At your first statement, Piper becomes even more embarrassed and writes: 'Mo ghrá tháinig ach an-soiléir, ní raibh sé?'. At the revelation that you can sing, Piper becomes interested. He writes: 'Really? B'fhéidir gur chóir dúinn a imirt ar na daoine eile ar ár turas.'
As Alara reassures Ash of his importance, Piper gives a firm nod and a smile to Ash, showing that everything would be fine. He then writes: 'Everything will be alright, Ash. If you need help, then ask me. I may not be able to heal others, but it makes things more difficult when we are a bit tougher and the enemy is dazed and asleep.' As you read the last part, a smirk forms on Piper's face.
Piper writes down:'Nothing's wrong with her, I assure you. It's just that...I've noticed that you might have...feelings for her. I just want to let you know that I have feelings for her, too. When I stormed out earlier, I guess it was partly because I was jealous that you did something that I haven't had the courage to do: attempt to woo her. You must think it's ridiculous, huh? I just wanted to let you know.' Piper stands back about a foot from Sharrd, waiting for his reaction.
Alara says nothing, but gives you a knowing nod with a cheeky smile.
At the mention of playing for others on the trip, she shifts from foot to foot nervously. "Bhuel, más mian leat é. Tá mé aon Ameiko, ach... bainfidh mé triail as ar aon nós."
She closes her eyes, centers herself, and starts gently singing to you.
Her singing is beautiful beyond words. She sings a slow, wistful melody that speaks of homesickness.
"Tríd an oíche, go dtí an lá,
Nuair a bhíonn gach rud imithe,
Déan an anam ar shiúl
Ó na tailte tirim...
Sa an ghrian a fheicimid,
Troid thar línte,
Gach ár n-aisling agus mianta
Seol muid abhaile do choinneáil slán,
Troid do cad atá ceart..."
"Through the night, to the day,
When everything is gone,
Carry this soul away
From the dry lands...
In the sun we see,
Fighting over lines,
All our dreams and wishes
We send home for safekeeping,
Fighting for what's right..."
She stops singing after the last line and anxiously looks to you. You get the impression that she didn't sing you the full song.
Masamune listens to the song for a bit, but fails to understand any of it so he just shrugs it away as some pretty folk song. He looks at the others in the group. Specifically he looks at William, Ash, and Alara.
"So while they discuss their feelings for Ameiko why don't we make sure this doesn't happen again. Are any of you in love with someone? I don't think it is something that should be discussed now, but we shouldn't have a problem like this pop up when we need to be a group."
"Well not at the moment" He blushes as he says this looking at Alara.
Masamune listens to the song for a bit, but fails to understand any of it so he just shrugs it away as some pretty folk song. He looks at the others in the group. Specifically he looks at William, Ash, and Alara.
"So while they discuss their feelings for Ameiko why don't we make sure this doesn't happen again. Are any of you in love with someone? I don't think it is something that should be discussed now, but we shouldn't have a problem like this pop up when we need to be a group."
Alara is a bit taken aback by how bluntly you broached the topic, but looks you squarely in the eye as she replies.
"No, I'm not. And it won't be a problem." She blushes slightly after saying so.
Alara glances over at you and catches the look in your eye. You get the feeling that she knows what you're thinking right now.
She pales a bit, and looks around at the rest of the team, wondering what they thought of her song.
When you stop, Piper takes out his flute and carries the melody.
After a bit of struggle, Piper continues the melody. You can tell his struggles come from either a lack of familiarity with the song or the high emotions that have been firing off earlier. But you can tell he does have some skill. As he finishes, he looks a little embarrassed and upset, knowing that it wasn't his best.
At your bluff, Piper has a small smile, pepping him up after the average performance.
He bows to you and writes: 'Tá tú go leor ar an guth álainn, mo daor. Ní dhéanfaidh aon ní a bheith ashamed.'
Piper seems to be too down about his lackluster performance to notice your bluff.
Alara listens to your music, waiting for you to finish before saying anything. A sunny smile spreads across her face as you compliment her.
"Agus ní raibh mé ag canadh fiú an t-amhrán ar fad! Más mian leat, is féidir liom é a mhúineadh do duit agus ar an mbóthar."
She pats you on the shoulder as she makes her offer.
Piper stares at you for a moment, before his face gains the biggest grin that you've ever seen on him. He nods his head rapidly, keeping that grin. You can tell from his body language that he's very eager and excited to learn more about music.
After talking, Piper comes to a realization about something. He writes: 'Guys, if we're going to be fighting, then we have to fix something. If I'm in combat, then I can't communicate with you using my chalkboard. That's why I should teach you something that I learned at the White Grotto. A form of communication for those who can't talk or hear. A form of communication that is only known by two people in the Inner Sea Region, me being one of them. It's called Sign Language.' As you hold the board and are reading this, he's making gestures with his arms and hands. They don't appear to be spell gestures.
And is oblivious to what you are doing.
"Like this Piper?"
Alara appears to have understood your gestures perfectly. She doesn't try to repeat the gestures, likely because she's afraid of accidentally offending someone. Instead, she gives you a thumbs-up.
"Understood. But that still leaves the question of how we'll know when you need to tell us something in the thick of combat."
"Why not give him a bell or something that he rings when he wants attention?"
Piper looks at your gestures and gives you a thumbs up, indicating that you seem to be fast learners.
Piper holds up two fingers. His middle finger goes down indicating the number one. He then puts two fingers in his mouth and gives a loud, shrill whistle. He then puts up two fingers. He then begins to make more signs with one hand. They seem to represent simple words that you can understand: 'Spell. Cone. Thirty feet. Allies out.'
At your bell suggestion, Piper looks at you with a look that says: 'What am I, a dog?'
"Just a thought. Battles can get loud and I thought a bell would be loud enough for us to hear you. Then again you have your flute, you could make three quick sounds of varying pitches and have us remember that sequence for when there is something you want to say, er well Sign."
Piper looks at William and nods while writing: 'So, we have several ways. My chalkboard; whistling and using my flute for gaining attention; simple one hand signs to communicate that I could use while wielding a weapon; and, if you're willing to learn, normal Sign Language for normal conversations and secret communication.'
Piper writes down:'Nothing's wrong with her, I assure you. It's just that...I've noticed that you might have...feelings for her. I just want to let you know that I have feelings for her, too. When I stormed out earlier, I guess it was partly because I was jealous that you did something that I haven't had the courage to do: attempt to woo her. You must think it's ridiculous, huh? I just wanted to let you know.' Piper stands back about a foot from Sharrd, waiting for his reaction.
Sharrd doesn't seem shocked. "Well thanks for the heads up but I'm going to fight for her. I just can't see myself with anyone else. But I'm not going to consider you an enemy. That would be silly. And pointless. Did you notice the slightly overweight red faced guy setting in the second table. He's asked her to marry him twice, but he's still the best butcher in town and I have no qualms with getting meat from him. Half the men in this town are in love with her or fools, so in my book you're not a fool. I'd like to make one thing clear though. I promise I'll make her happy and you damn well better feel the same way if you're going to chase her."
While the group is talking, he nods to anyone that notices him and heads off, needing to speak to Koya and get an early night, if they are going to leave in the morning to hunt.
Sharrd weighs in on the communication issues. "Well, from my personal experience of the past hour or so, learning elven is going to be my first priority. I'll try and pick up on your hand signals though."
Alara promptly claps her hands once and rubs them together.
"So, with that out of the way, I think it's a good idea to speak with the Sheriff before heading off. He should be able to point us in the right direction to where the goblins are holed up. What do you think, Ash?" Alara turns, looking for him, but just missing him as he leaves to take care of his own business. "...Ash?" Her head turns every which way, trying to see where he went.
After a minute of doing this, she shrugs her shoulders. "Guess he had something to take care of."
|
The five of you, with Ash having retired early, return to the Rusty Dragon and enjoy the evening drinking and playing cards as the inn's common room fills up with the afterwork crowd. An excited buzz runs through the tavern as everybody seems to be talking about the sheriff's announcement. One man even has a handbill of the announcement and is showing his friends and thinking about buying a new boat with his reward money. Other similar stories run rampant throughout the room and the bar is busy well up until closing time.
The morning come bright and early as the six of you meet in front of the Rusty Dragon for the short walk to the Sheriff's office.
As you approach the office you can see a crowd of people already surrounding the front door and despite Sheriff Hemlock's warning there are several people by themselves or with a friend. The crowd is armed with a motley array of weapons ranging from an antique sword all the way down to someone armed only with a rusty shovel.
As the Sheriff emerges from his office a look of dismay crosses his face as his eyes sweep across the mob assembled out front, until his eye come to the six of you his look changes to one of calculating appraisal. With a quick nod of greeting in your direction he begins organizing the townspeople into groups of at least five or more and with some last minute instructions send them on their way. Before your group wanders off the Sheriff catches your eye and nods toward his office, indicating he would like to speak further with you.
Once inside the office the Sheriff spits in disgust "Bah, I'm beginning to regret my decision. My men and I will probably have to pull half, if not all, of them out of some kind of trouble before the day is out. But not so with you, I'm thinking, so I'll give you some extra advice." So saying he pulls out a map of Brinestump Marsh and the area immediately around it
”The Brinestump is not very big but it’s not without its dangers. That’s because it’s never been adequately mapped, never been a reason to. If you're going to go exploring there I suggest you go talk to Walthus Proudstump, he’s a hermit that lives in the swamp. Some say he’s crazy, but I think he just wants to be left alone. Anyway, if anyone knows his way around that swamp it'd be him. Just follow the fishing trail from the coast road and you’ll end up at his place near Sog’s Bay. You could do worse than to follow his advice.”
With that he rolls up the map and hands it to William before adding "Good luck and good hunting."
"Thank you, Sheriff," Ash says with a nod. He is dressed just as he was the previous day, save for the fact that he has a pair of daggers on his belt, a demand of Koya's, since he insisted on going out to help his 'brothers.'
Alara closes her eyes, trying to remember if she's heard of him.
William is wearing a Scythe in his hands, a Heavy Flail on his back and his is wearing Banded Armor.
William now holds the Scythe with one hand and it is now standing like a flag. He accepts the map with his hand that is currently not holding the Scythe.
"Thanks for the advice and good luck saving people Sheriff."
Sharrd doesn't seem shocked. "Well thanks for the heads up but I'm going to fight for her. I just can't see myself with anyone else. But I'm not going to consider you an enemy. That would be silly. And pointless. ...Half the men in this town are in love with her or fools, so in my book you're not a fool. I'd like to make one thing clear though. I promise I'll make her happy and you damn well better feel the same way if you're going to chase her. "
Piper seems to be relieved and writes: 'Thank you.' He then offers his hand for a handshake and writes: 'May the better man win, my friend.' He feels insulted at your last sentence though. He writes: 'I would sooner sever the rest of my vocal cords than make her upset.'
"Did you notice the slightly overweight red faced guy setting in the second table. He's asked her to marry him twice, but he's still the best butcher in town and I have no qualms with getting meat from him."
Piper gains a look of shock and writes: 'That was the butcher?! Wow, the last five years haven't been good to him.'
At Sharrd's eagerness to learn Elven and Sign Language, Piper smiles at him and places his hand on Sharrd's shoulder.
Piper notices Ash leaving and gives a smile and wave to him.
Piper adjusts the leather armor that's over his uniform and writes: 'Dad, is there anything else we should know about the swamp? Any other creatures, dangerous animals, hazards, anything like that?'
At the mention of Walthus, Piper racks his brain for information.
While the sheriff speaks, Sharrd busies himself with breakfast, munching on an apple. When Duty invariably comes over to him for his share, he pretends not to have any but then promptly produces one via prestidigitation. The only armor he has is what could be described as a leather belly warmer. He has a backpack with a canteen and a bottle hanging off the side that Masamune and Jacen recognize as one of Koya's Cure Light Potions. Several javelins are straped together next to the backpack. He carries a spear in his hand but has a light mace and a silver sickle hanging from his waist. He looks excited to start.
'I would sooner sever the rest of my vocal cords than make her upset.'
Sharrd nods at his statement. "You and me both, buddy."
Alara busies herself in her room, buckling her dark purple studded leather armor on over her explorer's outfit. She slings her satchel (well, a masterwork backpack styled like a satchel) across her body, slings a quiver of 20 arrows low across her hips, sticks one of her daggers in her belt and another dagger in one of her boots.
On her way out of the Rusty Dragon, she pauses at the bar and hands the barkeep 2 gold pieces for the inn stay & 5 silvers for yesterday's meal.
Also, before leaving the Rusty Dragon last night, he paid 1 silver to the bartender for the tea he ordered (including a nice tip).
At the meeting, Piper is going through his gear, making everything is secure and tight. He now has a waterskin hanging from his backpack.
Piper looks at Sharrd and writes: 'May I have an apple?'
"Sure Piper, have two if you'd like. Wonderful day to go goblin smashing...." And he pauses for a second, pretending to have suddenly come up with this idea. "Goblin Smashers! That's a wonderful name for this group."
And its pretty obvious he tried to set this up.
Piper happily accepts two apples from Sharrd and nods in thanks. As he's eating, Piper rolls his eyes at Sharrd's name suggestion, but he still has a smile on his face. He nods at Sharrd and writes: 'I'm good with the name. Better than anything I could try to come up with. One idea was the Sandpoint Devils.' He shrugs at the end.
Sandpoint Devils. darn it , that's actually a good name.
Sharrd grabs another apple and shrugs. Well, I suppose we can talk about names later. He stands up. "Let's get this party started!"
"Sure Piper, have two if you'd like. Wonderful day to go goblin smashing...." And he pauses for a second, pretending to have suddenly come up with this idea. "Goblin Smashers! That's a wonderful name for this group."
*(Dice roll omitted)*
And its pretty obvious he tried to set this up.
Alara giggles; apparently she finds Sharrd's efforts at bluffing to be cute. She's content to let him have his fun, though.
"I'm not precisely clear as to why we need to have a name. Is there something I don't understand about hunting a bounty?" Ash asks quietly as he looks at each of them banter about over a name.
Alara turns to Ash and gives a noncommittal shrug.
"Maybe it's to promote camaraderie?"
"I'm not precisely clear as to why we need to have a name. Is there something I don't understand about hunting a bounty?" Ash asks quietly as he looks at each of them banter about over a name.
"Didn't you know. Cool people hunt in named groups."
Shrugging, "I'm not entirely clear on what need there is for it, but regardless, I think most of us have a sense of this comaraderie already, since, we have mostly grown up together and you have become a clear friend to my brothers, William, and Piper, which is quite nice, as it is good to have someone other than men to talk to at times." He says with a soft smile and a nod.
Alara gives Ash her usual sunny smile.
"Then maybe it's to provide the rest of the team with more incentive to make sure nobody tries to run off with more than their share of the loot." She says with a small chuckle.
Piper writes down: 'Ash, the same thing happens at the White Grotto. Every semester, students are placed into groups. These teams are formed to create balance and camaraderie among the students. The students are also grouped in other ways. If two students are constantly fighting with one another, then it's guranteed that they will be on the same team. It's meant to train us to work with anyone we come across. For example, during my first semester, I was placed into a team with a half-orc juggler, an elven dancer, a halfling singer, who I had problems with, a human actor who was more focused on magic, and our team leader was a lute playing gnome illusionist from that year's graduating class. One of the things that's required is to come up with a team name. In retrospect, "Goblin Smashers" is pretty tame. Try being on a team named the "Omnipresent Otyughs."'
Alara cringes at the sound of 'Omnipresent Otyughs'.
"Omnipresent Otyughs? Why would you name a team after a garbage-eating monster?"
Piper rubs his chin while thinking, seeing if he can remember anything about the swamp.
Piper looks at you with a somewhat solemn look and writes: 'Don't look at me. I didn't come up with the name. It was the start of my second year. I was on a team where the leader as an intimidating half-orc arcane duelist from Korvosa who had pestilence in his blood. Apparantly, he spent a good chunk of his life in the sewers and with otyughs. From the way he spoke, he probably considered them to be gods or something. He basically forced his will on the team. He fought anyone on the team who disagreed with his decisions and ideas. Needless to say, he didn't stay long at the college.'
Alara breathes a sigh of relief. Then she giggles.
"Well, that's a roundabout way for him to say that he was full of s**t."
Piper gains a huge smile and doubles over in silent laughter.
Alara watches Piper as he goes into a silent laughing fit. She can't help but laugh along with him.
"Hadn't really thought of it that way 'till now?"