After taking the stab to the side, Darius attempts to disarm the little runt.
Olly keeps up the drumbeat, trying to keep the beat timed to the moves of those trying to grapple the goblin. She blows another bit of wool at the goblin, hoping to get it into its eyes and distract it.
Pissed that the goblin attacked Darius, Zella stabs at it again.
Seeing the other converge on the goblin and knowing with her luck these last few shots she'll have no chance making the shot now Alisand tosses her crossbow onto the floor and rushes forward with a vicious growl.
Hoping the others just figure she is using a weapon of some kind she bears her fingernails which are sharp as steel and uses them like talons to attempt to gouge at the eyes of the reviling creature.
Damage
, possible crit,
This is the last time I leave my weapon at the inn!
Darius attempts to take the weapon away from the nasty goblin, but it deftly moves out of the way and lashes at Darius.
"MINE!" it screams at him.
But the slash is made in haste and goes wide. The goblin dodges Noro's second attempt to grapple it.
The goblin looks dazed for a moment as its stabbed and clawed by Zelladania and Alisand. Alisand gets pieces of the goblin in her nails as the goblin is ripped to shreds.
Karas came running up the stairs, shortly followed by Ignir. "I'm sorry, we just could not get rid of Foxglove and his questioning. It was like he was grilling me instead of the boar." He look at the goblin carcass on the floor, "Seems like I missed something here."
Ignir snuffs the body of the goblin and then turns around, heading out of the room.
|
Noro looks over the body of the goblin. Shrugs
well, guessh he won't be sharing any info she mutters to nobody in particular.
Noro starts to clean up the bloody mess left by both the party and the goblin, taking a sheet to cover / wrap the body of the father, she takes the body outside looking for a place that might be a family grave plot.
On the way out she turns to Darius Could you pleassh get shomeone from the Church.
and Noro looks to Olly and Zella You are better at thingsh like thish. Pleashe talk to the Family they will need help.
Noro finds herself trying to conceal something inside like she is re-living something in her past. Noro's requests seem more to get everyone's attention to something else rather than her.
Olly looks down at the dead goblin, wiping blood off her face and scowling (a very odd look on her generally attractive face). "Kabroi hori! This is why I don't like goblins!" She looks over at the hole. "I suppose we'd better see if there are any more hiding down there - and what they've done, if they've dug out some kind of tunnels or something."
At Noro's request, Olly's face softens from scowl to sadness. "Oh, that poor woman and her family. You're right, we'd better tell them. But we should probably make sure things are safe here before we do that."
Alisand quietly tries to rub her hands off with her poncho, looking stern and trying to hold back some anger. "This family didn't deserve this! Damn creatures. I knew the hinterlands had a Goblin problem but this...I never thought I'd see this in a town as big as Sandpoint."
She snaps back to the situation. "I think...we may want to let the Hellknights know about this. It may not be to our advantage if we just tell the family. Something like this won't stay quiet. As soon as the wife hears about her husbands death it will be all over town. But then again I'm new here and don't quite understand the situation so I leave that decidion up to you." She says to those who remain. "In anycase, I'll go get Father Zantus, perhaps having the local priest to comfort her may help the situation."
If the other's agree she will go and tell Father Zantus the situation and bring him back, if she's able, either to the house or the inn depending on where they decide to meet.
Battle over for now, Zella turns her attention to Darius and Olly. "Are you both ok? Do I need to find a healer for either of you? Do you think there really could be any more goblins under the house? I agree we should make sure the house is safe before we go talk to the family."
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Keep the Hellknightsh out of thish. They have no bushiness here! besht not give them any more reashon to shtay and imposhe more lawsh upon ush. Noro comments to the newcomer, a mix of caution and respect in her voice after her display of battle prowess.
Noro continues with her preps to bury the Father. Once outside she looks to see if others are nearby.
Noro sets the body down and kneels beside it almost in prayer though it may take some strain to hear what she is saying but it is in an unfamiliar tongue (Minatan).
She pulls out a piece of parchment and begins to write something then she folds it up and seals it as best she can and tucks it into a pocket.
Placing his left hand on his wound, then pulling it away to see how much blood there was, he looks at Zelladania and says, "I'll be fine for now, I've had worse." The Half-Elf warrior then puts his right hand on the dancer's face, looks deep into her eyes and softly adds, "You did well, anar lòtë." Darius then turns to the hole, "Now let us see what we have here." He picks up his weapon, jabs it into the hole a couple of times, then looks inside.
Olly nods at Noro. "She came to us, not the Hellknights. Let's keep them out of this if we can. But I do think telling Father Zantus makes sense."
To Zella, she says, "It hurts, and I'll want a healer to look at it eventually, but let's make sure what's down there first." She wipes a bit more blood off, mostly just to make sure it doesn't drip in her eyes.
Alisand will respect the other wishes to keep the Hellknights out of this. She grabs up her Crossbow and retrieve any quarrels she can and will make her way to the church to find the Father, attempting to avoid any Hellknight attention.
Desna I am sorry I resorted to weapons of my evil upbringing. The rage took me and I let my mothers gifts loose. I believe in a worthy cause but I feel so corrupted by them.
She continues to wipe her hands now and then to get the goblin flesh out from her nails even after she knows it's all gone.
"She's right though, the hellknights will find out eventually. Best play it by the book and tell the sheriff what happened." Karas stood by the hole with the rest of them, his spear ready in case something popped up.
Zella places her hand over his where it rests on her face and only lets Darius draw it away because she realizes that there may be more goblins and thus more danger. She tries to focus on the problem at hand, rather than the man beside her. I wonder what "anar lòtë" means?
"Father Zantus should definintly know because it's likely he will be the one providing spiritual comfort to that poor man's wife in addition to saying any necessary prayers over his grave. Telling the sheriff what happened will have to wait until he returns to town though."
As you look around under the house, you do not hear or see anything else. In fact you see no other way out besides the hole. Seems an interesting puzzle, but you deduce that the goblin some how got under the house, became trapped, and slowly went crazy from hunger.
As you arrive at the temple, Father Zantus is standing by the entrance, welcoming in patrons for the evening sermon. A pair of Hellknights are stationed by the sides. Once he see's you, he will remark, "I'm glad the Commander was wise enough to allow evening services in light of the curfew, probably fearful that he will be cursed by Calistria and never have someone to occupy his bed with." Father Zantus laughs hardly at his joke, "So pray tell me, have you come for the sermon?"
Olly will head back to the Rusty Dragon to talk to the family. On her way out, she will stop and quietly say to Noro, "Thank you for doing that. I know his family will appreciate it." She will also be sure to wipe off any remaining blood before she talks to the family.
Once at the inn, she will find the woman. "Ma'am, may I speak to you in private?" She will try to find someone to stay with Artie as she draws the woman aside.
"We found a goblin hiding under your house," she says, then quickly adds, "Don't worry, it's gone now and won't be coming back. I think it got trapped there, and it must have gone mad from hunger, which is why it attacked." She takes a deep breath, and continues, as gently as she can, "I'm afraid we found your husband, too. By the time we got there, he had fallen to the goblin. He was beyond any help we could give. I'm so sorry." She hesitantly reaches out and puts her little hand on the woman's shoulder. "He died bravely, that much I could tell. One of my friends is tending to his body, and others have gone to fetch Father Zantus. What else can I do to help?"
Finding nothing in the hole, Darius turns to the dancer, "There is nothing there. Shall we head back and get cleaned up?" Offering her his arm on the non-bloody left side.
Zella takes the arm offered. "Heading back sounds good to me. I'm glad there wasn't an army of goblins hiding under the house, but I do wish we could have gotten here in time to save that poor man."
The Half-Elf's expression turns slightly sullen, "So do I Zella, so do I." They continue down to the Dragon.
Alisand eyes the Hellknights then turns here attention to the Father trying to get his attention without alerting the Hellknights
Bluff Check:
Alisand quickly tries to come up with a clever way of getting the Father to come with her, without drawing suspicion..."Father, I am in need of spiritual guidance...Please it won't take long, just a moment of your time. I must speak with you in private before the sermon....I ah, It's very very important." She bumbles and stumbles her speech.
The woman nods, seemly lost in the moment. Her eyes begin to fill with tears. "I sent word to my sister in Magnimar. She will be here in a few days to help pack as we will be moving there. Nothing left to keep us in Sandpoint. I appreciate all that you and the rest did for us... Thank you"
The mother reads the note, "Tell Noro Thank you for looking out for us, but as you know, we are moving."
Father Zantus chuckles as Alisand tries to bluff badly to the Hellknights, "Come my child" He puts his arm around her and leads her into the temple. As the Hellknights looks at him suspiciously he states "She needs to confess, and she's scared by your presence." The Hellknights both seem to take that explanation.
Father Zantus leads you to the confession room and offers you to sit in the one chair while taking the other.
"So, what is it that we need to keep quiet?"
Trying to remain calm Alisand says,
"Well Father, there has been an incident. In the aftermath of recent events, which I am still a little unclear on it seems a Goblin was...anyway, a long story short, someone has been killed, a young boy named Artie's father. I'm sorry I have no other names but his father was brutally murdered by a Goblin and I've come to you so you can maybe comfort the poor woman better than a group of strangers and attended to the funeral rights...for goodness sake we don't even know the damn woman's name!"
She Pauses as she tries to collect herself and let out some of the anger at this senseless act of violence and the sadness at seeing another child's life ruined by a monster.
"The others thought that with the Hellknights already tightening their grasp on the town it would be best not to let this information spread to far."
Father Zantus taps his mouth with his finger for a moment, "Artie.. Atrie.. ahhh, Artie Barett. His mother would be Amele and his father, may he go to Desna's embrace would have been Alergast Barett. I believe they also have an infant daughter named Verah. Were any of the children harmed in anyway?"
Father Zantus stands, "I will see to her and the funeral once the sermon tonight is over. I will also pass the information on to the mayor. It would be best if we did inform the Hellknights. As much as I hate to admit it, informing them will be better then letting them find out. I will take care of it though. You have done well in the few hours since arriving here in town. Have you found lodgings yet? If not, I will see that Ameiko will put you up in the Rusty Dragon and have it charged to the church."
"I have a room already at the inn, I would appreciate you putting in a word for me." Alisand will respond, she will try and sound thankful yet she is still upset over the evenings events.
"Father I will leave the decision to inform the Hellknights up to you however I would ask that you are careful. I do not want to see any of the others involved in the incident suffer from over zealous Hellknights."
As she is leaving she'll pause, "Father, In your time here have you heard of any young girls being left abandoned or being abandoned by their mother and only having a father. It may seem an odd question I realize.
Whatever the priests answer Alisand will take her leave and head back to the inn and see if she can find the others. If they are not their she'll buy a meal and sit in the common area to eat waiting for them to arrive.
When Darius and Zelladania enter the Dragon, he turns to her and says, "Care to wait with Olly while I go clean myself up?"
Father Zantus appears puzzled for a long moment considering Alisand's question. "Nothing recently, but about twenty years or so ago, Atsuii Kaijitsu left her infant son Tsuto and young daughter Ameiko in the sole care of her husband before disappearing. If you want to know more, you can always talk to Ameiko, if you don't know her, she's the owner of the Rusty Dragon. Not sure she will open up about it though."
Olly nods sadly as the woman speaks. "I am glad you have someone to go to. Do you and your children need an escort to your house? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble on the way there. It's getting close to curfew." I hope Noro is done cleaning. "Or would you rather stay here for the night? I'm sure Ameiko would find a place for you."
Amele shakes her head, "I will not be able to return to that house, Ameiko has already spoken to me and I have a room put aside. Thanks you again for your help." She leaves for her room, along with her son and infant daughter
Zella nods at Darius and lets go of his arm. "I'm going to go have a drink with Olly then while you clean up. I'll see you when you come back down."
Zella orders a couple drinks at the bar while she watches Olly talking to the woman. When Olly is done, Zella waves over to her and offers her one of this drinks. "I think a strong drink is called for right now. That's definitely all I can handle right now since I just don't think I could eat any dinner tonight after all that."
Olly comes over to the bar, her normally cheerful face downcast, the wound from the goblin adding an oddly fierce cast to the look. "I agree. I don't ever want to see anything like that again. What wretched creatures!" She takes a big swallow from the drink, flinching slightly as the wound twinges.
Darius bows slightly and heads upstairs. Once in his room, he painfully removes his armor and shirt, pulls out some long cloth out of his pack, and wraps it around his mid-section. You'd think I'd have learned to bandage myself properly after all of the fights over women I've gotten into. The dark skinned warrior muses to himself. After wrapping himself, he takes a closer look at his armor. Abyss damned goblin. Why'd you have to go a put a hole in perfectly good scale mail? Well, at least it isn't too bad. But still, bloody vermin didn't need to slice me. His silent rant continued. After washing the blood from his hands, Darius put on a clean shirt and headed back down stairs, leaving the bloody armor for cleaning later tonight.
Making short work of the first drink, Zella orders another one. "I swear Olly, nothing about my trip to this town has turned out like anything I expected. I thought I'd come here and perform and have some fun at the festival and then hopefully get a job at the theater. The only thing I can't complain about are the new friends I've made since coming here."
Zella takes another gulp from her new drink. "And what the heck is it with closets? I swear I am going to have to search every inch of my room before I will be able to get to sleep tonight. And so much for the HellKnights doing anything useful here."
Darius goes to the bar and orders a glass of wine. While waiting, he spots Zella and Olly's table. Once he has his drink, the Half-Elf joins them.
Zella waves over to Darius when she sees him over at the bar ordering a drink. "All this excitement and I just remembered I'm still supposed to be meeting that HellKnight for a drink this evening. *sighs* "I really hope I can find out something useful to make it worth going through with this when all I want to do is just relax for the rest of the evening."
Olly grimaces as Zella mentions closets. "I know! I'm going to have to triple-check mine tonight. I don't want any more surprises like that." She winces, and touches her face. "I suppose I should find someone to take a look at this. A scar would add authenticity to some of my stories, but I'm not sure I need that much authenticity."
As Darius joins them, Olly asks, "Are you all right? That goblin took a pretty good swing at you."
At the mention of the Hellknight, Olly groans a bit. "I forgot about him. I hope we can convince him to say something useful. At least the goblin didn't hit you! Maybe I better watch from a bit of a distance, I don't want him asking any unfortunate questions." She pauses, and then leans in close and speaks very quietly. "Whatever we do, we mustn't give them any reason to decide they need to search my room."
Zella speaks quietly so only those at the table can hear here, just in case. "I don't think they have any cause to go about searching any of our rooms right now. Perhaps though you should head over to the bar when he comes in, you know, to give us some time alone? He may talk more freely in front of just one person anyway, especially if he wants to impress me."
"As for the goblin not hitting me. I'd say that's thank to Darius, he provided a much better target when he attacked that goblin." Zella smiles over at Darius as she says this, though she looks abit concerned when she remembers the hit he took "Are you sure you don't need to see Father Zantus? Perhaps he could perform some healing magic on you?"
Takes a sip of his wine, then replies to Olly, "I've had worse." Then Darius turns to Zella, "I'll live, but it probably would be best to see a healer in the morning." Takes another sip of wine.
The sun begins to set, you can each see it through windows from where you are; Noro at the farm, and everyone else from the tavern.
It’s a little after dusk when you hear noise outside, the voices of three men. When you go out, you see Father Zantus and two other acolytes. Father Zantus looks up as you come out of the house. ”Alisand didn’t say anyone would be here, but I almost assumed you would be. Come, let’s put him in the ground and commence his last rites.”
The acolytes assist in getting Mr. Barret into the ground as Zantus begins to recite a prayer to Desna and Pharasma. The entire process takes about fifteen minutes, with the body completely buried. Zantus turns to Noro and hands her a robe, matching those of the acolyes of Desna. ”We can move freely with no reprisal from the Hellknights, so I would put that on if you’d like to head back to town”
Just as the sun is about to set, Ameiko sighs from the counter as she looks around at her empty tavern. As if on cue, the door opens to reveal several groups of people coming in. The first group appears to consist of a large male human fighter, his half plate dented from use; a female in robes and with a staff, but almost her entire body is covered in blue tattoos. And finally a female elf in leather armor with enough daggers strapped to her body that even Ameiko raises her eyebrow. They sit down at a table and the young male fighter beckons for the largest pitcher of ale that the tavern will fill. Ameiko, being the person she is, fetches a bucket from the kitchens and fills it to the brim. The young fighter laughs hardly when it’s wheeled over, he hands Ameiko a pile of gold, grabs the bucket with both hands, and begins to drink it. An older man in blue robes comes down from upstairs and heads over to the table, scolding the fighter for being so rash.
The second group appears to be half a dozen men, all with prominent Chelaxian features; one of the men recognizes Zelladania and comes over to her. ”My lady, it warms my eyes to see that you are here. Come, my friends heard about your dance and would pay handsomely for a re-enactment.”
And finally, a third and lone person comes in covered from head to toe in thick robes, with their cowl up, you are unable to tell what their features are, other than them being of medium size.