of his companions in turn.
"I, at least, will do what must be done but I will offer one more word of caution. The youngest boy is still innocent of spirit and the elder yet hovers at the edge of darkness but as Torag's servant I have seen that the middle has already accepted evil into his heart. He is a danger to this town and he cannot be released to spread that evil. I will do what must be done. What of the rest of you?"
Tania walks up to the door: "Good luck Feldspar. See you at the Glassworks."
She turns to Jo'no: "Let's go, before it's too late. Idrian, Algus, are you coming?""
"I am sorry my words offend you Feldspar, but I had hoped the harshness of them would try to assist in making my point. Sadly that did not work. Good luck to you and we hope to see you at the Glassworks soon."
Idrian holds up the amulet given them by Sheriff Hemlock. "We were deputized by the sheriff to see that justice was done. Their guilt or innocence is not for us to decide now. When it was, YOU (Jo'No) wanted to bring them here where your mother would be in danger. We have done as you wanted, it is only reasonable and fair that you do as we want and help us escort these criminals to jail, where they should have been in the first place. It will also allow you to hold to your duty. If that means anything to you. It is but a small detour that will take us a few minutes to deliver them, then we can be off to the glassworks.
"You seem to remember things slightly inaccurately Idrian. I did not want to bring them to town at all. When it was suggested to turn them in at the jail, I felt that they were in too great of danger. As a compromise I agreed to offer up my mother's place -- but only to keep them safe. Reflecting back and having now chased my mother from her home I realize that was an error on my part and I should have absolved myself from their care at that time. Although I admire your sense of duty, justice indeed can be blind as you are reminding me."
Jo'no looks around at the group and sighs. "Given what just happened at the jail I'm even more concerned about the Creedy's safety. I will not have that blood on my hands. I have no interest in playing lawkeeper for the town, but I do have every interest in keeping it safe from those that would cause it harm through it's destruction."
"Although the jail may be on the way, I can not participate in this matter any further -- I hope you understand. I will take a side route to the Glassworks and will wait for you there."
Jo'no silently sighs as he ponders how much easier it was to interact with his people on the Plateau. In passing thought Jo'no considers that perhaps learning to live in the city again will be harder than he thought.
"Hrm..." Algus feels rather stumped in this. you could give him an arcane or alchemical puzzle and he'd solve it within minutes, but such interaction and strife make his back ache, as if a strange burden had been placed on it. "The dying man in the back of the jail made no mention of the Creedys. you have to remember that they're not the only band of thieves or smugglers in this town. what about the Vesrit and its crew? it could have been them the ones targeting us, and not the deranged noble and its cohorts."
"you can't let emotions get in the way of logic, Jo'No. as a fellow arcanist I would've thought you more level-headed and calculating. especially at this point, where time is of the essence. would you have us split and get picked apart by assassins? if the old Kaijitsu has made his lair in the glassworks, going there on your own, or even with just Tania....such a thing would be reckless, almost suicidal."
He takes off the mask and looks to Jo'No, his voice still soft. "Idrian and Feldspar will certainly go and drop the Creedys off in the Jail. but I won't let you go on a suicide mission. especially not on your own.", as he says that, a smile forms in his face. he grabs his Alchemical supplies and prepares to storm the glassworks, with the mixed hopes of it being empty and it being swarming with Goblins.
"Not to worry, I will not be going into the Glassworks, I will just be waiting by it until everyone shows up."
"Everything is a matter of perspective Algus. I believe I am the one acting 'level-headed' here. I want to deal with the situation at the glassworks which is the pressing matter... not the Creedy's. But alas, we are all entitled to our own perspectives and our own opinions. Sadly, if logic was sheerly a determining factor we would already have been halfway to the Glassworks by now and the Creedy's would have been running away."
"You all wish to deem me a fool, so let this fool do a fool's errand. Stay together and stay safe. I will hangout near the glassworks and wait for you."
[ooc}I've got my live game tonight and have run out of time to update sorry. Will do so tomorrow morning or maybe after my game tonight if I'm not too shattered. It'll all settle out nicely too :)[/ooc]
Mikka remains silent during the tense debate, obviously witnessing a buildup of pre-existing tensions.
"I will watch with you Jono. I sense a dangerous shift on the wind. None should be alone here."
Tania has walked up to the door and grabbed the knob. "You have no sense of flexibility, no sense of compromise. As Jo'no's said, he offered this place as a compromise. I offered to bind them to their duty, to no avail. You want to rigidly follow the letter of the law, do it. I feel there is a need to prioritize here and to make with what we have." She opens the door and walks out. [b]"I'm going to the Glassworks. Now. In all haste." She grabs one of the horses and jumps, carefully, on it. She waits for Jo'no, Mikka and Algus to come out and grab a horse.
Feldspar watches the others depart with regret, missing True tremendously. Humans were proving to be far more difficult to deal with than he'd anticipated.
He turns to Idrian. "Thank you for your support, friend Idrian. I appreciate your assistance."
He sees that the Creedys are safely bound and prepares to escort them to the prison.
Idrian says to the Creedys. "I would rather just kill them. But I don't kill prisoners. Runaways are not prisoners. You might want to keep that in mind while we're out for this walk." He then turns to the girl. "You are free to go home. If you would rather, you may come with us as long as you don't start trouble. If you try to free your brothers, then you will also be taken into custody." Idrian walks behind Feldspar and the prisoners with his bow at the ready.
Perception
On the way to the jail, Feldspar keeps a close eye on the prisoners, especially the middle son, as before.
Escorts
The group had split, parting with the bitter taste of their words still burning in their mouths. Feldspar and Idrian marched the Creedy's to the the cells, watching for trouble from both outside and from the boys themselves. For the most, the boys seemed subdued, except for the big one who had threatened Feldspar earlier. His shoulders were hunched and tense the entire trip, and he glared back at the two captors regularly. "I'm gonna see you die fer this. Both o' you!" As tough as that talk wa, the man didn't try to run, having learnt his lesson last time.
The group was followed the entire way by the young girl . She yammered on at her brothers the entire trip, asking if they were ok and not to worry because Ma was "Comin' to set yer right". The tow elder Creedy's barely paid her any mind, but the youngest brother looked about wild eyed and terrified. He pleaded with her at one stage "Tell Ma ter get us help sis. I don't wanna die!". Those words brough a grim look to the girl and she nodded, turning to dash off into the streets just as they reached the jail.
Within, the carnage had started to be cleaned. Marcus had been moved to a cot in the main barracks office. His groaning could be heard over the sounds of the clerics cleaning up the dead and saying the rights of passage for their souls. The two bodyguards who had been left by Titus quickly took charge of the Creedy's and moved them to the cells that hadn't been sullied in the attacks. All three of the boys looked pail at teh sight of so much death, though the middle one smiled at the sight of teh guardsman who had been butchered in the attack.
Father Zanthus assured both Idrian and Feldspar that they would keep them both secured and safe, until such time as the Sheriff returned and worked out wat to do with them. Having discharged their duty for teh moment, the two men quickly moved off to join their friends at the glassworks.
The glassworks
The shadows had become long as the day passed. Already this had been a long day for most of them, with the hunt and fight with the goblins in the Tickwoods, and the subsequent run through the streets in the near panic for the safety of Jo'no's mother. Now they stood grouped in teh shadows of nearby buildings, looking across the road at the massive stone buildings of the Kaijitsu glassworks. The building itslef was a testament to the culture of a far off land. The facade had stylised dog headed dragons carved into it, their sinuous bodies sheathed in flames and looking nothing like the dragons that were purported to exist in Varisisa. The roof was had a curved slope, and was tiled in right red, unlike the genreal wooden shingles of the other buildings of Sandpoint. All in all, this building spoke out against the towns sameness, declaring boldly to the world of the origins of the family who both owned and ran this.
Towards the rear of the building, a lage chimney stack could be seen belching dark smoke into the evening air. For as long as both Tania and Jo'no could remember, that chimney always had smoke coming from it. Apparently the kilns inside had to be kept hot in order to make the glassworks the family was so famous for. For some reason though, the smoke now belched black and sooty, rather than its usual whitish grey smoke colour. Perhaps they were burning wet wood or something else this day, but it struck a note of oddness from the otherwise well maintained building.
From here, the group could not see much at all. As they watched, a woman led her two children up the road past the place. The three of them stopped suddenly, their faces turning towards the building and their heads turning as if trying to catch a sound drifting on the breeze coming in off the bay. The woman suddenly turned and hustled her children hurriedly up the road. As she passed by the group, she looked towards them, her face a mask of shocked fear. She spoke quickly to Tania as they went passed, recognising the young bard from her youth. "Something isn't right in that place today. It sounds like they're smashing all the glass in there or something, and laughning about it!"
Jo'no peers towards the glassworks while he ponders what to do next. "How long do we want to wait for them? It sounds like something odd is going on in there. Worse yet, if they get delayed or ambushed by the Creedy's mother, that will only delay things further. Yet there's always a certain comfort in having a meat shield standing in the front line," Jo'no grins.
Feldspar glances at the youngest boy and speaks in a gentle manner. "You won't die, lad. You must simply accept your punishment and learn from the errors of your ways. If you make the choice to be a better man and respect the law of men and Gods, you will find far greater happiness and success in your future."
He is firmer with the other one. "Your threats will not help you. Even one so far gone as yourself can choose to back away from the darkness. Let go of your hatred and accept the consequences from you action or your life will be a short and unhappy one."
At the jail, Feldspar thanks the sheriff and Father Zanthus. He also points out the lad who offers the greatest danger. "Watch him closely. His heart is twisted into evil and he will not hesitate to do harm. Be also warned: These lads sent their sister, who we had no reason to hold, to inform their mother of their predictament. From the sounds of things, she may cause trouble. Be well. I will return as soon as I am able to offer what assistance I may."
"Let's see if we can open a door or a window to get in first. If it's noisy, it makes it easier for us..." Tania lurks towards the building, keeping to the shadows and takes a closer look at the main door.
Caught a bit off guard as Tania already approaches the building, Jo'no looks back at Mikka, "she can be hard to keep up to, at least this time she gave some notice as to what she was going to do." Jo'no grins and also approaches to perhaps assist Tania in getting to a window.
Tania and Jo'no did a quick recon of the building, but found all of the windows seem to have had heavy black curtains dragged across them. The three sets of doors they tried were locked as well. While Jo'no managed to be fairly inconspicuous about the check, Tania was less circumspect. A few passersby noted her checking the windows and doors on the town side of the building and stopped to watch her in action, talking amongst themselves and pointing as she went about her business.
Feldspar and Idrian arrived at the glassworks, just as the two impetuous explorers returned from their little trip. While Tania didn't have much to offer, Jo'No explained that he had heard the sounds of braking glass that the woman reported coming from the far side of the builidng, closest to beach entrance.
The blackened windows and unusual sounds certainly told of trouble within. Unfortunately, by now three or four townsfolk had gathered and were drawing closer, trying to see what the Heroes of Sandpoint were up to now.
"I'll take care of the tourists." Tania walks to the townsfolk, showing her badge: "We've been notified of the possible presence of goblins around the Glassworks. We don't think there are any, and we don't want to stain the good reputation of this fine business, but we must remain alert and cautious. I must ask you to leave this area right away and remain discreet about it. It's probably nothing, and the Glassworks don't need bad publicity. Thank you for your cooperation!"
Feldspar approaches, breathing a little heavily from all the hurried walking around town.
"A question for the two of you," he addresses Tania and Jo'No softly in an effort to keep from being overheard by the crowd. "Why have you come here when the woman we seek to help has been taken out of town through the graveyard? I'd have thought we might want to seek trackers to follow the trail left behind by her...escort."
2. True has left to join her family. For the moment, that plot thread is sorted. You'll know why later in game
3. The hideout for the Creedy's seems to have been discovered when Tania and Jo'no rushed off to the house after the jail attack. There is talk of moving them somehwere else
4. The jail was raided by the drug runners that you tangled with briefly. They killed everyone, incuding their captured companion, in the hopes of closing any info leading to them. unfortunately for them they missed getting Belor Hemlock and your group. Hemlock and pretty much all the town guard have chased them.
Tania will whisper back to Feldspar: "That's what I understood when we talked. We felt our best bet to find her quickly was to look here first. I agree with you that the graveyard is also another place. If we come out empty handed, I would certainly look there next."
"I understand that the woman we are seeking is the daughter of this place's owner is she not? If something is going on in there it could be connected."
Without preamble Idrian asks, "I don't suppose there's an easy way in?"
"My friend, would you honestly expect an easy way in, at this point in time?", Algus jokingly quips at Idrian. "I'll try to crack open one of these doors, so we can enter. still, I think I'd be looking pretty shady doing this, would I?", he softly speaks to the group, looking at Tania and Feldspar as if expecting a reaction. he waits for them to distract the townsfolk and then begins cracking open the door that's most hidden out of sight.
"Algus, we are fully deputized members of the Sandpoint watch. Plus a woman's life is in danger. Let us worry about looking shady afterwards, ok?"
Mikka quietly begins a chant in the druidic language, the temperature beginning to drop slightly as a mist spread throughot the area obscuring Algus.
Feldspar stifles a sigh and chooses to stand a few feet back, legs spread at shoulder width and hands clasped behind him, looking as authoritative as he could manage.
Tania moved to ease the curiosity of the gathering crowd, and at her words they quickly scurried off. The goblin raid was still fresh in the minds of many people in town and word of more of them nearby was more than enough to make them flee for safer environs.
Algus moved up and began working on the door lock at the reception area. While there really was no one door that was less conspicuous than others, this one at least was tucked into a corner. A magical mist sprang up around he and his companions while worked, further masking thier movements.
After a small while, the alchemist sighed in frustration and stated simply "The lock is too much for my skill"
The light continued to grow dimmer around them as they pondered the problem further.
Jo'no peered under the door briefly before uttering a word of power. Algus could feel teh moment the wizard teleported, as the air around him rushed to fill the space he had previously occupied. A slight popping noise also accompanied the effect.
The sound of the door unbolting from the other side told them of the wizards success, and they were quickly met with Jo'no's grinning face as he allowed them entrance.
Within the building, they found themselves standing in a reception room, well apointed with comfortable and exotic furniture. A shelf to one side held glass of varying colours as well as samples of vases and other fancy glassware items, the better to show off the skill of the workers in this factory.
There were three doors leading form the place. Two of them opened into areas that would lead deeper into the factory, while one of them ran parallel with external wall, most likley a storage area for this room.
Now that the group had entered the place, the sound of smashing glass and giggling could be heard much more clearly. Idrian stiffened as he recognised the goblin tongue. The little buggers were in the building for certain.
Feldspar removes his new crossbow from its place at his back and slides a bolt into place. He nods a silent question to the others: Which way?
Idrian begins to ready his bow, but stops suddenly and quips to Jo'no, "Unless you want to give them a chance to go home or something." He then finishes preparing to kill goblins.
Jo'no blinks, while taking in Idrian's comment and then pauses. "Perhaps you would prefer that we just subdue them and take them before the sheriff to pass judgement on them?" Jo'no grins.
Tania places her longspear along a wall, then puts her ear to each door, trying to find where the sound is coming from.
She then gets her shortbow ready with an arrow in place and points to the door she identified.
"Jo'no, would you mind opening the door? Let's make sure they don't get a chance to raise the alarm. They might be crawling everywhere."
"No. No, I just want them dead." That is no joke. Idrian has a particular hatred for goblins.
"And so they shall die, Idrian.", Algus tells him, his tone rather somber and grim. "A mentor, and now a friend...these critters are making my "vacation" more tough than I expected.", He readies a Bolt into his Crossbow as he mutters these words.
"I suggest we split up, to both cover more ground and to try and find Ameiko...or her corpse, as soon as possible."
"I'm not certain splitting up would be a good idea until we know how many goblins are here, but I do agree that time is of the essence..." Jo'no stands off to the side of the door identified by Tania, and reaches around to open it.
Checking at all the doors doesn't reveal too much to Tania, so they determined to open each one sequentially. Two fo the doors opened to small rooms. One contained reems of paperwork, recently ransacked and strewn across the floor. Someone had gone through here in a hurry and hadn't taken the care to keep teh files in tact.
Idrian notes it is unlikely Goblins did this, since they fear and hate the written word. This room would almost have been a cursed place as far as teh Goblins were concerned.
The second room looked to be some form of Alchemical preparation room. Glass vials and piping line the area, and many delicate instruments for measurement and sample taking are arranged in good order about the place. Algus' eyes go a little dreamy in here, as he notes the equipment.
The third door led to a branching hallway. This area felt much warmer than the others, and on closer inspection, Feldspar noted that the far wall was radiating heat, like the rear of a furnace wall would do from his own dwarven homelands.
Perception +2 v Humanoid (goblinoid)
Follow the goblin noises so that they can commence to dying.