Your thoughts wander as you see the gnome get down from the driver's bench You see him trudge along to the back of the wagon, his thin frame belaying the now obvious wrinkles on his forehead. Once he is at the back of the wagon, he pulls out a set of steps, puts it down, about center, and then walks up them. You can't see what he does next, but you assume it's to open some kind of hatch or door.
What comes out of that wagon takes your breath away. You see a woman stepping down gracefully, thin, tall, and lean in profile. Her skin is pale, almost alabaster in appearance. She has dark hair, held in place with a simple circlet to keep the wind from blowing it around. As she steps down from wagon and turns towards the inn, you can see that she is wearing some kind of wraparound goggles, with what looks like smoky lenses She speaks with the gnome for a moment, and then sees Julius ride up on his horse and motions back to the inn. You presume that he is passing along the information that you told him.
"Thieves and cutthroats I am not concerned about", Ruul rumbles at the tiny azata.
"It's servants of a certain demon lord that occupy my thoughts."
"Very good point. Hmm, what's this now? My goddess, she's beautiful... what's with her eyes, though?"
"Thieves and cutthroats I am not concerned about", Ruul rumbles at the tiny azata.
"It's servants of a certain demon lord that occupy my thoughts."
"Very good point. Hmm, what's this now? My goddess, she's beautiful... what's with her eyes, though?"
After conferring with Julius for a couple of moments, the woman and the gnome begin walking over towards you; Julius remains behind, probably to oversee the setting up of the camp. As the two get closer, you can make out finer details. She is a little more than five and a half feet tall, and her clothes are practical: loose cotton shirt, heavy wool pants, with a winter overcoat over for warmth. The gnome is dressed like a Russian Cossack: all fur and heavy materials, almost totally for warmth. Neither one are wearing any obvious armor or weapons for that matter. The woman's goggles appear to be nothing more than show, keeping out at least some of the sun's rays.
Walking up to you on the porch, the woman extends her hand. "Good day, ladies, minotaur. My name is Elsbeth Scarnetti, and this is my assistant, David Warwick. We understand that you have rooms available for the night?"
Ally sighs in relief when she detects no evil from them, and glances over both. So very pretty, thinks Ally. If only I wasn't here on business, and had access to an Enlarge Monster spell...
Ally whispers to Ruul in Giant, "She's not evil, as far as I can pick up, nor is her assistant. "
"Yes, the terms are quite agreeable, but I will admit that I will be spending most of my evening hours in the field office," Elsbeth says, pointing towards the hardened wagon. "When will be able to take our rooms?"
Elsbeth steps up to the porch. Under the shadow of the inn, she pulls her goggles up to her forehead, revealing deep, blue eyes. Her face pulls into a grin before you can get lost in them. "Are those...gears in the sky, I wonder?"
You also notice that the gnome hasn't said a word. There is a grin on his face as he lets Elsbeth do all the talking.
"Perhaps in a few moments. I'll let David and the men take care of that. I understand that there is a meal involved with our rent. When will that be?"
At this, the gnome finally pipes up. His clothing is build more for winter, and he looks far wider than he probably is, although you couldn't tell from the face, which seems almost as wide as it is long. He is all smiles, though as he talks. "I'll be happy to help out in any way. Also, perhaps, during your meal, I can provide some entertainment for you? It's been a little while since I had a chance to sing or act."
"If you're wanting to sing, I can accompany you," pipes up Ally.
Looking at the pixie for a moment, David says "That would be great! I've never sang with an azata before!"
Elsbeth looks down at her assistant, and gives him a tsk tsk look. Looking back up at the furry one, she says, "You'll have to excuse David's manners. He used to be an actor, and he can get carried away sometimes." They start looking at each other in a yes-no look exchange. From the looks of it, David probably won.
Elen comes out, brushing flour off her hands. "Well, the stew won't win any awards, but give it 20 minutes and it'll be hot and nourishing and will stick to your ribs. Ah... " She seems a little tongue-tied as she sees the two people Ruul and Ally are speaking to.
Ally flutters over and lands on Elen's shoulder. "David Warwick; Elsbeth Scarnetti," she informs her mistress while pointing out the newcomers.
Elsbeth takes a step and offers her hand to Elen. Her hand looks dainty, yet still calloused. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Elsbeth. I see your azata is very friendly towards you. Are you a wizard, perhaps?"
Elen flushes a bit under her tan skin, but manages to break through her shyness. "Elen Emerwen... I'm many things, and yes a spellcaster is among them. Today I'm mostly an innkeeper's assistant and a cook. Ally is my companion, if she were a bird or a snake you could call her my familiar, I suppose."
"I must admit that I've had at least an academic interest in the science of magic, but I've never had the time to begin learning. My interests landed me elsewhere, including here." As she says this, a warm smile appears. Her skin is soft, well maintained, where you shook her hand. At the same time, however, you get the sense that under the soft skin is a harder woman.
After the handshaking, she asks Elen if it is safe to enter the inn.
Of course, that is when you hear the scream...
Of course, that is when you hear the scream...
"Why yes of course, please come -- What was that?!"
The screaming is coming from across the way. It looks like a horse reared up and knocked off its rider. You can see him on the ground, screaming and cussing "Ahh! My ankle! My foot!"
Elsbeth starts to turn around and head back down the stairs, David is already in the middle of the street (pretty fast for a little guy).
@Ruul: The horse is spooked pretty bad (it's a standard model, not a warhorse), but you don't know why. The human on the ground is still cussing, and there are several people around, trying to make sense of the situation.
I'd like to see if anyone else posts in the next 1-2 hours (while I take a rather late lunch :( ), before I post more.
Macavity is watching what the new people are doing during the distraction of the horse fall.
@Macavity:
Guess she doesn't see anything either.
Macavity draws his shortbow and Jedi-hops to an area of dim light within line of sight to the dragon, if he already isn't in dim light of the chimney on the roof.
_____________________________
You're looking down at the man who was thrown by the horse. His leg is definitely broken at the ankle, but other than that, he got off rather lucky. All of you hanging around the scene, when you hear a loud roar from behind you. Turning around, you see a now familiar sight angling downward towards you. He lets out another roar, before letting loose with a blast of his vile spew . The spit lands just short of the north end of the Camp.
The first breath 'spit' landed several yards north of the north edge of camp.
The Usurer is outside, working on some horseshoes, when the first roar comes across. He looks up, an expression of fear on his face. Not for himself, but for the rest of the camp. Looking around, he sees several people at the bazaar. He starts screaming for them to get into shelter, shooing the children into his house. He then begins an incantation, facing the house.
Elen shrieks and shouts at Elspeth and David,
She runs through the inn to retrieve her pack, which contains the doses of Universal Solvent, and returns to the front door to peek out.
Edit:
-- suffices to identify a level 7 or lower spell.
"Saving children... what sort of undead does that?!" she whispers to herself.
Elen shrieks and shouts at Elspeth and David,
She runs through the inn to retrieve her pack, which contains the doses of Universal Solvent, and returns to the front door to peek out.
Edit:
[dice=Perception, including Ally's aid another, taking 10]10+13+2
[dice=Ally, Aid another on Perception]1d20+11[dice=Spellcraft]1d20+14 -- suffices to identify a level 7 or lower spell.
"Saving children... what sort of undead does that?!" she whispers to herself.
[dice=Perception]1d20+17
The dragon is at least 400' away at this point. It is hard to tell what he is actually targeting, or if he is just being a pest.