The Father of Waters

Game Master Fighting Chicken

Istiel crosses her arms over her chest as Rigel tries to slather Meg in honey. If she can thaw this warthog's heart, she can get Shadeholme soldiers.

The monk is momentarily impressed they are allowed to stay, until the moment of her exclusion. She guffaws in a moment of amusement, arms dropping from her chest as her glinting hazel eyes momentarily lock with Meg's. I can make my own thrice-blasted matte. She feels the anger building within her; she feels her jaw tightening and the pressure of teeth being pushed together. A sensible voice in the back of her mind, hammered into her by Domhnall, tells her it is time to leave.

Turning in place, the warrior makes directly for the door. Her anger reaches its height as she slams the portal behind her with enough force to rattle the windows, leaving nothing but a trail of water on the floor to mark her passing.

The cold rain once again splatters across her robes and mask, cloth clinging to her freshly shaven head in a comforting, if cold manner. Her temper slowly cools under the peaceful sounds of the soft rainfall, and the monk realizes she is stomping her feet as she walks the paved road. Stop that. Children act this way. The voice again chastises, in Domhnall's voice.

Slowing her pace and correcting her posture, she exhales a long breath. Piney Bluff's Tribute House? It is unfamiliar... Why would we be accused of doing them wrong? Ignorance. Istiel's anger simmers as she makes her way back to the Excise by herself.

You all are surprising me constantly. For instance, I didn't expect Istiel to just up and leave the inn without an argument ;) I'll work you into the other storyline.

So believe me when I say, woman, that through all of these dire portents and evil signs none of us have ANY idea of what you are on about about Piney Bluff OR their furs. What I do know is that dark forces are hemming us in as we speak and would like nothing more than for us to be suspicious of and fight each other rather than come together to defend ourselves. Perhaps it would be wise to explain what exactly you meant by what happened at Piney Bluff's tribute house. Hrm?

Drazan, more curious than anything, rises from his seat and moves to get a closer and better view of what is happening, his dinner still in hand and mouth as he continues to eat.

Rigel rolls her eyes at Alglin's clumsiness. "Kid, that was poor. See me afterward for lessons. Bring something nice."

She nods as Oios slips into his inquisitorial mode. Time to play "good magistrate, bad magistrate" with these people.

Still keeping her tone light, she tries to get Meg to talk a bit more. Honestly, honey, I've no idea what you're talking about Piney's Bluff. We've not been there - like I said, we had trouble at Shadeholme and we're coming straight from there on our way to Cornucopia. We've been nowehere near anywhere else. What's happened to put everyone's back up? Maybe we can help - we're not exactly short of soldiers..."

She hopes to be able to defuse the situation soon.

As she's telling the truth, I don't see a need for a Bluff roll.

Behind the hand-cart, Korya and Kiko are trying to pull a group of men and woman off Utzi. The men and women - five still standing upright - are a mix of soldiers and laborers. They're kicking and punching at Utzi, who lays in the mud, his little cask of chicha shattered next to him. On the ground are three of the enemy excise's men, all alive, but injured, rolling on the ground clutching noses, mouths, and limbs, bloody and broken.

Utzi has undergone a transformation. His body has grown much hairier, and his face has elongated along the nose and mouth, which now bears large teeth. His hands are larger and his forehead is as well, and covered in a thick black fur.

One of the enemy excise, a wiry man bald man, unloads a viscous kick into Utzi's side, yelling, "Beast-touched! Take him out, now!"

"As for the common room - it is technically a public space. If there's room, any of our people have the right to stay here, even our soldiers."

The silence stretches out as Meg looks from one to another of you, before she nods. "Fair enough. But as caretaker of those in this Way Point, I can insist your weapons are stowed - here, as the magistrate suggests, in a locked room, or with your excise."

Looking to Oios and then Rigel, the innkeep continues. "As for your soldiers - that's the problem, dears. Your soldiers attacked the Tribute House at Piney Bluff, killed five guards, and stole their most valuable furs."

"How can you inconvenience me, babe-in-the-woods?"

"All people are babes-in-the-woods to me, babe-in-the-woods. We could kill you before you blink and be gone before your people get here. And then we could track them for days, picking them off one by one."

"But that would be tiresome. Take a few moments to examine the bodies, and tell me what you find, babe-in-the-woods."

Mother Hunger sits back on her haunches, her tongue hanging from her mouth as she pants, her yellow eyes fixed on your every move. The other wolves do the same, mimicking her movements.

You're able to figure out that the men were killed without struggle, their throats slashed - most likely as they slept. There are no valuables on the bodies, and the men's armor have been destroyed by the wolves. However, their weapons are still by their sides - two earthbreakers, two longspears, and a gandasa. All the weapons show signs of recent use, and the gandasa is particularly interesting. For one, it is covered in dried blood, suggesting that someone was recently stabbed. The gandasa is made of darkwood and obsidian, and carved into the wood is a relief of a man with a stag's head fighting a group of stylized Mountain Men.

The man with the stag's head is obviously a depiction of Soros Colo, a rumored beast-touched ex-soldier and the founder of the Order of the Stag, a mercenary company, mostly comprised of elite ex-soldiers that still exists today, often at the beck and call of the rich and powerful.

The gandasa is masterwork.

Istiel lays eyes on the savage beating being dished out to Utzi, and uses this as a good opportunity to let her anger from before take over. She knew he was beast-touched. She didn't quite care right now. Her mind also chooses to ignore the fact that the man that was flung over the cart had to have been tossed by Utzi, because who else?

She doesn't care who started this altercation.

Istiel was going to finish it.

She charges into the fray, yelling loudly - "STAND DOWN!" Simultaneously, her leathery fist connects with the bald man's back in a debilitating blow to the kidneys. The punch, which made a sound reminiscent of a wet mop falling to the floor, felt great on her knuckles.

The monk shoves and pushes, swinging wide punches to push back the people and soldiers from the downed man's body "You want to fight?" The warrior-monk is a beast herself at the moment, tense, fists slowly opening and closing as she swings her head and body back and forth at all possible threats. "Come on." She hisses the challenge between clenched teeth at the gathered assaulters.

If no one makes a move to attack her, she growls: "Explain yourselves."

stunning fist on man that spoke: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23 DC 12 fortitude saving throw or stunned

unarmed damage, non-lethal: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

initiative if needed: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

""See. The priest yelled at us, established dominance

Rigel bursts out laughing; she can't help it. All the stresses and strains of the last few days evaporate in peal after peal of happy laughter.

"...ah, Imix; you have so much to learn. 'Established dominance?!' Let's take a look at what really happened there, shall we? Yes, Oios intervened and yes, that gave me the space I needed to apologise to you. But what happened then? Did we give into his demand to follow him? No, we did not - in fact, he changed his demand and then said not to accompany him, which we weren't going to do anyway. Do you see? He was trying to save face."

"So who has gained what from our little... argument? I've established that I have a goal, and that I won't be ordered around; you have my blessing to take Issy as apprentice, if she's willing; and Oios has the satisfaction all old people need: that young people are foolish and that only he has the courage to do useful things. So it's win-win-win, do you see?"

"Now, assuming he survives, Oios is going to come back and tell us what he found. He's going to expect everyone's attention, and we should make sure that we're all suitably impressed, even if we don't really care. Old people need to be reassured that they're still useful, you see? That will make him happy, and it doesn't cost us anything. "

Rigel pauses, hoping she hasn't gone too fast for Imix to keep up.

Rigel holds up one hand. " Woah, woah, woah - Meg, stop! No. Absolutely not. You KNOW Texicuk here - she's honest as the day is long. More. Do you really think that she'd order such a crime? And then come here and try to pretend that everything was OK? We had nothing - NOTHING - to do with that, and this is the first I've heard of it."

She waits to see how this statement is received, mind racing. If someone attacked and stole furs, who in the hells could it have been?

Again, telling the truth so not rolling for Bluff

The men were killed by having their throats cut, and they did not struggle. Maybe as they slept? But their weapons have seen recent use with this one having stabbed someone not so long ago. It is a fine weapon for a group of fine warriors. Oios shakes his head. That is all I know. I do not suppose you have any insight you would care to share? he smiles wide and chuckles at the idea that Mother Hunger would aid him in his investigations.

Utzi, still on his knees, looks up to Istiel and grumbles, his voice low and choked. "Nothin' to explain. Came over with my cask, said, Greetings from Shadeholme, and the rakkers jumped me. Got more than they bargained for, I bet."

Baldy grimaces, his voice high with pain. "Murderers! Thieves! Go rakk yourselves!"

Mother Hunger yawns, a toothy display. "They are tasty enough."

Istiel, still tense, looks down to Utzi as he explains. "The innkeep accused Shadeholme of something foul concerning Piney Bluff. I left."

The monk swivels her head to baldy, and starts for him with a fist raised to make him flinch backwards. "BEGONE, piss-ant." She sweeps her arm over the lot of attackers. "All of you. Move."

She reaches an arm down to lend Utzi a hand, pulling him to his feet. Even with her incredible strength, the man was nearly a literal bear, and she hides a strained grunt. "Korya. Kiko. We return to camp." If Utzi has difficulty walking, she supports him as they leave the scence.

When the time comes to sleep, she takes a spot in the corner, staring at the wall. How in the hells is she supposed to get soldiers if Shadeholm is under suspicion of attacking other settlements?

Closing her eyes, she allows herself a quiet cry.

When we has a chance he gathers Rigel and Texicuk. What do you know of this Adham, Texicuk? Is it possible for either you or Rigel to find out if he is still here or if he has left? He is spreading evil news and it would be good to know why. As well Rigel is it possible for you to inquire if men from the Order of the Stag have been by here?

Rigel nods, deeply grateful to Oios not only for sticking up for Shadeholm but for his suggestions of constructive actions she can take. "I'll see what I can find out."

Still somewhat subdued, she nevertheless does her best to flit around, asking carefully and seeking information on the Order of the Stag, and whether they have been seen recently.

Diplomacy, Gather information on Order of the Stag: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

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Rigel does her thing, working the room, and finds that she's able to warm up most of the people there, leaving the fellow patrons and travelers with the impression that if Shadeholme is responsible for attack on Piney Bluff's Tribute House, at least none of the people present had anything to do with it.

Most of crowd at the Way Point are with the three other excises in town, heading out in the morning towards the capital. They know little other than what Rigel already knows - soldiers from Shadeholme attacked and killed guards at Piney Bluff's Tribute House, and made off with Piney Bluff's most valuable (and portable) commodity, two or three crates of ermine pelts.

It seems as well that some of the Shadeholme excise's warnings are being taken to heart, or at least passed on. Three different individuals tell Rigel of an army of mountain men massing on the border, though the details are not exactly accurate - one account says it is a raiding party of two dozen, one says the tribesmen are massing far to the north, and one says the tribesmen are not men at all, but giants with twisted dragons at their beck and call.

The serving girl, Altea, confirms that Adham Dannet is not at Dag's Inn. He came in last night with the remainder of Piney Bluff's excise, and left early this morning for the capital. "I'll not forget him soon - angry, waving that shield around and ranting about how we'd all be putting our lives on the fishing spears if we let you stay here on your way through." The serving girl also mentions that there were some mercenaries gathered at the Way Point last week, but whether or not they were from the famous Order of the Stag, Altea couldn't say.

The one-eyed man warms quickly to Rigel, his one good eye taking her in from head to toe. He clams up though once she asks about the Order of the Stag, his jaw set in a frown. "Why d'ya ask, pretty bird?"

"Oh!" the peddler exclaims, startled by Drazan's emergence from the darkness. "You, ah, startled me a bit. I uh, mean you no harm, friend. I'm Clovin, on my way to Cornucopia for the Tribute Festivities. You are... a farmer from around here?"

The peddler keeps his distance, wary but smiling, the smile's purpose obvious. I'm no threat. Don't hurt me, OK?

"It seems to me" he remarks to Oios - and the room in general - "that it is more likely the force Shadeholme sent to attack the raiders who attacked Harper's Pond three nights ago were probably slaughtered, then stripped of equipment. The raiders then attacked another town the next night, losing a shield in the process." the Suriname considers "The timing suggests a knowledge of Excise procedures. That in turns suggests that once the Excises start travelling they would lay ambushes on the road." He considers further, looking around the room "I suppose a gathering point - like this one - would be an excellent spot to attack, though. Fortunately the combined guard force should be formidable. In fact it would make sense for Excise caravans to travel together."

He turns to the innkeeper "I was hoping for a suite of rooms, but given the situation I will be content with two." he looks at Texicuk then back "Or even one, if it is large enough. I am content to have my students leave their spears. Especially yours Alglin. " the phrase, slipped into the conversation so casually, crushes Alglin's hopes that his actions might have been forgotten. "If your rule is based on general principles I will also leave my spear and my javelins. I would prefer to keep my Terbutje with me, given how incredibly valuable it is."
"I was informed that it was possible to get warm baths. I am not sure how many tubs you have, but I will take all of them. Water would be good. If necessary I can heat the water myself." he snaps his finger and a small sphere of fire bursts into light hovering over his hand, then vanishes as abruptly as it appeared "Though I'd prefer to spend the time on lessons. If possible I'll take food upstairs. I understand your kitchen is likely to be stressed, so whatever meat dish you have on will suffice."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've promised my apprentices some practical lessons in the more arts. We will be outside for the next half hour or so."

Rigel gives the one-eyed man her best smile "Oh, you know, just asking - one of my friends asked me to see whether they were around, I'm not sure why; maybe he has some business for them?"

Rigel is, in truth, not sure exactly why Oios asked her to find out about the Order of the Stag - she was so grateful to him for sticking up for her community that she didn't stop to ask.

Alglin looks at his feet crestfallen, but only for a moment, as he and the other students stare, mouths agape, as you conjure your sphere of flame. "Coooool..."

Meg cocks her head. "Well, I don't know much about ambushes and the like, but excises usually travel armed, so I suppose people could be posing as guardsmen or excise caravans, if that's what you're saying?"

"At any rate, your friend with the muttonchops took two rooms. That leaves one more. Three silverstones. A bath is in the room. I'll have it filled. I can have another couple of tubs moved up there. 1 silverstone apiece. Meals are two silvers. If you all will excuse me, I'll get the rooms prepped."

Your apprentices follow you dutifully outside, Selma murmering, "The fire... I want to do that."

============
Rigel
============

The one-eyed man spits onto the floor, his good orb looking at you, his gaze searing. "Well, you find them, tell those rakkers I didn't appreciate them taking a job from me, on my turf. If they're gonna make a habit out of it, there's gonna be problems."

Straightening, the bear of a man sighs as Imix's energy washes over him. Shifting his pack, Utzi claps Imix on the back, gives him a squeeze on the shoulder. "Thanks for that, Suriname. You're alright by me."

Istiel is sitting cross-legged on the ground, intent on filling her empty stomach with some hare that was earlier. Of course, eating when one wishes is a luxury in life- her duties come first. When news of the bobbing torchlight reaches the simmering pot she was camped out the monk leaves wordlessly towards it source.

She passes Paola with a glance, and learns that Drazen has already set after the figure to investigate. The monk makes her presence clear towards the two figures in the torchlight as she approaches. "Drazen. Who is this?"

Imix unclips one of his smaller earrings, and hands it over. He hesitates, looks over at Tex, and then continues. "Just the one room then - your largest. I will take all three tubs - filled please, heating while we eat. Meals for seven."

His plan will be to camp outside with Tex

"As for that little demonstration" he explains to his apprentices as they walk through the door "That was inherent Suriname magic. True Theurgy summons far greater forces Selma. Do well, and I will tell you the thirty seven names for fire."

Drazan crosses his arms watching Clovin. "This other one is Istiel, but where is your family Clovin?"

Rigel blinks at the man's remarks. "Taking a job from you? What do you mean?" Aware that this might not be a conversation fit to have in public, she lowers her voice accordingly to a whisper, and leans in close to the old man.

Istiel stares blankly at the man while he speaks before nodding her head slightly in affirmation. "I am charged with protecting the Excise and its people. You may peddle your wares and rest at our fire if you submit to an inspection of your belongings."

She watches the man for a few moments, trusting her instincts to give her a hunch on whether or not she should keep a close watch on him even if she finds nothing dangerous in his pack.

perception for searching pack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Clovin opens his bag for your inspection. Other than a few dried foodstuffs, clothes, and other personal effects, the pack is crammed full of wooden kitchen-ware, much like what is tied to the outside of the backpack.

The warrior-monk takes quick stock of the peddler's inventory under the flickering torchlight. "Yes. We are from Shadeholme." She deftly closes the bag and waves him towards the encampment. "You require the Exciser's permission to accompany us. Come along."

Istiel begins to stride away, set on finding Texikuk.

Rigel has a suspicion that the Order are scary guys, and that the man she's talking with probably wasn't so bold to their faces.

She's also aware that they are likely discussing extremely illicit activities, and she needs to be careful. Leaning in ever closer to him, practically touching, she doesn't so much whisper as breathe the question: "Care to tell me what the work was? It's OK, I can be discreet; you wouldn't believe how discreet I can be..."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

"It was a muscle job, that much I know. Tall guy, seemed real out of place in a common room like this, comes in looking for me. Proper type, right, maybe religious or a bureaucrat? Obviously uncomfortable being here. Said he heard I was a man to talk to. Needs some men to do something but won't come right out and say it, wants assurances from me about my men's silence."

"Other guy, the guy from the Order, he was medium build, pale skin, missing a tooth. Had a ghandasa with him, real nice weapon, darkwood and obsidian. Business grubbing thieves and all, I knew by that weapon they was the real deal too."

When Clovin settles in by the fire, Tex pulls you all aside. "It is good he's here - if we run into any more trouble he could be an impartial witness. On the other hand, he could also be a thief. Keep an eye on him. Discreetly."

Drazan yawns as he presses past the boys as they try to impress each other with their impetuousness. Their words wield more power in their courts and councils than on the open road, Drazan still makes an effort to avoid them out of concern for the people he must protect on the off chance one of the boys tries to lay hands on his person and lose one to an obsidian kukri.