With a slicing gesture, Priyya cancels the Daylight spell, engulfing the area in darkness again, save for the unnatural, eldritch glow that clings to her. She walks slowly to the inn, seemingly deep in thought.
As Suny looks on at the stable hands, the singer from last night wanders by. When he sees her he scowls and shouts out to them, "Hey, just a warning guys, don't lay the blond. My junk's been burning like a g&@-d%@med bonfire since I woke up this morning!"
With that he glares at Suny before heading off to where-ever he lives.
Eyes growing wide, the stable-hands recoil in disgust and finish their work with all due haste before departing in the opposite direction.
(_o)
Suny actually stares, open mouthed and obviously in shock at the Bards shouted words.
Then, with an ascending shriek, accelerates after said Bard.
When she catches up to the bard, he looks at her ruefully and points toward the other direction, "Get the hell away from me, I don't even want to sleep in the same town as you!"
He keeps on walking, pausing only to scratch.
"I'll teach ye t' be makin' claims about me self whut aint TRUE!" Suny yells as she lays into the Bard.
"Oh that tears it!" he growls.
Slipping a pair of brass knuckles on each hand he swings for her face.
Feinting with his right, the bard's left catches her full in the face with a loud *CRACK* from her nose and knocking her out.
A moment later, Billy and Tom come running up and look on at the scene outside the mayor's house in astonishment. "What's the meaning of this, sir?" Billy asks hesitantly.
"B&&!& gave me crabs and when I called her on it and told her to leave me alone, she followed me back here and jumped me!"
Frowning deeply, Tom says, "I hate to do it Stephan, but I'm gonna need you to come stay with us for the night so's we can get this worked out in the morning."
Rolling his eyes, the bard says, "Fine, whatever..." and goes marching back towards the crowded jailhouse with Billy.
With a grunt, Tom hoists Suny up on his shoulder and locks her up for the night too after setting her broken nose.
The rest of the night passes uneventfully and at the crack of dawn, you and your companions are awakened by knocking on the door to your rooms. As you groggily crack the door to see who it is, you see the innkeep, Trevlar and his daughter, the barmaid Asina standing there.
"Sorry if we woke you folks up too early. I know ya'll had a late night but Mayor Uptal sent word. He was wantin' to meet you for breakfast. He's gone an reserved the back room and is waiting on you. Asina and I are gonna head down now to start cookin' you some breakfast an we should have eggs, bacon, and flap-jacks ready before too long."
Just as he's about to go, Trevlar looks you right in the eye and says, "Thanks for what ya done yesterday. That lot you captured raped a girl who was Asina's best friend from the time they was kids. You folks are alright by me so don't worry about needin' to pay for your lodgin's or nothin' while ya'll are here..."
With that Trevlar heads downstairs as Asina silently mouths the words, "Thank you," before following her father.
When all of you get downstairs, you notice that Suny is not among your number. "I guess someone is sleeping in this morning." Alexis notes bitterly, "Gods only know with who..."
Overhearing the young mage's comment, Mayor Uptal turns around his face a mix of emotions. "Ah, welcome my friends! Please, seat yourselves."
He paces for a bit before finally heeding his own advice and having a seat. "First off, let me say that all of Kassen is very grateful for the service you have done in bringing those bandits in. I sent a runner to the house of the town treasurer as soon as the constable knocked on my door to have your reward money put together."
"Second, if you are wondering why your elven friend isn't here right now..." The mayor grinds his teeth for a moment and strokes his beard nervously. "Well, she and my step son saw fit to get into a knock-down drag-out fight in the streets after the rest of you headed off to bed. Now I'm not upset with any of you, don't get me wrong. However, I'm going to let both of them cool-off in the town jail for the next few days."
"Now the way Stephan tells it, your Suny went and jumped him from behind after they exchanged some... heated words. Still, that's no excuse for breakin' a girl's nose like he did. Kassen is no lawless town so like I said, they'll both be getting a time-out. I hope you understand."
"As for the last thing I needed to mention, well..."
At that point, Trevlar and Asina enter bearing several platters of breakfast food for you all to enjoy as well as juice and hot tea.
Sighing deeply, Jonah hangs his head and accepts a glass of juice with shaking hands, "...well, I'll get to the last thing in a minute or so. Let's eat while everything's nice and hot."
The mayor bows his head as Priyya says the meal-time blessing and you all dig-in.
Felmor is quiet and withdrawn all the way home, anybody with a clue soon figures out he feels guilty about not protecting Suny better. Still when she is save by Alexis, he does start getting over his funk.
To Priyya, "I agree wit' ye 'bout doin' justice out 'ere ta th' orc" He spits at the thought. "When yer out at sea, ain't no prison house ye kin take 'em to. Walk th' plank, I says". He will go along with Alis on this though, without much enthusiasm for it.
To Morgaard, "Ye gots th' toughest job in th' world, keeping Lady Alis, n' her sister safe"
In the early pre-dawn gloom, Priyya had already spent a delightful hour relaxing in a steaming and scented bath in the high-walled claw-foot tub; her long, ebony hair draped over the side of the tub like a pennant. The bath considerably improved her mood after yesterday, though the situation still rankled her a bit. If she were not Alis' guest and had not committed to pursuing this dungeon crawl, she very likely would have packed her bag last night and left. She was torn between her obligations as a guest and friend versus her more militant duties as Surya-ka-Vahaak. She sighs, trying to wash away the conflict, This, Priyya-girl, is why you have so few friends.
Afterwards, she greets the dawn, trying to find inner peace and debating whether to pray for slightly different spells today.
She is dressed and ready, when the innkeep knocks on her door...
"Well, she and my step son saw fit to get into a knock-down drag-out fight in the streets after the rest of you headed off to bed. Now I'm not upset with any of you, don't get me wrong. However, I'm going to let both of them cool-off in the town jail for the next few days."
"Now the way Stephan tells it, your Suny went and jumped him from behind after they exchanged some... heated words. Still, that's no excuse for breakin' a girl's nose like he did. Kassen is no lawless town so like I said, they'll both be getting a time-out. I hope you understand."
"Mayor Uptal, you have mentioned a fight and at least one broken nose. Is healing required for either party in the fight or in town? While I certainly don't control the behavior of my traveling companion, I am embarrassed about how this may reflect on the rest of us."
Felmor turns an ugly shade of red, on hearing the news of Suny's injury. "So if'n I understand it, he broke her nose because she wus defendin' 'er honor? Sorry, mayor, I may be jes a dumb sailor, but I ain't no fool. if'n he decided to be free wit' in his affection, then he suffers the consequences."
He glares at the mayor, "I'd advise ye ta keep 'im as far away from me as possible, sir."
Priyya places a hand firmly on Felmor's arm and holds it. "Felmor. It seems there have been a lot of o'er hasty actions taken - perhaps on both sides. Until we know all of the particulars, don't start looking for enemies. The Mayor is taking a prudent course - holding both parties until tempers cool and we can sort out exactly what happened. Please don't make the situation worse." She keeps her hand resting on his arm.
As the light in the cell brightens with the new days light entering in through the bared windows, Sun does little more than curl up into a ball. Her world now naught but an experience of pain.
Felmor at first tenses at Priyya's touch, but then her body warmth relaxes, "Aye, I will let ye handle this, i is jes a sailor."
Priyya looks at him earnestly, warmly, "No, you are not just a sailor, Felmor. You are an honest man and your heart is in the right place. We just don't know enough to assign blame or judgment - aside from saying that brawling in town was a poor decision by both parties."
"Mayor Uptal, you have mentioned a fight and at least one broken nose. Is healing required for either party in the fight or in town? While I certainly don't control the behavior of my traveling companion, I am embarrassed about how this may reflect on the rest of us."
"Tom went and set the break, but if you want to see if she needs healing then that's just fine."
"So if'n I understand it, he broke her nose because she wus defendin' 'er honor? Sorry, mayor, I may be jes a dumb sailor, but I ain't no fool. if'n he decided to be free wit' in his affection, then he suffers the consequences."
"Felmor. It seems there have been a lot of o'er hasty actions taken - perhaps on both sides. Until we know all of the particulars, don't start looking for enemies. The Mayor is taking a prudent course - holding both parties until tempers cool and we can sort out exactly what happened. Please don't make the situation worse. ... We just don't know enough to assign blame or judgment - aside from saying that brawling in town was a poor decision by both parties."
The mayor sighs, "I have no idea if she was defending her honor or not. When I grilled Stephan for why she would have jumped him he suddenly clammed up and wouldn't say any more. As your friend, Priyya, says, none of us know all the particulars. For now though, they can both sit still, cool off, and take the time to reflect on how they conduct themselves in public."
Priyya nods very politely to the Mayor, "I think my breakfast can wait, Mayor, if now would be a convenient time for me to go and tend their wounds and perhaps hear both sides of this story... You can all continue to enjoy your breakfast with the Mayor. I can see myself over there. With your leave, of course, Mayor."
"Oh of course, of course..."
Picking up something in the Mayor's mood as she is about to leave, "Mayor? Would you prefer me to stay for a moment?" She's not sure if his reaction involves not being able to speak with her as well as the rest of the party.
Felmor watches her go silently and with a thoughtful expression on his face. when he sees her return, he averts his gaze, not wanting to show his interest.
He looks over at the mayor, and says, "Is there somethin' on ye mind, sir?"
Ach, did she see me? I hope not, but she is hard ta keep my eyes off of. Aye, tis a pity she 'taint interested, she has many things ta offer.
"Mayor? Would you prefer me to stay for a moment?"
"Is there somethin' on ye mind, sir?"
"Aye, I would prefer if you stayed just a moment. And yes, there is something on my mind..." Turning pale and shaking a little, the mayor begins, I wasn't entirely sure of who Miss Wardove was until after you had all left yesterday, but when I overheard the name of her twin sister mentioned, it finally clicked and I found my myself pulling my hair until this morning when I learned you had returned safely..."
He bites his knuckle and stands up, pacing back and forth, "You see, I wasn't being entirely honest with folks when I posted the bulletin about us holding the Dungeoncrawl Challenge. You see, normally we only hold that in the Autumn, and even then it's sort of a solemn coming-of-age ceremony for the youths in town. We've never sent folks out there in the summer, but there's been... a situation that I was hoping I could have handled discretely..."
Mayor Jonah takes takes a long gulp from his glass of water before wiping his beard dry on the upper sleeve of his embroidered tunic.
"Tell me, you all didn't see any traces of a young girl with the bandits, did you?"
Felmor is a might slow in shifting his gaze away. Either that or Priyya, with preternatural feminine senses, instantly perceives his intent and focus. She pretends not to notice to prevent embarrassing him. Oh, boy. What to do now?
Then she hears the Mayor's words and her focus shifts to the thought of a missing and abused girl. Her focus is like a blade. She begins to glow fiercely, the planes of her face outlined with eldritch light.
She sits back down, her gaze never leaving the Mayor. All thoughts of Suny or Felmor, for the moment, forgotten.
"No we saw no sign of a girl, or we would have brought her back with us. Mayor, I think it is time for you to be candid with us."
When Alexis and Alis shrug their shoulders and shake their heads, and Priyya responds, the mayor rubs his brow with the back of his thumb and explains. "About 15 years ago, I had an affair with a woman here in town who had lost her husband some years before. Well, as the fates would have it, nine months later, she gave birth to a baby girl but died during childbirth."
"I felt terrible about what I'd done but couldn't risk my wife finding out about it and so I secretly ensured that the town's orphanage was always well provided for and often looked in on the girl... on Dimira."
"As is the case with all secrets, eventually someone found out and that someone was my step-son, Stephan. The boy was damn near inconsoleable and while he kept his mouth shut for love of his mother, gods rest her soul, there was never any controlling him after that. Once Marion, my wife, passed on three years ago, he basically gave up on trying to make anything of himself and just plays in the tavern enterprising upon young women who find him attractive."
"Well, it just so happens that about a month ago he got his comeupance and was played by a woman he took to bed. Given the altercation between your friend and him, I can only assume that your Suny was the first he'd slept with since — a long time for him."
Waving his hand as if to dismiss an unpleasant topic, he takes another gulp of water and continues, "Well, the wench prior actually managed to out-drink him and in addition to all his valuables, got a number of secrets out of him, not the least of which was that the man who was now the town's mayor had an illegitimate daughter who tended crops in the fields just south-west of town. Turns out the woman was the lover of the half-orc now secure in our jail thanks to all of you."
"Two weeks ago, Dimira went missing and a ransome note was shot thru the windows of my home demanding more money than a small town like this could ever hope to raise. If the demands weren't met within two-weeks time, not only would they let the men have their way with her, but they were going to spread the news to all of Kassen."
At long last, Jonah sits down heavily in his chair. "Now I won't claim to be a good man or to have always made the best choices. I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to Dimira, but not unless I handed over the whole town could I have met their ransom. I thought that if I posted a bulletin in Cassomir maybe adventurers would come who could take care of both the bandits and rescue Dimira at the same time. I never imagined I'd be placing two princesses in the path of such danger."
He hesitates for a moment as if considering hiding something but a sudden shudder shakes him and he says, "And before you ask, no: you're not the first group who has come. There were two others before you — you're the first to return..."
Mayor Uptal sits gazing up at you with weary eyes, holding his head in his hands and looking up as if for either judgment or salvation.
Priyya looks at each of her compatriots at the table. This was clearly more than any of them had signed up for. "Ladies and gentlemen, shall we rescue a damsel in distress? I will preface that by saying - with our without you - I will be making the attempt. But I am Surya-ka-Vahaak, I cannot do otherwise."
Felmor knows all to well, when sailing, you don't always get to pick the direction you sail, it all depends on the wind. "I woulna be a gentleman, if'n I let her be ravished by them thugs. Count me in. Not that i'm a gentleman, I'm a sailor, mind ye."
Without a moment's hesitation Alis hops up, a resolute look in her indigo eyes. She speaks with an authority in her voice that you've not heard before, "Whether high-born or not, the gods entrust those in power with power to watch over and defend those they rule. I don't give one whit if this isn't Kyonin or Taldor. We're here now and we're going to do something about this. Right sis?"
A thoughtful look crosses Alexis' face as she gazes up at her sister and then at the mayor. "While Kassen swears fealty to no crown that I know of, in spite of his own incompetence and indiscretion, the duly elected official of this town has undeniably requested the aid of one. We would be remiss in our duty if we did not assist."
"Ye gots th' toughest job in th' world, keeping Lady Alis, n' her sister safe"
Recalling Felmor's words, Morgaard merely takes a deep breath and gives a grudging grin of approval at his girls' determination. Aye, the lad has no idea...
Sighing in relief, the mayor says, "In addition to returning your highness' coin, I do have some items stashed away from when I was younger and more able-bodied that you might find useful. Lord knows Stephan didn't feel the need to make use of them..."
Priyya gratefully accepts a masterwork scimitar.
Felmor will take a Masterwork dagger.
Alis accepts a masterwork light mace.
With a sudden twitch of her forearm, a concealed silver dagger springs into Alexis' left hand. Placing it down on the table, she picks up a masterwork version of the same and secures it in the spring-loaded sheath.
Meanwhile, Morgaard finds himself torn between a sturdy composite longbow with a satisfyingly heavy draw weight or a hefty great axe that the mayor has in his stash.
Leaving the rest of the party to gain any additional information as needed, Priyya heads over to the jail to visit Suny and the troubadour to heal them and find out what the hell happened.
She talks her way past the guards and ends up greeting Suny through the bars of her cell.
She says in voice the brooks no resistence, "Come HERE, girl. Let me take a look at you. Now, what in the Gods' names happened last night. I want to hear ALL of it."
As for her injury, it looks like she was crunched in the face by something hard, about 3/4" in height, and about 4" wide. Judging by the amount of dried blood on her front, Suny's nose was clearly broken. It does however seem that Tom has more than passing experience in how to set a broken nose properly. Judging by the severity of the hit, you're pretty sure that if you hadn't healed her as you did after the ambush that you'd be presiding at her funeral right now.
Seeing all this, and examining the dried blood on the brass knuckles, Priyya is furious. She glows so brightly even the guards would notice it.
Suny comes to the bars and Priyya touches her...
She examines how much she has healed her debating another round of curative energy to the Elf girl against the need to save her powers for the rescue attempt. She wanders over to the troubadour's and sees that he is scratched at best. She returns to Suny and channels energy
"There! You should have no more pain and normal healing will do for you now." Her healing duties done... she waits for Suny to speak up.
After getting Suny's version of the events, Priyya stalks over to the Troubadour's cell. Glowing brightly, and looking like she would just as soon be watching a cockroach, she addresses him, "Get off your ass and explain yourself, boy. And DON'T waste my time." She smiles ferally and shows him his blood-crusted brass knuckles. "Or don't you have the stomach to deal with a woman without these."
Stephan scoffs and looks at you incredulously, "An unarmed woman? No, I wouldn't need anything of the sort. But crab-cakes over there slugged me from behind and all of you were armed with swords, crossbows and worse when any fool could see that I carried nothing of the sort." For emphasis, he points to the pile containing Suny's weapons and armor and you indeed see nothing that isn't hers other than his gold pouch, an eating knife, and the knucks in your hand.
"I already told her twice to leave me the hell alone! She's the one who got pissed off and followed me when I warned the stable-hands to keep clear of her. Or would you prefer that she just sleeps with the whole damn town without anyone knowing what they were getting into anymore than I did? Shit I really didn't even want to really sleep with her, but she just seemed so desperate. I was hoping she'd introduce me to the curvy half-elves with you. So much for trying to prime that well..."
"I told you to STAND UP, boy. I'm not your father who has to tolerate your baby tantrums. Judging by the minor scrapes on you, she DIDN'T draw a weapon and YOU did. Correct? So you DID attack an unarmed woman... Stop mincing words, you soft-skinned dandy. What are you accusing her of?"
Turning a bright shade of red, the bard hops to his feet. "Do you need me to spell it out for you?" He hisses, "I hadn't slept with anyone in the past month. Then last night, I lay your friend and this morning my loins are itching and burning. As for her being unarmed, well maybe I'd have been able to see that if I had eyes in the back of my head, huh? I felt something thump me from behind and just wheeled about. You look like someone who's been in a few fights, would you stand for someone striking you from behind? Someone who was capable enough to help catch a group of bandits that have been plaguing us?"
Priyya looks at him for a long moment, gauging him. "Alright. I can see why you'd be mad and why you'd fight back." She drops her voice lower, shows him the knucks, and says with menace, "But using these on someone when you turned around and saw they were unarmed is inexcusable. You escalated a brawl into a matter of blood. She would have been within her rights to pull a blade and try to kill you as well. If your first blow hadn't dropped her - she probably would have drawn a weapon and she KNOWS how to handle a blade. You both may have ended up dead. For what? A mildly inconvenient ailment?" She shakes her head, "I'll determine if she has this ailment. If so, I will explain things to your father. Your punishments will be up to him."
Priyya walks over to Suny. If there are any guards in sight, she will tell them to clear the room. She has to examine the girl. With clinical efficiency, she does so.
Finishing her perusal, she looks at Suny, "The troubadour wasn't lying. You do have a parasite that is spread through sexual congress. You probably should have talked to me before attacking him - to determine if he was lying. The good news is that it can be cured, but you'll want to refrain from being intimate for awhile. I have to go speak with the Mayor now. Be patient."
Priyya leaves without another word.
"You escalated a brawl into a matter of blood. She would have been within her rights to pull a blade and try to kill you as well. If your first blow hadn't dropped her - she probably would have drawn a weapon and she KNOWS how to handle a blade. You both may have ended up dead. For what? A mildly inconvenient ailment?"
Stephan pales as if Priyya's words had never even entered into his train of thought. Casting a sidelong glance in Suny's direction, he turns away when she goes to examine Suny. "Sorry, I slugged you so hard," he says grudgingly. "I was just trying to knock you out before things could get any crazier. I didn't mean to break your nose..."
He watches the cleric go with little relief. Jonah's just gonna love this...
With absolutely NO pleasure Priyya returns to the group. "Mayor, I have, I think, finally determined exactly what happened. It is unpleasant. Could we speak privately for just a moment?"
She takes the Mayor aside and gives him a clinical recounting of the exact facts. She leaves nothing out, including the use of brass knuckles on an unarmed opponent. She will say, on the Troubadour's behalf that she feels he genuinely did not realise how using the weapons was a serious escalation and that he seemed sober when she pointed out he could have been justifiably killed for having done so. The rest of the matter she leaves to the Mayor's good judgment on what are appropriate 'punishments' for the 'children'.
She leaves him to his thoughts and returns to the group. "So, are we ready to find this missing girl?"
Felmor senses something wrong wih Priyya, but does not press the issue. Aye, she is th' warrior o' light. The thought saddens him for some reason."Aye, no use in wavin' our paddles in th' air, let's hoist anchors."
The twins look at Morgaard who nods in acknowledgment. "Right then," says Alis, "let's go get her!"
Outside the mayor's house, the Schufer boys meet you with a half-dozen horses. Pete says, "Pa got a message from Uptal that ya'll was gonna be needin' some horses an fast ones, so we figured we'd jus' meet ya here."
Jim's voice cracks a bit as he speaks up, "Should be plenty o' feed in them saddlebag too. Take good care o' them!"
The boys hand you the reigns and Morgaard secures the reigns for the extra horse to the horn on his saddle before clicking his tongue to coax them onward. With that, the five of you ride forth from Kassen to do what needs to be done...