Robert nods to Lady Secunda.
"True, but I'll do my best to stay alive. I've seen your tricks with the blade. Might be useful later on. As might your knowledge probably, too. Honestly, who do you think could want to kidnap your niece, and why? "
Robert does not trust Secunda, but he will try to get the information he can from her. And although he will watch her during the trip, he will try to make sure she's on their side.
"I'd never heard of this Wizard before," Secunda tersely replies to Robert's question. "So don't ask me his reasons. Except... Well. It ruins the peace treaty, Valeria being abducted like this. Look to anyone with a stake in there not being peace, I say!"
The innkeeper proves only too happy to sell Arma the feed she needs for her noble steed. The rest of the shopping goes perfectly well; the locals are only too happy to sell you their wares -- for the full price. Since outsiders come by to shop so rarely, the locals clearly feel they shouldn't refuse the gods' gift by offering a discount. ;)
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On your way out of the village, you stop by a little hovel belonging to the one-legged gentleman you met last night. Henneth's home is in poor repair, but as he promised, it is easy to find due to the smell of various fruits a-fermenting. He neglected to mention the smell of honey, strong enough to make your eyes and noses water. Bees are buzzing eagerly around the little shack, and you can hear the drone of busy, busy beehives out back.
As you approach, you can see a clean, crisp white envelope hanging from the door by a nail. Written thereon are the words:
Arma still standing with a freshly provisioned Garnet looks to the others as they pack up and set to begin their quest. She waited for a moment after they set out. Looking around and counting heads her own thoughts and the continued absences soon turned her thoughts to some answer to the question on her mind. After a time walking Arma asked that question to the man walking next to her.
She turns her head to Kyrax and lifting her visor somewhat asks in concern. "Sir Kyrax, if I may ask? Do you know why so many have left our cause? First were the Cheliax which I did not see coming so nearly completely but then the Andorans too? Miss Annalise who had been so kind is missing since last night? I did not even get to say good bye to Doritian as he departed with the troops. Did he become ill? Or did he go to find further aid?"
The concern written on her face seems to be worried not out of fear but a sort of distant seeming confusion. Her eyes seem to give this impression as well as the slight waver to the tone of her words would suggest this and caring. Of course this moment was soon followed by the notice that the answer to her question was beeing interrupted by buzzing.
Upon noticing the bees Arma closes her visor again with a slight look of urgency that makes the almost stoic young woman seem... nervous? But as she stands still after again her muted expression covered by the mask of metal not approaching closer, it seems a little likely.
If I would speak plainly Arma I will say that some may believe the cause is lost; that we stand little chance against such a powerful wizard in his own defended lands and keep. Others were perhaps never fully committed to peace.. Putting his arm around the shoulder of the large fighting "woman", hoping to bolster her spirits he chuckles and adds But I never want to know the odds myself. Makes for a better song. And if I may best serve my prince by rescuing this lady then that is how I will choose to send my time, for it is mine to spend.
Upon hearing Kyrax words, and feeling his arm rest upon armored shoulder, Arma turns her visor covered visage back to him.
"I too will not relent. Peace is too important to throw aside. We will get the Lady Valeria back I am sure. I gave my word to Doritian and the Lady is his... love so I will not give in. I just did not know why they had left for the Andoran Sargent had not explained..."
As the a bee's fly close to the armored woman's head and unlike her composed words she seems to flinch a bit each time causing her holy symbol to clack a bit against her breastplate of her armor. Her next words while still calm, friendly and collected, mostly, come through the helm with some very small amount of irritation or maybe nerves that seem obviously directed at the many insects.
"I thank you for that my friend..."
You notice upon touching Arma's shoulders that you feel the armor does not move or budge as if there is no room between it and the girl beneath it. Armor normally to your knowledge has space between it and the wearer though not much but this feels like there is none at all. It does not feel natural to say the least but noticing this even her movements now seem more fluid then they should in even such a finely crafted suit and you begin to wonder what if anything this means.
Zhu overhears the start of Arma's question. "I believe, Arma," he says bitterly, "that politics and fear have defeated whatever courage those soldiers may have possessed."
The rest of the conversation is lost to Zhu, as he becomes distracted both by the sign and by the buzzing.
"'DUNT DEESTURB'...?" he says, confused. "I am not familiar with that dialect or... ah! 'Don't Disturb'! I understand now that I say it out loud ... but something is not right inside. The buzzing of the bees seems MUCH too loud or angry..."
He mutters a few arcane syllables. "I am not usually so cautious, my friends," he says to the others, "but we have seen too many surprises over the past day."
If he is satisfied that there are no magic auras around the door or inside, he moves to open the door.
__________________________________________
Zhu casts detect magic to sense for any auras inside the dwelling.
Kyrax regards Arma for a moment, raising a lone eyebrow. He things back wondering if he has ever seen the woman out of her armor, or even without her helm. Now is not the time for such thoughts. he reminds himself and turns his attention to the hovel.
Arma nods cautiously at Zhu speaking loud enough to be heard over the droning around them all. "The Prince you certainly mean is no coward I am sure Sir Zhu. Still a soldiers duty to his lord is what it is and their orders could be far different. I guess we have to keep to our own honor and strength and bring the Lady Valeria safely home. Duty before dishonor as my teacher used to say." She ducks slightly as a bee flies over her helm, the suddenness of the move ever so slightly undercutting her polite and confident tone, though as she has moved no closer since she had stopped, she is apparently not fond of the insects.
"Still, from what you say about the words on this note you see, I think it is just the mans poor writing but I cannot tell from where I am... I do not feel at ease about much of this situation. Everyone be careful!" The edge of very slight wary nervousness in her voice spoken loud enough to be heard over the buzzing and slight distance as well as through the visor is one seemingly directed at the bee's and maybe the oddness of it all as the armored woman seems to be watching the flying insects carefully.
Pontia follows Zhu, staff in hand. "Did you sense any auras in here?"
Zhu says, "None. This is nothing more than it appears, at least from a magical view - an utter mess. But WHERE is he?" He looks around the messy dwelling for notes or signs of a struggle.
As Pontia enters, she also sees that the inside of Henneth's hovel is a miserable mess -- but this may be its default condition. The inside of the room is dominated by a large still and several other items used to distill alcoholic refreshment from this, that and some of the other. The fires that should be burning underneath them have been allowed to go out.
Of Henneth himself, there is no sign... If there are traces of a struggle, neither one of the casters is equipped to spot it, apparently.
Pontia's lip curls upward in disgust. "I am not impressed. Perhaps he is outside in back." She leaves the hovel and walks around behind it.
"Why?! she yelled. "He was harmless!! There was no reason to take him! There was....." She trails off and sobs as she sinks to the ground near to where Henneth's body lie.
Any of the party who go out back will hear the shout as they begin to make their way out back of the hut.
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Kyrax, hearing the scream, will begin to head around back.
As Kyrax rounds the house, the droning of the bees grows even louder.
In the backyard, at least nine beehives stand -- and one lies ruined under the body of the erstwhile beekeeper.
Henneth is clearly dead, and he fell upon that one hive. There are bees buzzing around both the old man with his one wooden leg and a Half-Elven girl who sits next to the body, sobbing. The striped insects do not appear to be hostile right now, just distressed.
They buzz and loop around Henneth's pitiful corpse, the sobbing girl -- and the Goblin dogslicer jutting up out of Henneth's back. Blood soaks the earth and the broken hive beneath the old man...
Pontia holds up a hand imperiously. "Don't go near the body yet. Are any of you skilled at tracking?"
Arma will slowly guide Garnet around back following Kyrax and the others that go but she stays distant as she watches the flying insects warily.
Seeing the crying woman near the body of what she believes is Henneth she moves closer but slowly. Looking to Pontia as she speaks Arma gives a short response "I do not." and then waits silently to see if any others respond while watching the situation unfold.
The sight of the dead man who had helped them just so recently has put her even more in a paranoid mindset.
At Pontia's insistence, Zhu doesn't approach the body. "Nor do I."
He calls softly to the grieving woman, "We... are very sorry. We met him only last night, but he seemed to be a kind man. Did you see who did this?"
Raina looks up sharply as if somewhat startled. "No." she says in a shaky voice. "I just got here and found him this way. He really didn't deserve such a fate. He was a kind man. I liked bringing him herbs."
As if noticing the others for the first time, she suddenly looks around, stands, and addresses those present.
"Do you come for honey today? If not, what brings you here?" she asks inquisitively and in a calmer voice.
The severe-looking Chelaxian woman replies, "He had promised us information, though the worth of it had not been well-established." She gives the half-elf an appraising look. "I am Pontia Canario. You are?"
"I am Raina, his niece." she replies. "What sort of information are you looking for?"
Seemingly unfazed by the dead man, Mirandix stands nearby and listens to those who are speaking.
Pontia does not answer immediately, then gives a slight shrug. "Your uncle had told us of his adventures in a Keleshite wizard's fortress, and promised us directions to the place. The wizard has kidnapped a woman we were assigned to help guard. He had the help of a band of goblins, so his death by a goblin's weapon seems...suspicious."
Miss, back away from those bees. They do not seem hostile yet, but could swarm should we approach too close. Kyrax looks on with concern.
The bees do drone on, louder and louder. Then, those of you with finer hearing notice something strange; from each of the hives, there comes a single 'voice' that is deeper and more powerful than that of the common drones. Abruptly, all the worker drones draw closer to their own hives, massing around the entrance and clearly in a state of agitation and confusion.
One by one, each hive disgorges a single bee that is bigger than the others. Queen bees. As soon as they've vacated their hive, the workers mass up around them, an honour guard of insects. One by one, the swarms merge into a large, dark cloud of buzzing bodies. As this dark cloud descends, you fear the worst...
... but all it does is briefly, gently touch Henneth's corpse as if to say goodbye.
On droning wings, the Swarm drifts away from Henneth's hovel, the hives, and all of you, and heads for the forest. Fairly soon, there is not a single bee to be seen or heard.
"Now there's a durn thing ta see," a rough voice says behind you.
A townsman comes walking around Henneth's house and looks down on the body, thumbs tucked into his belt. A battered, tin star on his chest proclaims him to be the around these parts. Presumably, the battered cudgel and the nicked sword hanging from his belt are only there as an auxiliary to the star's authority.
"Well," the Sheriff says after a moment of silence, "that's that, then. No more crazy stories about escaping from a Wizard's tower -- what was pro'lly just a Goblin hole. You folks move along; naught to see here but a daft old man killed by a Gob in the wee hours. Happens all the time."
The Sheriff untucks his belts, grabs Henneth's body by the belt and casually tosses it over his shoulder. He gives you all a neutral look.
"Weren't you folks headed out of my town? Somethin' about throwin' yer lives away in that same Goblin-hole?" He shakes his head. "Be wise, pretty boys 'n girls. Make liars of yerselves an' live a little longer. There's better ways to die'n in a Gob's stew-pot."
He starts to move off, but stops to cast an unfriendly look at Raina.
"The ole fool's dead. Town'll be seizin' his hovel, so we won't be needing you round here no more. We can find herbs fer brewing moonshine ourselves, and it looks like the bees is gone, so no need fer herbs ta flavour their honey, neither. Be off with ye now, halfbreed. I won't warn ye agin."
Raina gives a brief but cold look at the man before giving a half nod of her head.
"I'll leave, but don't ever threaten me again. Your badge doesn't give you more than you are, which is but a bigoted fool who deserves this pit you call a town."
Raina turns and walks away at a fast clip. She does not look back until out of sight of the wretched place.
Arma having watched the scene play out with the bee's and then listening to the sheriff speak to Raina seems to be unsure of it all. She was almost ready to move before the man but as his words rang out and she saw Raina's reaction to them she comes to a different view.
Looking to the others and then to Kyrax, Zhu and Pontia she says simply and firmly in a conversational tone loud enough for all to hear but only if they cared to listen. "I will follow her. But we should make sure to gather what we need from this place before we leave. And deal with this... Rude man." The barest tones of perhaps anger were mostly covered by that sort of polite concerned voice that echoed out from behind her visor. It was not spoken as a command, but more of a statement of what the group needed to gain from here. Also her own view of the supposed sheriff made her turning to leave seem more agitated than the norm for her when she did.
The familiar treatment she had become used to in her time both before and after being chased from her own home found a chord in her, and so she followed the young woman. The others could handle the rude man or perhaps find the information she was sure. She did not look back to see if they also followed Miss Raina and herself. They would decide for themselves or not.
Catching up to the woman as she is walking away she speaks through her helm. "I know what that is like... Miss Raina, please do not run. You should not have to run away. Sir Henneth was your family. This was part of your home."
Arma will attempt to keep pace with Garnet behind her and speaks in a kind but firm tone. She realizes that the small hovel was left behind sometime ago as the girl moves at a surprisingly fast pace despite her apparent disability. Staying at a decent distance to follow her does not take much other than to force Garnet and herself to walk a little faster than normal to keep up.
The bees' actions bring about something that actually might be a softening to Pontia's features; her eyes widen slightly and her breath catches. I'd read about 'telling the bees,' but never anything like that. That was amazing. The sheriff's interruption does not make an impression on Pontia, as she quickly jots down a few notes on the phenomenon.
Mirandix shrugs again and walks back around to the front of Henneth's hovel where he pulls the envelope off of the man's door.
He opens the envelope and looks inside to see what there is. If there is nothing but paper inside, he will pull the paper out of the envelope and unfold it.
Inside the envelope, Mirandix finds, indeed, a single piece of paper.
When he unfolds it, he discovers a surprisingly detailed map of the area around Apol's Thorp, with a red line leading northwards, to the mountains. Noted on the map are various landmarks in red ink, telling you in clear, concise language which way to go to get to the Red Debbuls' lair -- and once there, to the Wizard's stronghold that stands above it!
It looks like you've got your walking papers...
And then you notice a neat note at the bottom of the page, set beside a thumbprint in what you first think is red ink -- until you catch a faint whiff of blood.
The note says, simply:
'We'll be waiting. Have a nice day!
The Red Debbuls.'
Mirandix reads the map and the note at the bottom, then turns to his companions handing it to the closest one. "It seems we are expected. We should not keep our hosts waiting," he says with a grin that has nothing of humor in it.
Kyrax is amazed by the behavior of the bees, but then outraged by the behavior of the sherif. Stepping in front of Raina he take up for her as best he can. Now see here. That badge does not give you permission to to treat any lady so poorly, especially one who has just lost a loved one. I'd wager you are the kind of man that kicks puppies and lets his grandmother starve. He stands ready to be challenged if the sherif wants to fight but is unwilling to draw steel otherwise. He is already thinking of a ditty to teach the locals that will make fun of and belittle the poor excuse of a sherif.
Zhu despises bullies. His first impulse is to yell at the sheriff, perhaps even threaten him, but Kryax acts first.
As he watches Kyrax's verbal assault with grim satisfaction, he takes the time to compose himself and control his own rage. Moving to a spot slightly Kyrax, he places a steady hand on his ally's shoulder. "No more need be said, Kyrax," he says politely but firmly. "Come, we have better things to do, my friend." His eyes bore into the sheriff's as he continues, "And I'm sure the 'sheriff' here has to officially record somewhere that he has failed his town. Yet again."
He moves to the front of the house, where he sees Mirandix and the taunting note. "That is interesting," the young Tien says after reading the note. "During the fight in the woods, I was not convinced that the wizard and the goblins were working together. The goblins, if I remember correctly, seemed very frightened of him! But here are the goblins, taunting us with this murder and this note. That would suggest that they are working together."
Zhu runs his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "Or maybe that is what we are supposed to think! A goblin weapon, yes. And a note apparently from a goblin. But do we know for sure that goblins did this? I wonder if it is intended to trick us into preparing for the wrong enemy."
He looks around at Mirandix and anyone else nearby. "I ask you, as a newcomer to this land, would goblins actually write such a note? I had the impression that they were more fearful creatures. And I wonder if there is a way to tell if Henneth was killed by a goblin... or by someone taller who held a goblin weapon...."
"Without a tracker or a skilled healer, we have no way of knowing. Unless one of you has more magical capability than I?" Pontia reads over the note. "I believe that goblins are generally illiterate. Perhaps this is from the creature that was with them--the asura." The scholar examines the print to see if its size matches what she knows of tripurasuras.
The Sheriff shakes his head at all of you, and does not break his stride.
"Ye don't live here. This forest's got devils and worse. We don't got time fer moon-headed half-breeds -- or actin' sentimental about a dead man."
He walks off without looking back at you.
Pontia's knowledge does not suggest that Tripurasura's even have fingerprints; after all, they are born not of natural flesh, but from rejection and destruction. Also, the thumbprint is too large to belong to the tiny, malicious Outsiders.
Responding to Zhu Kyrax says I too was thinking that this looked like a set up. Note how the sherif removed the body before any of us could examine it. Goblins love their weapons and do not abandon them for no reason. And… he says, pausing to emphasize the coming statement Goblins do not write. They think written words can steal their soul. So, where does that leave us?
Secunda speaks up, her voice low and bitter. "I'll tell you where it leaves us. It leaves us not a single step closer to recovering my kinswoman! We have the map, we don't have to pay that old sot for it -- why are we still idling here? If there is someone trying to lure us into a trap, then let them bring it on! We'll carve the truth out of their mangy hides!"
An unholy fire seems to burn in the Chelaxian noblewoman's eyes, and her hands are balled into trembling fists -- trembling with rage, not fear.
"Then let us be sure we carve into the correct hides, my lady," says Zhu evenly. He looks at the others. "My friends, I suggest we stay with our original target: the wizard's residence. Any fights with the goblins would be pointless. We would only exhaust ourselves -- which I am sure is exactly what the writer of this false note wants. Agreed?"
He looks around. "I hope Arma has kept Henneth's niece from running off. Someone with any knowledge of the local terrain would be helpful."
You can see that Arma and Raina have not gotten too far ahead; a brief jog is all it takes for the two groups to reunite.
Raina stops when she hears the voice call out to her. She turns to the armored figure.
"Thank you. I just had to get away from that man. That attitude makes me so mad. Especially when I do all I can to help everyone regardless of race or station." she says.
"Your group seems to be searching for something. What is it you look for? And may I be of help?" she asks inquisitively.
Kyrax, unable to help himself, launches into story mode and weaves the groups tale for the half elf. He finishes with And so you see, good lady, we have a princess to rescue. Your uncle was good enough to provide us with a map, but others, likely his murderer wants us to attack goblins, which may be there wrong thing to do. If they were set up here, then we would waste our time and energies fighting a foe that may need fighting but one that would not bring us closer to helping the princess.
As you your help, your radiant presence has already lifted my spirits good lady. What other ways might you be able to help?
Arma listens and nods to Raina as she turns to respond. "I have been through similar. I understand the want to get away from people such as that." She raises her visor and gives a very slight smile to the half-elf woman that is polite and concerned.
Of course as Kyrax jumps into answer she is a little surprised at his closing the distance so fast but continues to smile. "It is as Sir Kyrax has said. We are looking for the Lady Valeria, the betrothed of Prince Doritian of Andoran. I am Arma Fili Sustinuit"
Pontia gives a sidelong glance and a slight shake of her head to Lady Secunda during the close of Kyrax's recitation. "The goblins, though, seemed to be allied to the wizard in some way. It may be to our advantage to deal with the goblins first, perhaps to learn more about the wizard and the connection between them." Besides, it will be to my credit at home if I can say that we destroyed a band of false devils.
As you all have (presumably) entered the treeline, you can spot the first landmark on the map ahead; an old tree, its branches long since lost to the vagueries of the weather and some disease that claimed its life. Wind, water and fungus have drilled holes right through the tree, causing it to whistle faintly every time the wind blows.
Marching up and down its sides is the mushroom commonly known as 'chicken of the forest'. It is well-known that this kind of mushroom is perfectly edible, so long as it's ripe and has been fried appropriately.
The bard, thinking about the distressed princess and goblin threat fails to see anything.