Momentarily surprised by why Morythine is tossing her a knife, after another moment Zoli connects the dots. She laughs a bit at herself and hollers, "Thanks!" without slowing her pace.
As the group bolts out the back door, save for Kala running to the front, they are led to the row of houses just on the other side of the street from the tavern. The woman turns right and then darts left up Clog Street, before making another left onto Prickleback Lane. She leads them to the third house on the right side of the street, and points, too terrified to enter.
"In there!" she wails.
As Kala and Nightwind thunder through the vacant Market, she starts to turn down Mud Street behind the Rusty Dragon, but manages to see the red robes of Xamarath turn towards the next street up. She spurs Nightwind on, and he lunges forward and you both round the sharp turn onto Prickleback Lane from the other end of the street, and quickly catch up to the others as they arrive at the front of the house.
Aside from several onlookers who followed from the Rusty Dragon, curious neighbors peering through their windows, and the woman's crying, little would even give evidence to a goblin attack.
Except for the wide open front door of the woman's house and faint trail of blood coming from within.
"Chaldira, may your luck overflow!" Zoli says as she peers into the house, looking left and right. She has her rapier drawn and ready, should she see a goblin.
Once on the small porch and looking inside, you see the interior of a small but charming home. The main room has two couches set about a small table, with a fireplace opposite the front door. To the right, you see an open door leading into what appears to be the master bedroom. Just right of the fireplace is an open walkway heading into the kitchen.
Finally, at the far end of the left wall is an open door, with speckles of blood leading out from it.
Zoli whispers "Do you hear those muffled noises over there? Morythine, are you good at moving quietly? Maybe you and I take the lead, with Kala watching the rear in case there's a surprise behind us and the rest of you in the middle?"
The young halfling is clearly bursting with eagerness to find out what's through that open door.
Xamarath turns and shoots a worried glance in Crichton's direction.
"Find a perch up high; make sure nothing escapes out a window or backdoor. And no complaining!"
The small cardinal sighs in defeat, offering no challenge to the Thayvian's command "Yes, taskmaster Xamarath! I'll floy up an' keep a watch, I will!"
Crichton beats his wings frantically to convey his considerable bulk airborne. He finds a suitable perch to afford him a commanding view of the area surrounding the house.
Eugeni moves into the house behind Zoli, looking around and listening intently.
"Do you hear those muffled noises over there? Morythine, are you good at moving quietly? Maybe you and I take the lead, with Kala watching the rear in case there's a surprise behind us and the rest of you in the middle?"
"Yes," Morythine lies in a whisper, not hearing anything but not wanting to admit the halfling's senses are sharper than his "Let's take a quiet look.
At the very least, Morythine's padded footfalls are quieter than Zoli's as he creeps towards the door.
As the two slink forward quietly as Zoli planned, they enter into the room to the left. Inside, they see a room suitable for a young boy to grow up in. However, three things stand out in horrifying contrast.
First is the spattered blood on the sheets of the bed. The second is the bloody and lifeless body of a dog at the foot of said bed. And finally, the still form of a man lying on his stomach, as if he had crawled into the closet. As you look at the body lieing still, it occasionally jerks in an odd way.
Feeling queezy at the sight, Zoli urgently waves for the rest of the group to advance. Then with Morythine she tiptoes on the closet, hoping the man is still alive, and prepared to stab whatever is gnawing on him!
The mans upper half of his torso is in a hole in the floor, apparently stuck. As you examine it, the body jerks again.
Zoli says, "Hang on there! Help is here." She sets down her rapier and tries to tug him out, asking for help from her new companions if needed.
Eugeni seeing the situation calls on Erastil. With a moment's concentration his fingers twitch and wriggle, glowing with the same verdant green sparkles that always accompany Eugeni's magic. A set of wickedly sharp ursine claws sprouts from each of his hands. "Here, let me help," he says, grabbing the man with Zoli and tugging.
Morythine's eyebrows raise at the sight of Eugeni's sudden claws. He settles his tricorn on his head and drops into a fighting stance beside the pair, a fist ready should anything unpleasant leap out of the closet, or should the man's torso start doing anything it shouldn't.
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As Zoli strains against the weight of the man's body, Eugeni reveals his claws and uses them to improve his grip and lends a hand moving the lifeless form. You a greated with a grisly sight once he is free: the flesh of his torso and face are eaten away, only a few scant scraps of tissue remaining in hard to reach places.
Just then, a goblin leaps forth from the hole in th closet floor, screaming maniacally, "Mine! That Gresgurt's dinner! Give back!"
Zoli and Eugeni both fall backwards at the sudden ball of goblinoid fury that kept from the revealed hole, but Morythine was prepared. As Gresgurt's moves to attack, he reaches out and and catches the goblin by the throat. It clutches out to claw at the Dhampir briefly before changing its focus to trying release the longshanks grip.
Unfortunately for Gresgurt's, Morythine only pauses a moment before striking the goblin square in the nose, breaking bone structure as well as doing fatal damage to the soft brain tissue underneath.
__________
Eugeni throws up on the floor. "That's just nasty..." he mutters, gagging. Wiping his mouth with the back of one hand he stumbles backward out of the room and onto the street outside, where one of his eyes twitches involuntarily.
The goblin convulses a single time then collapses, and Morythine allows himself a smile of satisfaction at his ability. He then turns his attention to the unfortunate who presumably was the husband. The dhampir peers down in fascination on the devastation the hungry goblin has wrought on the poor wretch's upper body.
After several long seconds staring, he announces the unnecessary.
"I'm pretty sure he's dead."
Staggered by what just happened so quickly, Zoli looks quickly away from the two corpses.
Instead, she keeps her eyes locked on the hole in the floor. "Well," she says, "I suppose we oughta check the hole to make sure there aren't any more down there. Any of you have a torch with you?"
She cautiously peers into the hole, trying first to determine if there are any remaining goblins and secondarily if it seems to be just a small space or part of something larger.
"Everything okay in there?" Kala asks, maintaining her watch on the door.
"A goblin ate a man's face off, but Morythine killed it," Eugeni replies to Kala at the front door. He's clearly shaken by what he saw inside. "I doubt there are any more inside, but Morythine and Zoli are checking it out now."
"A goblin ate a man's face off, but Morythine killed it,"
Hardly sentimental himself, Morythine can’t help wincing at Eugeni’s words. If the wife still waits outside, there can barely be a blunter way of informing her of her recent bereavement. He glances at Zoli as the thought flickers through his head, and waits expectantly for the wailing to begin from without.
It doesn’t occur to him to cover the corpse.
Inside the hole in the closet floor, Zoli can see nothing but the crawl space beneath the house.
As the group departs the residence, they can overhear the woman explaining what happened to a neighbor in a tense voice.
"When the attack 'appened at the festival, Aeren saw a goblin light a cat on fire and dance around it. He 'asn't been the same since. Last night 'is cryin sent Petal into a barkin' fit, and when we came to see what was tha matter, Aeren said a goblin came outta 'is closet." she sniffles into a handkerchief. "Alergast checked the closet but saw nothin', and told Alergast that if he didn't be a man about it he'd make 'im sleep in the woodshed. Then it 'appened again tonight, and Alergast said we 'ad to make 'im get over it, but when Petal squalled in pain and Aeren's screamin' turned so shrill, we both knew that somethin' was wrong."
Just then she sees the heroes exit the home, and she runs forward, asking frantically, "Where's my 'usband? Where's Alergast? Is he okay?"
Riding up the road you see Sheriff Hemlock arrive with a couple guards, though it is obvious the man didn't have time to prepare. He is without his armor and the tired look in the man's eyes betray the fact that he had been asleep wherever he had been. He quickly takes the matter under his control, and has one of his guards tend to the wife as he sends the other inside to find out what has happened. He himself requests a report from the group of heroes on the porch. His guard leads the wife away, getting the beginning part of her story as he does so, granting you all a small bit of privacy on the porch to inform Belor of what has happened.
You are all awaken the next morning, some with stronger headaches than others, by a knocking on your door. A town guard is present, saying that the Sheriff would like for you to meet him at the Garrison.
After you each have time to prepare yourselves and make your way there, you are led as a group into a moderately sized meeting room. Inside, you see Sheriff Hemlock, with his usual sour expression, but his look is equally matched this time by Mayor Deverin. Seated with them at the end of the table is an elven woman with a serious but concerned expression on her face.
"If you haven't had the chance, this is Mayor Deverin," Belor says, holding an arm in her direction.
The mayor replies, "Thank you all for coming, and thank you so much for all you have done for Sandpoint." The gratitude in her voice is plain as day.
"And this is Shalelu Andosana, another unofficial member of Sandpoint's town guard." Shalelu smirks at the remark. "Shalelu, these are Sandpoint's new crop of heroes."
With introductions concluded quickly, Hemlock continues, "Shalelu has been acting as a thorn in the side of the local goblin tribes for years, and few in the area know more about them than her. She reports in to us from time to time, but this time, it appears that Sandpoint hasn't been alone in the goblin troubles. Goblin raids have increased all along the Lost Coast Road, particularly between Nettlewood and Mosswood. Just yesterday, a farm south of Mosswood was burnt to the ground by the little bastards, but Shalelu was able to save the family and drive the goblins away."
Shalelu stands as the Sheriff cedes the floor to her.
"Belor’s told me of your work against the goblins—well done. I’ve dedicated the last several years of my life to keeping them from causing too much trouble around these parts, but they’re tenacious and fecund little runts. Like weeds that bite.
Anyway, there’s five major goblin tribes in the region, and, traditionally, they’re pretty good at keeping each other in line with intertribal squabbles and the like. Yet from what I’ve been able to piece together, members of all five tribes were involved in the raid on Sandpoint. A fair amount of the Mosswood tribe goblins I dealt with yesterday were already pretty beat up, and there was a lot of chatter about the ‘longshanks’ who killed so many of them. Now that I’ve met you, it seems obvious from their descriptions who they were talking about. Seems like you’ve made an impression.
“In any event, the fact that the five tribes are working together disturbs me. Goblin tribes don’t get along unless they’ve got something big planned, and big plans require big bosses. I’m afraid that someone’s moved in on the goblins and organized them. And judging by these recent raids, what they’re organizing seems like bad news for all of us.”
Belor then speaks up, "I'll be taking a few of my men south to Magnimar to see about securing additional soldiers to station here for a few weeks, until we can learn the extent of the goblin threat. I've asked Shalelu to sniff around Shank's Wood, Devil's Platter, and all the other places where the goblins live to see if she can discover anything else about what's going on. I would like you all to maintain a public presence in town until I return, if you don't mind. The locals seem to have taken to you," he glances at the Mayor, "and seeing you around town will do a lot for keeping worries down until I get back.
Morythine inclines his head and briefly raises his tricorn in deference to the mayor and her elven companion. On hearing of Shalelu’s history of exploits against the goblin tribes, Morythine is further impressed; alone the woman achieves what six did in the raid on Sandpoint.
Still, the monk is disappointed to learn that despite Shalelu’s reports of increased goblin activity, there are no firm leads for himself and his fellow adventurers. His swift dispatch of Algergast’s murderer the night previous has wetted his appetite for further bloodshed. Instead, all the mayor asks is that they babysit Sandpoint.
A thought occurs to Morythine. “Shalelu. Given your pedigree as a goblin hunter hereabouts, would it be fair to assume the greenskins know and fear you? I ask because, unless Sheriff Hemlock has seen fit to do away with it, there is a goblin in captivity here in the town jail. He’d not talk to me, but maybe your fair face would inspire a little more terror and sooner shift his tongue to move?”
Upon witnessing Shalelu, affixed with no shortage of praise from the good Mayor, Xamarath offers the fellow and veteran goblin slayer an elaborate flourish of a bow that nearly topples Crichton from his delicate perch. He uses his low vantage and the concealment afforded by his crimson cowl to more fully appreciate all of the elf-lady's assets.
"Sandpoint is overwhelmingly blessed with beauty, hero, and grace it would seem. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Andosana. I look forward to working with you."
Xamarath shrugs with a hint of a smirk on his face after Belor concludes. "I'm not one to turn down a bit more favor from the village. Although it is worth pointing out that our hand in these affairs has been pretty reactionary. Putting down goblins as they spring up isn't a terribly taxing ordeal, admirable an undertaking though it is. We need to stop these attacks before they begin, else there'll be no good townspeople left to offer up deserved praise to my... our heroics."
Turning about and allowing his gaze to wander about the room—a tactic his father often employed when berating the young Thayvian for his numerous misadventures back home—Xamarath says, "When faced with infestations, simply waiting to whack the bastards seldom serves. Without a cat, the mice shall frolic and eat their fill unchecked. Let us take measures to stop this nonsense before more tragedy occurs. Traps, more vigilant watches, and any other measures the townsfolk themselves can level against the green blighters—anything at our disposal. How many guards will be left in your absence, good sheriff?"
Shalelu blushes at Xamarath's flirtations, but the praise of her physical beauty does not hold her attention for long. She replies to Morythine's inquiry rather than engage Xamarath in conversation.
"If the jailor couldn't get anymore out of the goblin, then I doubt it has more to tell. And to be honest, I doubt many of the goblin's even know of me. I try not to let too many escape the traps I set," she says with a sly grin.
At Xamarath's suggestion, Belor nods. "Then I'll let the lot of you get to planning. It's a long ride to Magnimar and I want to get this over with and back sooner than later. The town's defenses, shy the two guards that will accompany me, will still have ten full time guards, and if necessary, we have 62 able bodied men capable of forming up a militia, but only under the order of myself and the mayor."
He leaves quietly as Shalelu again speaks up, "Well, it seems we have some things to talk about. I'd like to hear about your roles in the Sandpoint attack from your perspective, and I can tell you what I know about the goblins in the area. But this doesn't need to be discussed here. Is there anywhere in particular you all would like to take breakfast and discuss things?"
Eugeni smiles and bows his head to Shalelu, the Mayor and Sheriff Hemlock. He listens to their story, and then to Morythine and Xamarath's insistence that they take a more proactive stance. He can only agree. "As I said before, Sir, I'll be here as long as Sandpoint needs me. I would love to do something about the problem, as these others suggest, but clearly we need more information. Shalelu, please hurry and find out what's going on. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. The people of Sandpoint are in danger and I feel like there's nothing I can do except sit around. It's driving me crazy!" Eugeni says frustratedly.
Shalelu looks at Eugeni, curiosity clearly getting the best of her, and she says, "Then let's head out and I'll tell you what I do know. I usually take my meals at the Rusty Dragon, but seeing as we probably could do for some privacy, the White Deer is probably our best bet. The Hagfish isn't much for early morning meals, and Risa's Place is probably flooded with locals, just as the Dragon is. And I've never been fond of Cracktooth's."
Cracktooth's Tavern: A tavern ran by Jesk "Cracktooth" Berinni, and a favorite of patrons of the Sandpoint Theater. It has a large stage for performances by would be bard's and actors.
On the way to the White Deer, Shalelu asks a variety of questions of each of you, namely where you are from and what brings you to Sandpoint. She shows a particular interest in learning of Eugeni's heritage, though it seems to be from more of a professional interest than anything else. For those who have "interest" in the female form can't help but notice how well her armor hugs her form, and it would seem she doesn't bother her that many of the locals turn their heads a bit much to get a good look as she walks past. On occasion, a husband is sharply reprimanded by his wife as your group passes by.
Once you all reach your destination, it is clear this elven woman knows the town well. The White Deer is indeed empty, despite the pleasant aroma wafting from the kitchen and the nice decorations and furnishings about the establishment. You are greeted again, however, with the curt attitude of the businesses proprietor, which Shalelu ignores outright as she has a seat at a table large enough for your group. After you all have had time to eat, she reaches into her pack and unrolls a map on the table. She leans over the table and points out locations as she speaks.
"Now, about the goblins. There are five major tribes near Sandpoint. The closest are the Birdcrunchers, cave dwellers living along the western edge of Devil's Platter (green X), though they are the least aggressive of the five. To the south are the Licktoad goblins of Brinestump Marsh (blue X). Those pests are excellent swimmers. East are the Seven Tooth tribe of Shank's Wood (yellow X). They've secured their place among the tribes by raiding Sandpoint's junkyard and making garbage into armor and weapons. Further east are the Mosswoods (orange X), the largest tribe but held back by feuding within their own ranks. And finally are the Thistletop goblins, who live on the Nettlewood coast on a small island that kinda looks like a decapitated head (red X)."
After she has went over her map and it's markings, she sits down and leans back in her chair before continuing. "There are few goblins worth noting, as they generally live short, violent lives. But when one lives long enough to earn any notoriety, you can trust me that it is well earned. Currently there are five goblins that they look up to as 'heroes.' First there is Big Gugmut from the Mosswood tribe. He is tall and strong for a goblin, and they claim he had a hobgoblin mother and a boar for a father. Koruvus was a hero of the Seven Tooth tribe, well known for his magic longsword sized for a human, but he vanished several months ago. The Seven Tooth goblins are convinced he is still alive somewhere. Vorka is a notorious goblin cannibal who lives in the Brinestump marsh. Ripnugget is the current chief of the Thistletop goblins and controls what all five tribes agree to be the best lair."
She then sits up and says, with a serious tone, "And then there is Bruthazmus, an infamous bugbear ranger who lives in the northern Nettlewood and often visits the five tribes to trade. He has a particular hatred for elves, and he and I have fought on several occasions. So far, neither of us have managed to get the upper hand, but I swore I wont be the first to fall."
After her rant about Bruthazmus, she sits back again and says, "Aside from that, all I have to offer are some basic facts I've learned about goblins. They hate horses and dogs. They plunder junkyards in search of anything they can turn into a weapon. They love to sing, but trust me, if you understand their language you will learn just how crazy these things are by their songs. They are excellent at hiding. They could eat all day and never get full. They are pyromaniacs. Thanks to their big heads they tend to get stuck easy, even in their own warrens. Oh, and they think that writing steals words out of their head and that you can't get them back."
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Kala listens closely to Shalelu's description of each of the goblin tribes, noting that the closest tribe of goblins has no 'hero'. "I would say that if we intend to attack the goblins, the most prudent course of action would be to focus on the tribes closest to Sandpoint first." Kala thinks a short while longer, considering strategies. "Specifically we should attack the Birdcrunchers, they are the closest and have no so-called 'hero' to help them. If that goes well we can turn our attention to the Seven Tooth tribe. Hopefully, driving out the two nearest tribes will cause a mass exodus of goblins from the region, but we can root each of the tribes out individually if required. In any case, before we can attack we need to do reconnaissance on our target, walking into fight blind is deadly."
Eugeni shares his past with Shalelu, surprised that they hadn't met before. Seems like she could be his foster mother Murial's sister. He listens to her explanation of Sandpoint's surroundings, and aside from the names of the goblin heroes, learned basically no new information. "So what's your plan?" Eugeni asks the beautiful elven woman after she finishes her explanation. He stares at her a little, since she doesn't seem to mind, enjoying her figure. She sure is pretty. Bet she's good with that bow too, AND she's a hunter. Hotttttt.
"My knowledge of regions and locales are pretty worthless, I'll wager. You guys line up where you want us to head. Me and Crichton will come along, of course! I do think we should see what measures can be taken to secure the homestead from further threats while we're out scrubbing the landscape free of a few green stains. Ten guards isn't much to work with, I'm afraid. Might be it's time to place the militia on high alert, at least while we're out heroing our way through the Varisian planes. Or swamps. Or mountains. Whatever it is Varisia has."
Shalelu responds, "Keep in mind, though, that the Sheriff thinks..." she looks to make sure nobody is in earshot, then continues, "...thinks that whoever organized this is a member of the community! and likely part of the militia. Arming the militia could tip them off."
Xamarath shrugs. "The goblins have been..." Stealing a quick glance Zoli's way, he considers more carefully what he speaks. "They have been preying upon the village with impunity. Putting them down is easy enough after the fact, though it is providing no shortage of victims."
Smirking, the Thayvian says "Or we could have Shalelu investigate our would-be guardsfolk. One look into those gorgeous eyes would surely provoke confessions of the soul both dire and dastardly."
Crichton buries his head in an outstretched wing. "There ye have it, ye do! Come from stars afar to wander aimlessly lands most foreign, 'e has!"
Bobbing clumsily to and fro, head tilting at adorable angles, he continues, "Bred of finest wizardly stock, this one—spending 'is bluster an' power to bed all manner of localry. Your champion, ladies an' gents! Your champion!"
Huddled around the table with her new comrades, Zoli enthusiastically eats the White Deer's fresh buttered pastries and spiced sausages as they pour over the maps.
"Shalelu, this is all valuable information. Thank you. If you're going out to investigate, would it be good for us to come with you? Or perhaps to divide and conquer, with us going to investigate near some of the other warrens?”
Happily wiping some butter off her lips, she adds, ”Sheriff Hemlock asked us to be here to protect the town, but the Birdcrunchers are barely a mile out of town. We could head there and be back the same day.”
The elven girl starts to say something but is interrupted by Xamarath's compliment, which elicits another faint blush on her cheeks.
"With everything that's been going on, I have no choice but to go back out and keep an eye on things, and hopefully be able to warn the town this time if the goblins make another move," Shalelu says. "But for now, the Belor needs you to stay in town to help keep the people calm while he's away."
Just then, an older halfling woman steps into the door and scans the room, quickly spotting the group huddled over the map. She quietly steps inside and stands politely a short distance away, but it is clear she wants to speak to you all. She is obviously upset.
Waving her over, Zoli calls out, "Bethana? What's the matter?"
The woman walks over, a piece of parchment clutched tightly in her hand, and in a troubled voice, states, "I'm...I'm terribly sorry to interrupt yer meetin' an' all. But I'm just so worried about Miss Ameiko, an' the Sheriff's 'parently ran off to Magnimar, an' I dunno who else to tell about it. I figured since y'all been helpin' out 'round town, that perhaps y'all could look into it fer me."
"When I woke up this mornin', fer the first time I can recall, Miss Ameiko wasn't up 'n fixin' breakfast. 'N that got me worried, ya know? So I went an' knocked on 'er door, but she didn't answer! I wasn't sure what to do, so I peeked inside, an' saw that 'er room was empty, an' 'er bed hadn't been slept in all night! I found this 'ere note crumpled up next to the bed. It's from 'er brother Tsuto."
The woman hands the note to Zoli. "It's written in Tien, that's their native language, ya see. The Kaijitsu's that is. Not mine. But Miss Ameiko 'ad been teachin' me her language over the last few years so we could talk business in front o' the patrons, in case we needed to say somethin' that frankly wasn't there business. I translated it on the back," she says, pointing at the parchment.
I hope this letter finds you well, and with some free time on your hands, because we’ve got something of a problem. It’s to do with father.
Seems that he might have had something to do with Sandpoint’s recent troubles with the goblins, and I didn’t want to bring the matter to the
authorities because we both know he’d just weasel his way out of it. You’ve got some pull here in town, though. If you can meet me at the Glassworks at midnight tonight, maybe we can figure out how to make sure he faces the punishment he deserves. Knock twice and then three times more and then once more at the delivery entrance and I’ll let you in.
In any case, I don’t have to impress upon you the delicate nature of this request. If news got out, you know these local rubes would assume
that you and I were in on the whole thing too, don’t you? They’ve got no honor at all around these parts. I still don’t understand how you can
stand to stay here.
Anyway, don’t tell anyone about this. There are other complications as well, ones I’d rather talk to you in person about tonight.
Don’t be late.
Tsuto"
As you read over the note, Bethana continues, "Tsuto hasn't been out 'n about much, he 'n 'is paw don't get along well. Ya see, when the lad was born twenty one years ago, it was a bit o' a scandal since he's a half-elf 'n all. 'N neither ol' man Lonjiku or 'is wife are elves, ya see? The ol' man's rage at the scandal was the talk o' the town fer months! Mrs. Kaijitsu ne'er said who the boy's paw really was, 'n it jus' goes to show ya how stubborn the ol' man is that he stayed with her. Anyway, he sent the boy to the Turandarok Academy as a young lad, and he forbid his maw to visit 'im. Miss Ameiko snuck a visit in a few times a month to keep 'im comp'ny. But six years ago they 'ad a terrible fight, 'n he even slapped Miss Ameiko, 'e did! Miss Ameiko ne'er told me what they fought about, but whate'er it was was what sent her out adventuring for a year! When she came back for her maw's funeral, Tsuto 'n the ol' man 'ad a fight, right there in the boneyard! Tsuto claimed that the ol' man pushed his maw off the cliff, 'n the ol' man nearly broke Tsuto's jaw with 'is cane, 'e did! That's when Tsuto cursed the ol' man and left Sandpoint. This is the first I 'ad 'eard he was back!"
She wrings her hands in her apron, and says frantically, "Please, with the Sheriff out o' town, your the only ones I figure can really 'andle this. The guards ain't gonna look into it, they done told me. Some nonsense about, 'Bein' gone for less than a day,'" she says, puffing up her chest in an obvious impersonation of whoever she spoke to at the Garrison.
Zoli puts her arm around the harried woman's shoulder. "It'll be OK Bethana. We'll see what we can do."
Pausing, she asks, "Do you know anything about her father's whereabouts?"
Bethana shakes her head. "The ol' man is awful private, 'e is. But 'e 'as a manor just south o' town, like all 'em other noble families."
that the Glassworks was once a smuggling operation persisted in the town’s hidden lore.
"OK, thank you Bethana. You did the right thing. For now, it's probably best not to tell anyone else about this...but if you hear anything else from or about Ameiko or Tsuto please let us know ASAP."
Eugeni grins, "Finally, something we can do! C'mon guys, what are you waiting for? Let's go find Ameiko." Eugeni nods to Shalelu, "Good luck m'am, see you when you get back." He stands from the table and grabs his gear, walking to the door of the White Deer and waiting for the others there.
Morythine’s quite ready to abandon Sandpoint and go a-goblin-huntin’, but does his best to sequester his disappointment when Shalelu shoots down Kala’s idea.
Happy to lead the five of us in the genocide of two entire goblin tribes, with designs on a further three, and all those weapons …
What a woman.
Shalelu’s queries on his reasons for being in Sandpoint intrude on Morythine’s musings on the calibre of Kala Steelheart. His responses are the same hazy answers he’s given whenever the question’s been asked, his vague tongue belying a man who has history which might come looking for him.
The arrival of Bethana is a welcome one. Though Morythine’s barely shared a word with Ameiko – certainly not enough to give a hoot about her or her brother – the dhampir finds himself in complete agreement with Eugeni.
At last, something to do.
“I’m with you,” he says, straightening his tricorn and following his furry friend towards the door, "I think I overheard someone saying the Glassworks was the business of the old man.
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Kala thinks over this new development, considering tactical options. "I suppose the more prudent course for the time being is to help Ms. Kaijutsu," she says. "We can deal with the goblins afterward, or perhaps when Sheriff Hemlock returns."
"Best to be ready for anything, grab what you need and let's go."
"Away we shall, then. Attaching my eyes to Ameiko has become a favorite pastime of mine, after all."
Offering a polite bow to Shalelu Xamarath rises himself to follow Eugeni out the door. As he walks, he casually remarks, "You know, I've heard of all manner of familiars that lack the capacity for annoying quips or speech in general. Starting to think long and hard about those."