Any nods in agreement.
"The Queen...she...is a magnificent woman. She cares so much more deeply than most realize..."
His voice trails off, as he gets starry-eyed.
Callanniel smiles now that the matter is settled. "I'm glad we were able to find a common ground. I long for the day when this kingdom will be free of any dark influence that could tempt your daughter and I hope you are able to show her the purity of your heart."
Callanniel wasn't generally a flatterer but he could not help himself this time. Strange... would it be possible that since I'm blind and her beauty would not be able to affect me, her voice is doing the trick? No, this isn't possible... perhaps her voice reminds me of the Piper... I should ask her when I get the chance... Then another curious thought crossed his mind. What she feels when she talks to me... probably one of the only elf around here that is not affected by her appearance...
Harpina nods her head and hums to herself, "Less than a week. Yes, I'm sure we can make that work." Nilelane's question makes her hum again, "We are staying in a small grove to the south and east of the city. Contrary to his demeanor, Olivio here is a wonderful cook. It appears to be one of the few things he takes seriously enough not to prank people with."
Olivio beams with pride upon hearing her words, "I don't do much, but if everyone is hungry I'll be more than happy to whip us up something quickly."
Harpina responds blithely, "That place is certainly not too far away from the grove, though if you're as new to town as you all appear I'm surprised you know the area."
His eyes widened when he realized that the abandoned library those thugs were using as a base may indeed be very near where the nymph was staying with her daughter... that made it very important they move and fast, the last thing they needed was the boss ganamede ore whatever his name was enticing the girl into trouble.
"W.w.w.we ne..nee...need to mo..moove qui...qui.qu..fast.
He stammered out clearly worried and a bit pannicked that monster boss getting his blood hungry hands near the Nymphs daughter.
Your growing alarm is causing Harpina herself to begin worrying. "We've visited once, several weeks ago, to check the surrounding area, but found no cause for this consternation"
Maeglin sighs and checks his gear, making sure he's ready to move out.
Harpina looks between all of you and the sudden preparations. "What has everyone all riled up like this? Is something going on?"
Olivio seeing the preparations everyone is making grabs a quick breakfast of fruit, dried meat, and hardtack for the road for everyone. "Hope you all come back in one piece again, I'd like you to actually try my cooking at some point."
Corrin looked at Nilelane confused for a moment when she asked how many people Dewdrop could carry...well he thought she meant Dewdrop. He wasnt sure what pickles had to do with anything. Maybe she meant to ask how many pickles he could carry? Probably a lot.
De..de..dewdrop? H..he..hes only carried m..me once when so..some..someone was hurt and we n.n.n.needed the high druid.
He answered reaching up and scratching his head for a moment.
"I'd hoped we'd be able to use a bit more finesse for this, but it seems time is of the essence!"
"Agreed. Let's get....uh...what is that they say? A move on? Let's get us on a move on!"
Callanniel notices all the preparations and also prepares himself but not in the same rush as the others... he then thought about how to present his idea without angering the nymph. "Even if I sense the urgency in Nilelane's voice, I think rushing to miss Harpina's home is not the wisest course of action. For what we know, both Harpina, Saphron, and the bandits have already been there for a couple days and there is nothing to indicate that she could be in greater danger than she was yesterday."
"Perhaps it would be better if we indeed look for a more stealth approach... we should at least disguise our appearance to not look like warriors."
Callanniel feels a bit ashamed for the first time. "Hum... if we could avoid this path from above I'd be grateful... while we are on the ground I can trip on a log and just hurt me knee but atop a tree one bad move and I'm done, unless someone is willing to tie a rope to my waist and guide me like an usual blind man."
Olivio perks up, "You know there could be a way to get Callanniel through the trees safely, and the rest of you as well..." He suddenly rushes out the door a shouted, "I'll be right back!" making its way to your ears as the door slams shut behind him.
S.s.Soo ab..about the dis..disguises?
He asked patting Dewdrops head a bit nervously. He didnt mind traveling afoot to the place even at a hurry.
Maeglin couldn't help a grin. Nilelane was...refreshing. She made him remember his youth.
"Because it will probably be the opposite of safe?"
About 10 minutes after he leaves Olivio rushes back into the house with a full to bursting bag and red in the face from his exertions. "Huff...had to...*pant*...run over and...ugh...borrow these from...hoo boy my legs hurt...Councilor Hycis and...*gulp*...her daughter Qina."
Olivio opens the bag and places several large crossbows with reels attached to them on the ground before collapsing next to them panting like a dog. Strangely his sweat smells of fruity berries.
Councilor Krolumnite exits his office after all the banging and rushing about. Spying the crossbows on the floor he smiles, "Ah, these bring back memories."
He points out the various components of the bows , [b]"Two gnomes would use these, one to aim, the other to pull the firing mechanism. The crossbow shoots as normal, but the bolts have the strands from the robe tied to them, and the strands themselves were dipped in basilisk blood, giving them the strength of stone while maintaining the flexibility of twine. Once the bolt reached the other side a paired bolt was fired into the tree the gnomes were in and the strand between the two reeled in with the fishing rod until the rope was taut. Gnomes could move from one side to the other fairly easily after that, just do it twice, once for footing and second for a hand rail to hold onto. We also made some hand held versions, but I'm not sure where they are at the moment, perhaps Hycis or her daughter still have them."
Olivio raises his arm while continuing to pant heavily, "I...weigh...enough...thankyouverymuch..."
Krolumnite sighs wearily with his son's antics, "Yes, these will be able to make a vertical descent as well as horizontal. There were greater plans to make bridge lines too, but we could never figure out how to get all the planks in place without pocket dimensions, then one got put in another..."
Even with all the explanation Callanniel was still not sure if it was the correct approach. "Perhaps we could make a two way approach... I believe nothing will be able to convince miss Harpina to not come along since her daughter could be in danger and it would not be wise since she is the only one Saphron would recognize."
"What if I accompany miss Harpina in the ground, without any rush not to startle anyone, and you follow us atop the trees. With my condition I believe any attacker will once more overlook me as a combatant and even if we look like bait I believe I can protect miss Harpina. From atop the trees you'd also be able to see any dangers from far away, even being able to alert us with the help of Arya, my falcon."
Harpina nods along, following the planning, but not saying a word, a cold and calculating look in her eyes speaking volumes to her inner thoughts.
"I agree Callanniel, bait is always a great idea...um....maybe not so much for the bait...but okay! I'm in!"
He rubs his hand through his hair, embarrassed.
De...dew..dewdrop wi..wi..will go with you. H.he can help protect you.
Corrin offered once more bumping heads with the elk.
Harpina looks about at everyone. "So who will accompany Dewdrop, Callanniel, and myself on the ground, and who will accompany Nilelane's Flying Knives?"
"I'll keep to the trees, I suppose!"
"I think I am best on the ground, unless we need more in the trees!"
At Harpina's question Callanniel answers after a while."Well... I imagine that it would be better if you, Dewdrop, and me go on the ground... if not, our group could look 'too hostile' to properly act as a bait... Any, could you go with all the others atop the branches?"
Harpina looks at all of your faces, her own set with determination. "Well now that everything has settled lets head out and make sure those monsters stay away from my daughter!" The fire in her words is only matched by the dangerous flashing of her eyes. Before leaving she grabs a nearby cloak which swallows her and her features nearly completely.
Olivio and Krolumnite help Dewdrop, Callanniel, and Harpina down to the ground and explain to everyone else the quickest directions through the gnome's portions of the village how to get to the remains of the library. The small village is bustling with the folk living in it, though no one pays you any mind, except for the few odd stares of an elk passing through. Getting close to the southern edge of the town the noises around you begin to turn to a more natural bent.
Ahead are the remains of the library proper, the remainders of walls standing upright, charred and blackened. The air about the place smells musky, as though the fire were yesterday instead of some time ago.
The wind slowly pushes its way through the clearing bringing the scent of tanned leather and smoke to your nostrils. Harpina looks around from her deep hood, "Does anyone see anything?"
He blissfully moved throught the trees estatic about the process... He needed a set of these for all the time.
Maeglin stops when Nilelane does, but sees nothing amiss.
It is apparent that those in the ruins have spotted Callanniel and Harpina from any whispered conversations carried your way by the wind. The walls of the library still stand, but only barely. Everything is in ruins, and the large entry doors to the library are nothing ashes just outside the threshold. You can sort of see the inside of the library proper where, amazingly, several bookshelves are still standing, however they look less sturdy than the still standing walls.
You can't be sure, but it appears the men below have spotted you, even if they are attempting to act as though they haven't seen you quite yet. In fact their acting is laughably bad, some of them whistling, and at least one is talking to his companion about his bird watching hobby. However, the deadly intent in their eyes is enough to bely their soft words and silly actions.
In the clear tension between the groups the atmosphere becomes particularly charged. It almost feels as though a storm could burst into being at any second. As soon as one side makes a move violence and bloodshed will fill the air instead.