Nicholae grips the table with white knuckles and prays silently, resisting the urge to lash back.
He stands and raises a hand, seemingly signally a request to halt the yelling and a call for calm.
Friends... friends... we gain nothing here. Calm yourselves.
He turns to Lonjiku.
Just go away - your wealth has confused you, thinking it makes you powerful. You know in your heart that we did not call the goblins here - our success in defending this town just makes us a target because it threatens your and maybe others perception of your so called 'power'. This is nothing more than empty posturing on your part... go bark elsewhere old cur.
He deliberately turns his back to the man, dismissing him, and sits.
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Upon hearing Lonjiku's pompous statements Hakak jumps to his feet ready to dismantle him limb from linb, but lucky for Lonjiku Nicholae just so happens to stand right in his way. The fact that his friend is in the way, and that he really doesn't want to make Ameiko have to clean her father off the floor, is the only reason he is still alive. Just then Ameiko comes spamming out of the kitchen, after seeing her face Hakak sits down with a smug grin on his face for he knows from experience that when Ameiko has that fire in her eyes not even a full blooded ork could walk away unscathed.
Dang ... you guys are really piling on the poor old man. Next turn coming up soon!
[Dusk, Rusty Dragon, First Day After Goblin Raid]
[note: Selia’s assault is technically an unarmed attack, so I made an attack roll off-screen. ]
Lonjiku stares down Mervyn with utter contempt. You can’t read an ulterior motive off the old man. Maybe he’s just rotten mean.
Selia’s slap elicits a gape of disbelief upon Lonjiku’s part. He stands there, gaping at you all. Nicholae’s words inspire several claps about the room, and the old man turns scarlet, silently simmering in his rage.
When Ameiko comes out and asks what’s happening, Lonjiku lets loose with a string of words in their Minkain tongue. Ameiko’s response is blunt, in Common and to the point.
“Get out.” She follows up with some words in her tongue, which given the tone, probably wouldn’t belong in polite society.
Enraged, Lonjiku rushes at Ameiko, as if to grab her.
Nicholae, seated, is fighting an uphill battle to get to the man but lunges out of his chair in an attempt to bring him down with a tackle.
Ned stays in his chair shaking his head knowingly, "Goblins in his attic"
Lleidr has been watching the interchange between his big friends and the nobleman, quietly finishing his meal and trying not to draw attention to himself. When Lonjiku and Ameiko exchange words and then he tries to charge her, Lleidr will say as quietly as possible, "Mervin, Selia, something seems very odd here, doesn't it? I haven't had the same amount of dealings with Lonjiku as you all, but a father attacking his daughter? And what could possibly lead him to think we caused or worsened the goblin attack?? Can one of you check to see if he's been bewitched somehow?"
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Selia, still caught in her anger, barely registers Lleidr's comment. She looks over at him and after a moment of recognition, the fury leaves her eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. You are right though, if he is planning on attacking anyone, it should have been me... Let me see if I can discover anything."
With Lonjiku charging at her friends, Ameiko and Hakak, Selia doesn't even hide her spellcasting.
[Dusk, Rusty Dragon, First Day After Goblin Raid]
[NOTE – I had to roll for Init between Nicholae and Hakak, to see whose action gets resolved first]
Lonjiku lunges for Ameiko, but instead crashes into Hakak which causes the old man to bounce backwards, stumble and fall to the floor, as unbalanced as the town drunk. Laughter ripples through the common room.
Lonjiku rises immediately, his cheeks flushed red. Pointing a finger at Ameiko, he says in Common, ‘You’re as dead to me as your mother.’
He turns and leaves, slamming the door behind him.
Ameiko looks to be on the verge of tears at the mention of her late mother. But, she also has a grateful look on her face, given that you didn’t hesitate to stand up to the man. “Dinner’s on the house, guys, and I’m adding another free week for you, too.”
Selia doesn’t detect any kind of magical effect upon Lonjiku. (I did make a PER roll on your behalf). He does, however, look haggard, as if from stress or maybe lack of sleep.
"Well, that was odd"
At Longjiku's last comment Jubrayl leaps to his feet and shouts louder than anyone remembers him shouting before. PAHVEDGEDBURH! UNGRAOHTALVAN! MALSETGALUN!
As his voice echoes around the room, Jubrayl stands, chest heaving and the beginnings of tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
Please Ameiko, that's not necessary. If you'll excuse me.
Jubrayl stomps outside, going the opposite way Longjiku went to find somewhere quiet.
Mervyn blows wind through his whiskers and sits back in his chair.
"Well, that escalated quickly," he says finally to a silent room, "Are you okay, Ameiko?"
"Well, unless someone else needs help with the goblins in their attic I think I'm off to bed." Ned says with a wink. "I'm planning on tracking the bunch we were following before we turned off the road. If anyone whould like to join me I'm leaving at first light." He'll stand up and look around to see if anyone has anything to add.
"I think that is the best course of action," Mervyn agrees, "It would appear to be our only lead at the moment."
[Late Evening, Rusty Dragon, First Day After Goblin Raid]
After the unpleasantness with Lonjiku, the atmosphere within the Rusty Dragon soon returns to normal. There’s more calls to hear of your exploits, more music, and lots more drinking. Ameiko keeps the chowder and ale coming till each of you are finally sated.
“By the way, a couple of different ladies left these for you, Nicholae.” She hands you two sealed letters, each addressed to Nicholae with the outside bearing distinctly feminine penmanship. “Thought they’d never get out from under my feet this afternoon.”
Just as you’re finishing, discussing your plans for the early morn, a nobleman walks in, trailed by a trio of servants. None other than Aldern Foxglove strides up to your table, bows, and drops a small linen bag in front of you. As it hits the tabletop, you hear a familiar metallic jingle. There must be several dozen coin inside.
“Well, my friends, I’m most pleased to see Sandpoint’s newest heroes once again. Selia, you are especially radiant tonight. As promised, this is the first part of my reward to you. And for the finale, would you all be able to join me in a hunt in the morning? I’m leaving at dawn, to hunt boar in Tickwood Forest, right outside town. It would give me great pleasure to further repay my debt to you. “
"Boar? Shouldn't we be hunting goblins?"
Letters? Oh?, Nicholae says with some surprise.
Young ladies you say?, clarifying her statement with evident surprise in his voice.
He takes the letters, peering at them curiously.
Mervyn looks at Nicholae and smiles.
"It seems you've attracted a couple of paramours," he says with humour in his voice. He is then distracted by Aldern Foxglove as he makes his grand entrance. Mervyn listens to the nobleman's offer, and chews it over in his mind.
"Your offer is most gracious, Lord Foxglove, but we had planned to track the goblins to track them down," Mervyn says with a concilliatory gesture. "How long would you estimate this hunt taking?"
Paramours?, the young warrior squeaks out, his voice rising several octaves in surprise.
From doing what? Errr... I mean I haven't been out 'Courting' and giving away flowers and such.
He handles the letters carefully as if they may blow up at any moment and then starts reading them silently with a look of worry on his face.
Mervyn simply chuckles at Nicholae.
Lleidr will work on his self control and not pick up the bag of coins to count in front of Foxglove. All this dealing with angry noblemen and generous fops has left him unsettled, and he knows the simple comfort of coin in hand will soothe him.
Jubrayl is still in a foul mood from the night before, and his face shows it. He softens a bit when Foxglove enters the building, and nods in agreement with Ned.
Jubrayl is still in a foul mood from the night before,
just to be clear, if you're referring to the encounter w/ Lonjiku, we're still on the same night.
Ok, then I guess Jubrayl is still outside calming down.
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"I agree, Ned, we need to be on the trail of those goblins. Something about them just isn't sitting right."
Selia smiles politely at Aldern's compliment, "Thank you, sir." She turns her head and in mock conspiratorial tones, mutters to Lleidr, "If by radiant, he means I could have burned a hole through Lonjiku with my eyes, he'd be correct." Selia lets the others discuss the hunt, her mind going back to the goblins.
When she hears Ameiko's announcement to Nicholae, she snaps back to the present, a wild look in her eyes. "Oh my, Nicholae, are you going to be okay? You are looking a bit flustered, there! If you want, I can read the letters for you."
No no no, he says hurriedly.
He sinks even deeper into his chair, huddling over the letters and squinting, trying to read in the dim fire light afforded by his pose.
Lleidr will keep drinking and nodding to everyone, unsure what "mours" are or why Nicholae would be nervous about getting letters from a pair of them. For that matter, he doesn't know exactly what "radiant" means, but now he has more cautious respect for Selia's abilities.
Jubrayl returns muttering about filial piety and parental responsibility. He takes a deep breath, shrugs, and walks up behind Nicholae's chair.
Huh? What's this? Ooooohhhhhhhhh. Can you even...?
He looks at the cleric, a little teasing spark in his eyes.
[Late Evening, Rusty Dragon, First Day After Goblin Raid]
Aldern shrugs with a broad smile. “Ah, I was afraid you’d be too busy to accompany me, but no matter. We can hunt together another day perhaps? After tomorrow, I’ll be attending to business affairs in Magnimar. If by chance you visit the city, you should visit me in my townhouse there. It would give me great pleasure to host you.”
He bows low again. “Adieu, my friends. I hope we meet again very soon.” His stare settles on Selia for a full second or two longer than the rest of you.
The bag Aldern gave you has 50 gp.
Nicholae has received two letters filled with adolescent longing, poetry, and a crude sketch of himself fending off a trio of evil goblins. One is from Arika Avertin, who helps run Sandpoint Savories. The other is from Merba Sterglus, the only daughter of old Turch, who runs the fishmarket. In a nutshell, they want to get hitched, move out of town, and knocked up, in whatever order you prefer.
So, it’s back to tracking, is it?
If nothing else is going on Ned will head up to bed.
Nicholae reads in horrified fascination, then, not trusting his eyes, re-reads them again.
Iomadae save me from local complications!, he prays silently, then thinks of the scope of the 'complications', which leads him to blush and pray again for forgiveness.
He folds the letters hurriedly and stuffs them inside his shirt, leaving the problems contained therein for another time.
Oh? What?, says the young priest. Early morning departure you say? Sounds good!. He downs his drink and hurries off to bed.
Mervyn chuckles to himself, finishes his drinks then bids the rest of the group adieu and retires to his own bed.
Lleidr will keep drinking "just one more," bidding his companions good night as they make their way to their beds. Although he's more than happy to share a story and a drink with anyone hanging around, he'll make sure that if Ameiko has a free moment and wants to talk about what happened with her father, he's available.
[Early Morning, Rusty Dragon, Second Day After Goblin Raid]
Before closing up shop, Ameiko confides to you what set her father off. He’s been extremely agitated lately, for some reason, although Ameiko suspects that her brother Tsuto has something to do with it. Plus, Lonjiku has always despised Ameiko’s professions as an adventurer and as an innkeeper, regarding both as far beneath her station. In Lonjiku’s eyes, Ameiko’s work has shamed her whole family.
Lonjiku’s shown a real paranoid streak lately, and last night, he gave Ameiko an ultimatum: come with him to Magnimar or be cut out of his will. Obviously, she didn’t comply.
Even though a full day has passed since you last followed the tracks on the north road, and traffic since then has obliterated quite a few of them, you’re able to follow the trail for several miles under an unseasonably warm sun. So far, passersby have been few.
As you’re scanning the highway, a rather tall, well-armed chap comes marching down the road.
“Good morning” he says, nodding without smiling. “Let me guess … you’re tracking those goblins that fell upon Sandpoint a couple of days ago? Don’t bother … they’re all dead. I got news last night that they’ve been slaughtered, somewhere in the midst of the Tors. And, the body of Nualia’s father was recovered as well. Some farmers or other are bringing it back into town as we speak.”
Sad news and yes, you are right.
He sighs.
Nualia’s father... he endured so much and I think Nualia’s death hurt him in ways he never showed.
Do you know who we should be thanking for this?
Mervyn listens to the man as he speaks and smiles at the mention that the Father's body has been recovered. Nonetheless, he listens to the man's voice and watches his body language to see if there is any indication that the man is hiding anything.
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"I see..." Selia ponders the information for a moment before asking, "I think we would like to visit the location where the goblins were found. Any other information you can provide to us would be nice. Where is Father Tobyn's body? We saw no one on our way out here that would have been bringing it back."
Guys, I'm sorry to have taken so awfully long to post the next bit of action. I've been sick the past week, and Halloween is a pretty busy time for me. We'll be back on track shortly. In the meantime, here's the next bit:
[Early Morning, Northern Hinterlands outside Sandpoint, Second Day After Goblin Raid]
Mervyn you don’t notice anything untoward or insincere about what the man is saying.
“Well, as far as where the body is right now, I can’t say. It was recovered some ways to the east, from what I heard, and is on its way, so it’s no surprise that you wouldn’t have seen anyone come by with it yet.
“I believe the carnage is all due to a ranger named Shalelu Andosana. Perhaps you’ve heard the name?” (Mervyn has). “She’s on her way to Sandpoint now, from what I heard. Perhaps she could fill you all in with more details. I’m not sure where exactly the goblins were killed. You must pardon my ignorance … I’m just getting this news second hand from locals in the area myself.
“I’m on my way to Sandpoint on a couple of errands. Would you like to join me? Name’s Orik, by the way.”
BTW, Mervyn, I sent you a PM about your KNO result regarding Ms Andosana.
"We may as well, and thank you for the news. I'd like to talk with this Shalelu Andosana."
Mervyn nods his head. "Yes, she's a ranger in the employ of the Black Arrows although she spends much of her time locally. Quite the adversary for our goblin friends."
I'm going to wait till tomorrow to post an update, just to give everyone a chance to chime in about direction. It sounds like you're going back to Sandpoint to talk to this ranger, but I don't want to assume.
Indeed. We need to get ahead of whoever was behind the attack, and shalelu may be the only lead we have.