Andrus and Zareth make their way into the house and are greeted by a flustered housekeeper.
"Can I help you? If you're looking for his Lordship, I don't know where he's got to. He's not in his rooms and he's not at the farm and I just don't know where he is." She sounds extremely worried.
Andrus turns to the housekeeper. "Don't worry, we'll find him, ma'am." He places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But first, there are a few questions I need answered. How many servants does Lord Padraig have? And who would have been the last to see him? Does he have a groom, or does he normally saddle his own horse? Has he ever wandered off before?"
"Servants? Not many your reverence. Me, Milly in the kitchen, my boy Edgar who does the accounts and things like that, Jerome the farm manager, Rovert deals with the sheep ... Oh, dear." She sits down abruptly.
"I'm Florence. I suppose Edgar might have been the last to see him yesterday. Lord P's not fancy, you know. No valet or anything like that. We all had supper with him yesterday, just like normal and he was fine I think. A bit thoughtful, perhaps, but you know, I could just be thinking that with hindsight."
As she calms down a bit, it becomes clear to Andrus that Florence is witness gold. She also seems both completely honest and genuinely worried about Lord Padraig.
"He's never just wandered off. We joke about it with him, tell him he ought to take a holiday sometimes."
"There may be a clue in his rooms, we should search them, if that would be ok with you, miss." Kitherra says, her comments directed to the housekeeper.
"If we split up, we can cover more ground, but if we search together, we can do a better job. Let's go room by room, starting with his bedroom." Andrus says. "Florence, could you show us the way?"
"Go on up. I don't think he'll mind." Florence leads the way upstairs.
Everything is neat and orderly and Florence confirms that nothing is out of place with the sole exception of Lord Padraig himself. The room suggests a man of many interests. The books piled by the bed include studies of farm management, history, kobold studies and a volume of romantic poetry.
"I'll just take a peek in the wardrobe and see if anything's missing. I didn't do it earlier - thinking he'd just gone out early."
She opens the doors and calls to the group. "Ooh. His travelling clothes have gone. There's a thick green cloak he always wears when he's going out of town. I wonder what that's about?"
"I'm afraid I know, or at least strongly suspect one of the two places he might have gone. Which is very odd, since he entrusted one of those tasks to us. I wish I could tell you more, good lady, but Lord Padraig entrusted us with this information and I could never betray that trust. It is a personal matter." Andrus tells her solemnly. "Let us examine his study and see if there are any more clues there. At least this implies that he was not kidnapped or any such thing, since the room is not in chaos and only his travelling clothes are missing. "
"Private is private, I always say," agrees Florence, leading the way back to the study.
Here matters are orderly and just as they should be. Andrus and Kel are more perceptive than Florence, however and spot the edge of a sealed envelope which seems to have been swept off the desk and onto the floor, possibly blown there by the brisk morning breeze coming through the open window.
Andrus quickly retrieves the envelope and examines it.
The envelope is addressed to Florence in a heavy, but elegant, hand.
The envelope is addressed to Florence in a heavy, but elegant, hand.
"Well, what do we have here?" Zareth looks over Andrus' shoulder, grabs the envelope from his hands and presents it to the servant. "I believe this is yours."
"I can't think how I missed that, but thank you."
Hastily wiping her hands on her apron, she opens the letter and reads it.
"Oh." She looks rather doubtful. "I suppose it's alright really, and a bit of a relief I will say, but how odd." She hands the letter back to Zareth.
"What in the world did you say to him?"
Dear Florence,
This will be something of a shock to you, I'm sure, and I apologise for the haste of my decision. A matter has arisen in Port Nentir that I must attend to myself. Our new adventurers - who may well reappear this morning and should be offered any help if they request it - were of the opinion that I had not been active enough either on their behalf, or by implication, in my own affairs. I have considered their words overnight and decided to take the affair into my own hands. I anticipate being absent no longer than three weeks and am sure that Winterhaven can survive without me quite well in the interim. I shall, of course, send word when my business is concluded.
Padraig
"That is not what I meant at all! Of all the wronghearted impulsive decisions I have ever of, this takes the cake. Florence, rest assured, we will be right behind him and will make sure he is kept safe and returned whole. I know how much you all love him."
To the others, "we have to leave now. With alittle luck, we'll catch up with him before he boards the riverboat."
"That is not what I meant at all! Of all the wronghearted impulsive decisions I have ever of, this takes the cake. Florence, rest assured, we will be right behind him and will make sure he is kept safe and returned whole. I know how much you all love him."
To the others, "we have to leave now. With alittle luck, we'll catch up with him before he boards the riverboat."
"SeeIf you listened to me me and left early we would have met him as we were leaving.
But noooo, nobody listens to me.[/ooc]
"Yeah, let's just leave. It won't do us any good to get our employer killed."
Mounting up, the group make for the King's Road and ride through the gates. Urlag is indeed on duty.
The King's Road is reasonably maintained as befits a trade route. While this can only speed your journey, it has the slight disadvantage that it is quite impossible to follow tracks of a specific individual. Riding fast will take you to the ferry point on the Nentir River in a mere two days.
Experienced adventurers that you are, the journey down the King's Road is a devoid of interest or danger. Arriving at the ferry point, you see flat bottomed boat taking on a few passengers and among them, a tall figure in a green cloak.
perception =
Kel recognises Padraig.
"Hey boss where you going without your back up, mmmm?"
"If you were looking to travel incognito you should know that the lone traveler draws more attention than a group. Stick with us and we'll get you where you want to go."
Padraig turns and sighs.
"Kel. How lovely to see you. What a surprise. I am going to Port Nentir, of course. Do let me pay your ferry passage."
"You know, if you wanted to tag along you could have at least told us first." Zareth stands to the side, looking conspicuously disinterested in the countryside.
"The other way around, surely? Lukas is my son, after all. I should go and look for him. Winterhaven will survive quite well without me for a couple of weeks. You appear to be under the impression that my priorities are misplaced. I'm replacing them."
"That's all well and good, Lord Padraig, but to do so without telling anyone in the middle of the night. We thought you were kidnapped or worse. At the very least you could have told us what you were planning. According to Florence, this is not like you." Andrus says with a grim look. "Fortunately, We caught up with you. Now we can keep you safe while you look for Lukas. I am telling you, m'lord, you never know where such an adventure will take you. You need to always bring friends." And he clasps Tenja on the shoulder as he says the part about friends. "We're coming with you."
"You getting on this boat or not?"
The bored ferryman holds out his hand for coin, which Lord Padraig pays absently.
"It seems we are all boarding."
"About blooming time." Grumbling, the ferryman casts off and poles the flat bottomed boat out into the middle of the river.
The ferry's pace is stately rather than speedy, as the river has tricky currents to navigate. The other passengers seem very ordinary for the most part. Villagers returning from Hammerfast or Fallcrest to smaller hamlets. For them, the ferry is an opportunity for impromtu trading and chat about the news of the day as much as a mode of transportation.
By the time you reach the edges of the Witchlight Fens a day later, the river has widened into shallower water and most of the passengers have gone. Of the few that remain, a small group who boarded at the last village have more of an urban look to them. They spend most of the rather boring hours playing an elaborate game of cards with a greasy deck. Money seems to be changing hands at a fair rate.
As dusk is falling on the second day, when you are well into the Fens and mist is lying low over the marshy ground, a cheery voice assails the group.
"Traveling's dull enough. Care to join us for a hand or two?"
"Nah, I only gamble with my life."
"That's un-neighbourly, but have it your own way. I expect you're leaving soon?," he suggests.
Kith and Andrus
Insight =
"Look, friend, where we go and what we do is no concern of yours. You can go back now and tell your friends to find another target. We're wolves, not sheep, and we give better than we get. You take my meaning? We've got weapons AND magic, and we know how to use both. We won't start trouble, but by Avandra, we'll end it." Andrus says as he raises his holy symbol around his neck. He gives the man a hard stare. "So, push off."
As Andrus calls the stranger on his lifestyle and behaviour, you notice that the ferry has ground to a halt and is now floating in shallow water. Three of the possible card sharks have climbed over the sides and are vanishing into the mist.
"Well now. That makes my life easier. Knowing how you stand. Be seeing you."
The card sharp heads for the the edge of the ferry and pulls out a whip.
Lord Padraig turns to Tenja. "I do believe this may be an ambush. Traveling with you is certainly interesting."
"Great. We're going to have to row the rest of the way ourselves aren't we?" Zareth looks phenomenally annoyed as he readies his orb.
"Mean people suck!"
init =
"Say, Zareth, now that IS an idea!" Andrus says as he tries to figure out how to get the boat moving again. "What if we got the boat moving again?"
Andrus turns and looks at the leader. "You must either be getting well paid for this, or just plain stupid. You didn't listen to me at all. And now, you and your men are going to pay for it." Andrus turns his head and tells the others, "We'll clear the boat and then getting it going. Don't leave the boat. If they run, let them. Chasing after them into the mist is suicide. Don't kill the leader. We may need him for information later." Andrus then says dismissively, "Almost dead is fine, though."
"We're being paid of course. What do you think we were gambling with?" Cap seems unfussed by the group's decision to fight him and his men.
Vines sprout from the end of Tenja's hammer and lash out at the bandit, then attempts to drag him towards the waiting dwarf.
Move to U14, avoiding OA's.
Twin strike on B2.
1st arrow, attack vs ac, , damage =
2nd arrow, attack vs ac, , damage =
first arrow that hits adds