For perhaps the twentieth time, Ilya runs a finger through the stiff, embroidered collar of his new robe. He tugs it down, sighing as the pressure on his throat immediately returns.
Turning to Ekan, he says, "You have greater foresight than I, it seems." He watches enviously as Ekan moves easily in his free-flowing outfit. "I should have chosen something a bit less... starched."
"I think I will sit towards the side, there," Ilya points towards the eastern wing of the theatre. "The acoustics may be a little shaky, but I should have a good view of everything."
Ekan glances down at the outfit he is wearing, it is indeed suited to movement, but the materials are far finer than he's used to. "Thank you,Ilya. I'm oddly worried I'll get it dirty, but I suppose in the end it is just a thing. And I agree, a place to view the crowds for any trouble is what I'll be seeking out as well."
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"Not to worry, Eostre," says Nicat, oblivious to the many theatre-goers turning to stare at him and hush him into silence as they anticipate the lifting of the curtain, "it's only when you're trying to talk to Ilya that you're really, really entertaining. You remind me of those two guys in the story, the tall one and the fat one, who confuse each other talking about a roll-ball player named First, but who also goes first...or maybe his team's in first? Anyway, that's what you remind me of."
Ilya allows himself to become distracted by all the glitz around him. The patrons in their glittering outfits, and the theatre lit by candelabra. Nicat's words call back his attention, though.
Who? What...? I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know that story...
The sounds of many conversations, footsteps and shifting chairs filled the air with a chaotic melody, but the crowd meant very little to Fulko as he easily found gaps and pushed past the living walls between them and their seats, his large form was decorated by the new clothes they've just acquired; his white shirt mostly covered by his armor and a jacket with furs at the hems, black leather gloves on his hands and new grey colored boots.
"Not long before we reach the front, so any change of plans better be made now" He said the man he was guarding tonight.
Sylvia peers about, looking for open chairs, "You don't think that the front row will be filled up by now? If not, I would love a front row seat!"
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"Not to worry, Eostre," says Nicat, oblivious to the many theatre-goers turning to stare at him and hush him into silence as they anticipate the lifting of the curtain, "it's only when you're trying to talk to Ilya that you're really, really entertaining. You remind me of those two guys in the story, the tall one and the fat one, who confuse each other talking about a roll-ball player named First, but who also goes first...or maybe his team's in first? Anyway, that's what you remind me of."Ilya allows himself to become distracted by all the glitz around him. The patrons in their glittering outfits, and the theatre lit by candelabra. Nicat's words call back his attention, though.
Who? What...? I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know that story...
"It's an old jester routine, popularly called the Abbot and the Costermonger."
Eostre sighs a bit.
"I can't believe I got roped into this. I should be looking for hirelings and supplies for my dig, not sitting here watching a play. The new clothes are wonderful, don't get me wrong, and getting things for free's generally a good thing, but I can't help but feel like I'm wasting my time."
Ekan looks for a place to get a good view of not just the stage, but the audience and once there, begins to scan about. While he's sure the play will be amazing, he's on duty, or at least that's how he sees it.
Aldern's face lights up when Sylvia mentions wanting a front row seat. Without another word, he finds a good spot for the performance in the front row and sits down, with Fulko & Sylvia in tow.
Soon enough, the curtain rises, and the play begins.
While the play is going on, Ekan takes note of the theatregoers. They're mostly well-to-do, ranging from local farmers to some of Sandpoint's nobility--in fact, he recognizes Titus Scarnetti sitting in the back of the theatre, dressed appropriately for an evening of drama. He gives harsh glares to any chatty patrons he hears.
Aldern's attention is more on Sylvia than the play, as much as he tries to hide it. Even when the final curtain falls and everyone gives their ovations, he's still eying her.
Eostre yawns as the play goes on. She sinks further into her seat.
Once the play is finished, the crowds in the theatre start to disperse. Aldern stands up from his seat again, rubbing his lower back.
"Well, that play was quite impressive!" He stretches, trying to get feeling back into his backside. "A shame it went on for so long though..." He mutters as he starts back up the aisle, pausing for Sylvia & Fulko.
Eostre has since dozed off.
Fulko ran his fingers through his stubble "I've seen some plays before, but nothing like this" Commented the warrior as he got up from his seat "The one who played the harpy queen was quite the looker" Fulko walked forward and looked about himself to make sure that no one suspicious was about them Hmmmm I could grow to like this, guarding noblemen, going to plays, bah...I'll probably stick to it for a week before I get the itch to travel again Thought the muscled man as he walked forward making sure to pick an easy path amongst the crowd for Aldern and Sylvia.
"I thought the play was lovely. I admit I was a little confused in the middle, but it all came together so wonderfully at the end. It was quite pleasant!"
Sylvia grins at Fulko, "I'm surprised you even noticed her. I don't think I saw you looking at the stage once! Always scanning everyone around us." She laughs lightly and wraps her arm around Aldern's as they head outside, "Thank you for the lovely time, Lord Foxglove. I truly enjoyed myself. And I'm sure my companions did, as well. But it turns late, and I should retire for the night. Good night, m'Lord."
"The crowd seemed well behaved, though perhaps not enough for Lord Titus Scarnetti's liking," If pressed, he explains the man's glares to chatty folks
Ilya rejoins the group. "I've never seen a play which concludes before the exposition... Why did they start with the third act?"
Sylvia blinks at Ilya's question, "Oh, did they? I guess that would explain why the beginning was so confusing, then!"
Eostre is starting to snore.
From the looks of things, the theatregoers aren't paying you much attention.
If anything, they're mostly glaring at the snoring form of Eostre. She IS snoring rather loudly...
As everyone says their farewells and retires to their lodgings for the night, Aldern takes one final longing glance at Sylvia before he reluctantly parts ways with her.
"I had a wonderful night, Miss Jahlyn..." He says to himself as he leaves.
Nicat chuckles as Aldern walks away, then nudges Sylvia, "Not even a goodnight kiss for the poor fellow?! He sure likes you! Why, he took all of us out to the thee-aye-ter just to get to sit next to you! Even bought us all clothes!" He pauses a moment, then adds, "Fellow's got more money than sense, it seems. I hope he enjoyed the show, at least."
Syliva just smiles, "I am sure he has more sense than you give him credit for. But I did want to see the show, and am glad I got a chance to do so."
"Maybe next time he won't be fawning over me so much. It does put one in a delicate balance..." she adds as an afterthought. "If you excuse me, though, I must get this gorgeous dress put away before it gets torn or stained. Shelyn weep if that were to happen!"
She then hurries upstairs to put away the blue sequined gown. After changing and taking a bath, she sits down in her room and paints a picture of her new friends enjoying the theater, taking delicate care in each stroke and angle.
The painting comes out nicely... in fact, you're certain it's worthy of Shelyn's attention.
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The morning comes without incident, save for someone knocking on each of your doors.
"Up and at 'em, guys! The Sheriff's here to speak with ya!" Ameiko's voice comes through the doors to your rooms.
That night, Ekan went to bed, put away his fine clothes, and unwound by practicing the motions he'd been taught by his betters. Eventually, he drifted to sleep.
But on the morning...
The morning comes without incident, save for someone knocking on each of your doors.
"Up and at 'em, guys! The Sheriff's here to speak with ya!" Ameiko's voice comes through the doors to your rooms.
"I'll be ready shortly,"
He rises instantly and dresses in practical garb once moreSoon enough, he finds himself heading down stairs to see the sheriff
Nicat springs out of bed, clad only in his smallclothes, which are very small indeed. He throws on his silver-filigreed black velvet jacket - and nothing more - and steps into the hall, saying "A deputy's duty calls! I stand ready at all hours, heading off to fight evil, protect the town, keep the populace safe from...pants, I need pants!"
He darts back inside, and returns a few moments later in his everyday street clothes, dagger and sword hanging from his belt, muttering, "Tea, I need tea..."
"If you excuse me, though, I must get this gorgeous dress put away before it gets torn or stained. Shelyn weep if that were to happen!"
"I think a good tearing would be the only thing to salvage this one!" Ilya says as he pulls at the collar again. "I need to remove this before it strangles me."
The morning comes without incident, save for someone knocking on each of your doors.
"Up and at 'em, guys! The Sheriff's here to speak with ya!" Ameiko's voice comes through the doors to your rooms.
Ilya comes downstairs rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Is there coffee...?"
Ripped from his sweet slumber by an annoying knock but far from annoying voice of Ameiko, Fulko sat up, his eyes half closed, but then Ameiko's words replayed themselves in his head The sheriff...more guards...goblin hunt! With that thought Fulko sprang from his bed and quickly went about wearing his cloths, equipping his armor and hanging each of his weapons in its proper place; at either his belt or the slings on his back.
Once he opened the door, he saw the fleeing form of Nicat...missing part of his clothes I wonder what happened to him A laugh threatened to escape the warrior's lips but he stifled it as he made his way down the stairs with Nicat not far behind "Wouldn't say no to some tea myself" Announced Fulko as he searched the floor with his eyes for the sherif.
As the party comes downstairs, they notice Sheriff Hemlock seated at the bar, one arm resting on the countertop. And he's not alone--the mayor, Kendra Deverin, is next to him, chatting away. Ameiko is busily serving up breakfast for some of the other patrons of the Rusty Dragon--some are having eggs, others having chicken and a mix of other things.
"Ah, there you are. I was hoping we could speak again before I left." Sheriff Hemlock waves the party over to the bar.
"Madame Mayor, Sheriff," Ekan greets them with a slight bow as he joins the two of them as requested, "I take it something is amiss?"
Nicat puffs up with pride as he sees they're to meet with not only the sheriff, but the mayor as well. "Good thing I wore pants," he says quietly to himself. Approaching the bar, he speaks up more clearly, "Good morning, Sheriff, Mayor, what can we help you with?"
Sylvia smiles a greeting to the pair before furrowing her brows in anticipation of bad news, "I hope there is no trouble. I mean no offense, but both of you coming here to see us before the sheriff leaves is... foreboding." She glances to Ilya to see if the diviner feels the same as she does.
"Oh, don't you worry, Miss Jahlyn. Nothing so serious as that." Sheriff Hemlock nods. "Mayor Deverin wished to meet the towns newest heroes."
Mayor Deverin rises from the bar and steps forward. "I would have come to see you before today, but I ended up getting swamped with work. People around town are quite on edge from the recent goblin attack, and keeping tempers from boiling over plays havoc with one's schedule."
After being roused and returning to the Dragon, Eostre sequestered herself in her room and began filling her journal with details about her first days in Sandpoint. She was pleased to finally have a chance to get all the information out, as she'd been so busy lately. She barely notices as the candle melts down and eventually gutters out, her darkvision taking over until she finally nods off. She snores loudly until Ameiko bangs on her door in the morning.
"DammitdammitDAMMIT!" Eostre curses as she rushes downstairs. It's evident from her rumpled fine clothing and the ink stain on her face that she hadn't so much gone to bed as fallen asleep at her desk.
She goes bone-white and then beet-red when she realizes the Mayor's come to speak with them.
"I am SO sorry, Madame Mayor! I had no idea we were receiving such an honor. Had I known I'd attempt to make myself a bit more presentable."
"I hope there is no trouble. I mean no offense, but both of you coming here to see us before the sheriff leaves is... foreboding." She glances to Ilya to see if the diviner feels the same as she does.
Ilya nods half-heartedly. "We're likely doomed." He takes the proffered cup of strong, black coffee Ameiko brings him and takes a long, slurping gulp. "Well... maybe it's not so dismal as all that."
At the mayor's words, Nicat's grin spreads so wide it threatens to circle clear around his head. Heroes! That's what we are! Heroic deputies! I could get used to this...
As if in a dream - and certainly suffering from a lack of caffeine, as Ameiko's kitchen staff let his tea steep a while - Nicat raises a hand before him as if to let the mayor kiss his ring. Fortune blesses him, however, as she does not look down soon enough to notice what he's doing, and the arrival of tea, coffee, and the beginnings of breakfast causes him to drop his hand and turn his attention to hot beverages.
He takes a couple of quick sips of tea, generously dosed with sugar, not quite burning his lips and bringing the light of reason into his eyes. "People's tempers are boiling over?" he asks. "Who's upset, and what about? Anything us deputies should look out for?"
"Some of the local families are unhappy with how my guards handled security at the festival." Sheriff Hemlock sighs. "It's nothing to worry about--we've heard their concerns, and they'll calm down soon enough."
At this point, Mayor Deverin looks over and sees Eostre running downstairs, disheveled and only now fully awake.
"I am SO sorry, Madame Mayor! I had no idea we were receiving such an honor. Had I known I'd attempt to make myself a bit more presentable."
"Oh, very well. I'll let it slide this time." She chuckles. "At any rate, I wanted to personally thank you all for keeping Sandpoint safe during the festival. Sheriff Hemlock has trusted you with keeping the town safe, and so I shall as well."
"That, and we were hoping you'd be able to meet our resident goblin expert today." The sheriff glances back at the doors of the Rusty Dragon.
Gulping down the last of the coffee, Ilya's mood dramatically improves. He turns towards the door of the inn, fairly excited to encounter another new face.
"Resident expert?" The monk raises a brow, curiously.
Eostre takes a kerchief from her belt and wipes the ink off her face, looking towards the doors with the others.
For just an instant, Nicat manages to believe the sheriff is referring to him as the 'resident goblin expert' - I did spend my childhood watching 'em down on Chopper's Isle, so I guess that does kind of make me an expert. I wonder why he waited so long to call me that, though... He glances up, about to ask this question to the Sheriff Hemlock, when he sees everyone is looking toward the back door of the Dragon.
Nicat's glance moves in the same direction, his previous train of thought gone like a puff of smoke, as he asks, "So who's the expert?"
As Nicat finishes speaking, the door of the Rusty Dragon opens.
Stepping through the door is a tall, blonde elf clad in dark brown studded leather armour, a tan cloak hanging off her shoulders and a quiver of arrows on her back. She holds a great longbow in one hand as she enters, her blue eyes scanning the room.
Seeing the assembled party by the bar, she walks over. The scent of pine trees and grass follows her, along with the smell of old blood.
"Am I late?" She asks, her voice low.
"Not at all, Shalelu. In fact, you're just in time." Sheriff Hemlock replies before turning to the rest of the assembled group. "This here is Shalelu Andosana: a local ranger who's been of great help to us in defending ourselves from goblins in the past. Shalelu, these folks here are our newest crop of goblin slayers."
Shalelu shrugs and waves hello.
"It's an honor to meet you, Shalelu, my name is Ekan, these are my friends..." Unless stopped, he'll introduce and name each of his friends/allies
Sylvia looks uncomfortable with being labeled a goblin slayer, and only manages a small smile as she is introduced by Ekan, "It is nice to meet you, Shalelu. Perhaps, with your expertise, you could tell us what had the goblins so fired up to attack the town? I would think this unlike them, but goblins aren't one of our studies at seminary, you must understand. So, unfortunately, I know next to nothing about them."
Nicat looks up in awe as Shalelu enters the room, saying quietly, "Wow, she looks like she could kill all the goblins...
As Ekan gestures towards Nicat, the impetuous halfling speaks up before his name is even spoken, "Nicat! Nicat Brightluck. Great to meet you Shalelu! We're goblin-slayers too, like the sheriff says, and deputies also..." His voice drops a bit and he continues, "But I guess I don't know a lot about gobbers either, 'cept for watching them scrap ships down on Chopper's Isle."
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Eostre's eyes narrow. Ellllllvvvvvves.....she thinks to herself.
"Good morning, Miss Andosana. I am Eostre Roldheim of Riddleport, apprentice Cyphermage and student of archaeology and the arcane. I only arrived in Sandpoint on the day of the attack, so I've not had the...pleasure of making your acquaintance."
Elves suck, she says in her head.
Fulko moves past his companions and stands before Shalelu, his hand extended and opened "I always wanted to meet the famed Shalelu Andosana" Said Fulko, his winning smile shining through, and his voice jovial "I hope we can work well together" His arms crossed in front of his chest as he gave her a studious glance.
"You see my friends and I are planning to start goblin hunting before word reaches other bounty hunters and the competition rises beyond reason...heh well Ameiko and the other inn owners would be happy, bounty hunters love inns" Fulko then turned his attention to the sheriff "How were things in Magnimar? Were you able to get enough guards so I can go back to doing what I do best?"
Goblin slayers, goblin hunters, and now bounty hunters...? What have I gotten myself into!?
Sylvia sighs and looks frustrated with the direction the conversation is taking.
Smiling gently at Fulko, she says, "I'm more curious as to their motives. I certainly hope that extermination of a species is not the correct course. There could be severe impacts that result in further echoes of darkness throughout the local region..."
She turns away, looking somewhat confused at her own words.
It's as if I weren't in full possession of my own faculties!
Holding a hand to the side of her head, brow furrowed, she whispers, "I just mean that perhaps, if we knew who... or what... organized them, someone could strike there and save us from future attacks. And miss Shalelu here seems the most competent one in town for such a purpose...
So much darkness, and it is just over the horizon. Why do I fear it so?