Bursting inside, Piety powers his way up the stairs and towards the sound of the screaming.
Carric sees Piery rush upstairs, and he nudges Revjsk as he follows.
Arthur starts moving up the stairs towards the disturbance, hoping they are not too late.
Reynwyn gives a start at the sound of Kehlann shouting and looks to his companions for a brief moment of confusion. He sees them all burst into action and he shakes looks the haze of alcohol, slamming his mug of porter to the tabletop and rushing after the others only a few paces behind them!
The lot of you rush upstairs to Kehlann's room, and you hear the smash of breaking glass as you climb the stairs. You find the door to his room slightly ajar; Piety, leading the way, smashes it open with one huge fist, and you are greeted with the sight of Kehlann lying on the floor, his chest sliced open, a broken rib visible, his blood spreading around him. He gives a pained moan, but his eyes are closed, and he appears to be unconscious and dying.
The window has been broken, the lack of glass on the floor beneath it suggesting from the inside. The cold night air rushes in.
"Kehlann! We need to heal him quickly!" Having nothing much in the way of healing arts, Reynwyn quickly runs to the window and looks out into the night, hoping to see someone rushing away from the area. If he spots anyone running away, he will immediately fire an eldritch blast at them!
If he does not spot anyone, he then sends Jareth flying out the window with a telepathic command to get an overhead view of the immediate area! His eyes go jet black as he casts his own senses aside and allow Jareth's to overtake. He staggers slightly as the strange sounds that fill his ears and how the darkness seems to be thicker as the ground rushes away from him!
Piety will move directly to the window to see if he can view the assailant, and then force himself through it if he can.
Carric rushed back down the stairs and out front to the side of the building where the window broke out to the ground, more likely than not. He immediately searches for the trail of the potential culprit.
If Carric sees the culprit, he gives chase.
Arthur slides on his knees over to Kehlann, reaching a hand out he takes a deep a deep breath before exhaling emitting a strange melodic sound with overtone singing. Kehlann's wounds stop bleeding and begin to close.
Arthur runs to Kehlann's side, and channels arcane energy into the fallen nobleman. The bleeding stops immediately, and over the next few seconds the rents in his flesh begin to close. His eyes flutter and open, and he nods weakly to Arthur in thanks.
Piety and Reynwyn rush to the window, and see a dark shape in the darkness, darting from the base of the wall of the inn below to the stable some 50 feet away. Reynwyn unleashes a bolt of pure darkness that lances towards the figure, enveloping it for a brief moment. The figure stumbles, but continues running towards the stables, disappearing into the shadows of the open building.
Piety doesn't hesitate. He launches himself out of the window, attempting to control his fall.
Piety lands heavily, but on his feet, and he immediately sets off across the courtyard to the stables, making it halfway across.
Carric bolts out of the room and down the stairs, racing through the taproom to the door.
Revjak thoroughly enjoys the evening. Camaradie, singing, music, and plenty of ale!
And then Kehlann's scream cuts through his cheer like a knife.
His arm begins moving before even his head, as he seizes his glaive.
He nods to Carric as he rushes behind the elf and metal man.
Seeing Kehlann down, but Arthur rushing to him, he does not hesitate to follow Piety out the window, howling with anger.
Revjak lands heavily, but hardly notices in his battle rage. He charges across the way beside Piety.
Revjak and Piety are about 15 feet from the stables when a horse and rider, cloaked in darkness, burst out of the building at full speed, heading straight for the pair.
Revjak is fully intent on taking the charge - or cutting down the horse before it reaches him and Piety.
As Piety barrels out of the window and Revjak about to do the same the overtone changes as he focuses on Piety, Revjak and himself. The jump of both warriors slow as they almost glide to the ground without injuring themselves.
A heartbeat later the half elf flies from the window his cape fluttering with dynamic flare as he descends. When his feet touch the ground he calls out to the others "It was Garen the messenger and he stole a book!"
Piety landed hard and immediately gave chase with Carric and Revjak hot on his heels. As the rider shot forth from the stables, attempting mow Piety down, he reached out and attempted to put the horse in a headlock, stopping it's forward movement.
Piety meets the horse as it charges towards him. It crashes into the golem.
Piety is knocked prone by the trampling charge. Piety gets smashed into by the horse, but merely roars, keeping his feet. As the horse makes to move past him, he grabs its rear legs, dragging it to a halt. The rider turns in his seat, blade flashing in the moonlight.
The blade pierces Piety's chest, and though the wound isn't too deep, Piety feels the burn of poison rush through his body. The world swims before his eyes, but he manages to cling to consciousness, hugging the horse's legs to him.
Seeing Piety seize the horse, but then fall to the rider's blade, Revjak continues charging. His glaive not aimed at the horse, but the rider.
Carric turns the corner, spotting his allies engaged, he marks his target, and fires at the enemy.
Revjak charges the rider, connecting with first his blade, then the butt of the weapon - the rider doubles over with the force of the second blow to his stomach. Carric exits the inn via the front door, assesses the situation instantly, and fires before his heart has beaten twice. Unfortunately the arrow fires high.
Revjak roars:
"Thief, your end draws close!"
Arthur moves up behind Piety and channels healing energy into him.
Attempting to time things perfectly, Piety will release the horse as he snatches the rider by his cloak.
As Arthur heals him, Piety's runes also glow, and when the glow subsides, his wounds are lessened even further.
Reynwyn spots all the commotion below and quickly conjures up another blast of the dark energy and sends it streaming through the air towards the horse! ”Do not let him escape, but do not kill him! We need answers.”
Reynwyn releases another bolt of arcane energy, this time striking the rider flush in the chest. The rider falls bonelessly to the ground. Arthur heals Piety as the golem releases the horse's legs, and picks up the rider's unconscious form.
Revjak sees that Piety has seized the rider, and acknowledges Reynwyn's words as he calms, panting slightly. He then stows his glaive on his back, walks over to the horse, and seizes its reins. Speaking to it softly:
"There, there. I'll find a stable for you."
Carric assists Revjak with the horse while yelling over to Piety.
Let's get him back inside the common room, Piety.
Arthur searches the man for the stolen book.
Reynwyn checks on Kehlann again to ensure he is okay. "You should stay with us from now on, milord. Trouble seems to follow you like a black cloud. Come now, let us join the others." Once down and seeing the thief unconscious Reynwyn calls out to Arthur. "Arthur, can you heal him just enough to avoid death? Spider, retrieve the Sheriff. That man is in custody for attempted murder!"
"Not quite as dramatically I am afraid but I can help, it just takes a while longer." Once they are inside he gets to work telling an interesting tale about a kobold who got lost after a cave in leading to a series of misadventures including accidentally burning down a temple of Lolth! It's quite distracting.
Piety hauled the rider inside and sat them at a table, removing their cloak to get a good look at their appearance.
Spider clears the taproom of patrons, and three of the four guardsmen scoot off to the barracks to find their lieutenant. The rider, Garen, is brought inside and laid on a long table, his hands bound, and his wounds are tended to.
Lieutenant Kinreth arrives shortly, a younger man with a full brown moustache, accompanied by two other guards. All three wear full scale mail under their black, gold-trimmed tabards, and wear longswords at their hips. The lieutenant greets Spider with some respect, then enquires immediately about what has happened.
While Spider and Kehlann explain the circumstances, Carric and Revjak enter the taproom. The elf holds Kehlann's book in his hands, and Kehlann leaps to his feet. "Ah, you've retrieved it once more! Thank you good elf." He comes swiftly to take it from you.
Reynwyn glances over at their employer. "Sir, perhaps you could explain the situation with this book and why someone would try to kill you for it? This is not the first attempt on your life and I would appreciate at least knowing why. If you decide you cannot or will not tell us, I can respect that, but at least we can be better prepared for additional attempts should we expect it."
Kehlann sighs and nods. "You do indeed deserve to know what's going on. For now, let me just say that if this book falls into the wrong hands, lives could be at stake. In reality, you have been hired to protect, not me, but the book. Although I do appreciate that you have saved my life, more than once now!" He looks at the unconscious Garen. "Exactly who is behind these attacks... I have my suspicions, but I'm not certain. Let's see what this 'messenger' has to say when he regains consciousness."
After an hour or so, Garen begins to stir, moaning weakly. At length, he opens his eyes, looks around him, then closes his eyes again and rests his head back on the table with a sigh. "If you've hurt my horse, you'd better kill me now, or I'll be out for blood," he says calmly, eyes still closed.
"Okay." say Piety as he stalks towards the man, clearly intent on murdering him.
"Easy I know you are intent but the man deserves a chance to explain himself. You left a man dying after stealing his book, thats the kind of thing that will lead to the executioner very quickly unless there are mitigating circumstances."
Revjak, his huge hands empty, cracks his knuckles and flexes his arm muscles.
"Your horse is fine, I put them into the stable myself. But you had best start talking. Why did you try to murder and rob Kehlann?"
Garen sighs again. "I tried to rob him. I didn't try to murder him. That just seemed necessary when he discovered me in his room. As to why, well..." Though his hands are bound, he can tell he has been searched and relieved of valuables. "The gems that were at my belt are why. Plain and simple. Look, I've failed. You've taken everything I have. Your man is healed, his possessions intact. Why not just put me on my horse and let me go? I'm no longer a danger to you, and whoever wishes you ill now wishes me ill too. So off to Cormyr I go! Or maybe Amn... In any case, it serves nobody any good to do me harm or lock me up." He looks up earnestly at Kehlann and Spider, the both of whom roll their eyes.
Kehlann speaks. "It's not my place to judge you. The lieutenant here can take care of all that. But I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me who hired you, and why. My good word to a magistrate in Waterdeep could see your sentence reduced considerably."
Garen chews his lip for a moment, eyebrow raised contemplatively. "Well, that's very reasonable of you, m'lord... The only problem is, I don't know who hired me. I was contacted through an agent. And that agent'll kill me if word gets out I snitched. Unless, of course, I don't have to go back to Waterdeep at all..."
Kehlann sighs and turns to Lieutenant Kinreth. "We leave in first thing in the morning. Would your men like our company while they escort this criminal back to Waterdeep?"
Kinreth smiles. "But of course, my lord. I'll put him in a cell for the night, and have two men bring him here at first light."
"Given this attack I think we should set up a watch tonight in case he isn't the only agent that was hired. One of us in the corridor fully armed. Just in case."
"There's no one else, just me," Garen says as he's hauled to his feet. "Whatever they want, it's not blood, not yours or his at least. They just want the book. Whatever's in it, why don't you just burn it?" he suggests with a smile as he is marched out of the taproom.
"That's the problem with this age: everyone is so quick to destroy knowledge, especially knowledge they don't understand, which is basically all knowledge." says Piety as he stands and exits the room, once again taking up his vigil.
Carric heads outside and does a circuit around the building looking for anything or anyone suspicious