Rudrik nods and continues talking. "Yeah, hey, are those guys from that gang that was in the fight? Well, anyway, here, lemme see if we have any more useful timber, just in case there's a piece that'll be better for fixing your wall..."
He crouches and rummages around under the cart, looking for all the world like just another merchant going through his goods, as he grips the hilt of the shortsword that's kept strapped to the underside just in case.
As Nime and Caraid make their way towards where Calendula stands, the group of five toughs in the crowd confront the five by Possum's cart.
"So, looks like the mighty Horned Fangs ain't so tough!" one of the thugs says with a sneer. "They just drop dead at the slightest hint of danger."
The gang members by the cart bristle at the insult. "And who the hell do you think you lot are? This town is our turf!"
"Ha! That's a crock of shit! Us Roadkeepers were here first, and we'll be here last!"
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!"
Fists clenched, the man is just about to throw the first punch when a figure suddenly manifests in the middle of the impending melee. The man appears indistinct and hazy, a glowing and transparent humanoid form viewed as if through a haze of murky water. In a booming voice that sounds like it's gurgling out of the throat of a drowning man, the ghost cries out, "NO! MY COVE! NO!" Then he unleashes a terrifying howl, a sepulchral moan that chills you to your bones.
Screaming in terror, the thugs on both side of the conflict (along with most of the other bystanders) flee! "Run! It's the gh-gh-ghost of Sir Roderic!" they wail.
Most of you succumb to the fear as well, losing control of your senses for about 30 seconds as you flee in a panic. Only Nime and Rudrik stand firm, the lone people remaining in the Circle. Eventually, the fear subsides and the rest of you return to your senses. But the Circle is all but abandoned now.
The bone-chilling fear washes over her, but Nime feels strangely detached from it.
"Hello," she says stepping closer to the phantasm. "My name is Nime. Are you really Sir Roderic?"
The ghost gives Nime a pained look, then he fades away a moment later.
"He didn't answer my question. How rude," Nime mutters to herself in a miffed tone. Only then does she realize that she's standing alone in the circle.
"This must be the beginning," she says with nod.
Rudrik stands straight up from under the cart, his notched shortsword bare in his hand. He squares his jaw as the ghost makes its sudden appearance, but unlike Nime he does not attempt to address it. Instead he stands stock-still, somehow burgeoned in the face of this supernatural fright, and stares at the wavering form until it vanishes, his knuckles whitening around the hilt of the old sword.
Theo was a bit caught off-guard by Nime's remarks. He was about to reply when Rudrik remarked about the gang.
"Oh for- bloody gang violence, get enough of that in Magnimar."
He started over towards the gentlemen, drawing his spear and ready to try and defuse the situation when the ghost made its appearance.
Next thing he knew he was in an alley nearby, shaking. As he made his way back out to the market, he still looked a little shaken but more annoyed than anything else.
"Supernatural bloody fear!" he complained as he put his spear back on his back. "Well at least now I know there's some validity to those stories about Sir Roderic's ghost. Shame he couldn't elaborate a bit on what's got him so riled up."
Calendula draws her sword, rusty though it is, and moves back into the abandoned circle, wracking her brain for memories of both gangs and spirits.
"I guess market day is over, then," she comments as she joins the others. She does not sheathe her weapon but drops from her defensive posture all the same. The aging soldier nods towards Rudrik and Nime, but stops to stare at Theodric. "You look familiar for some reason that is lost to me. Are we acquainted?"
Without hesitation, she pushes her cold, gnarled right hand (the one not holding a weapon) into the sorcerer's. "Calendula."
As the guards arrive, Calendula finally sheaths her weapon and dutifully recounts all she saw. "Some kids were threatening each other, and the ghost of Sir Roderic appeared. He screamed some nonsense about the town and howled some strange, inhuman sound, and evryone took off runnin."
Calendula definitively identifies the spirit as a ghost. Though she didn't see Sir Roderic the last time he appeared ten years ago, the ghost matches his description.
You can hear the whistles of the town guard as they approach the Circle, trying to sort out the chaos. They nod dutifully at Calendula's story before studying the scene.
Soon after they arrive, though, a tall woman approaches you. Many see elves as paragons of grace, but this woman's frame is looming and awkward. Her shoulders are slumped and her head hangs low. She wears several layers of clothes and a bladed scarf is wrapped around her neck. You recognize her as Audrahni, the groundskeeper for the cemetery at the Lady's Chapel.
"So, the ghost of Sir Roderic manifested here?" she asks, looking around the abandoned market with a dour expression. "Not so surprising, I suppose. I wonder if you'll allow me to buy you all dinner at Creekside? I think we have much to discuss.
"Hello Audrahni," Nime says with a smile. "Yes, we would love dinner."
Nime turns and begins walking towards the inn.
Caraid just follows along quietly, somewhat ashamed of how easily he abandoned his almost-sister. Unfortunately loud shouts and other angry noises still strike a deep chord inside him and he can't help years of ingrained flight reactions.
The scarred woman who shook his hand took Theo by surprise, his golden eyes widening in surprise.
"Theodric Silvui d'Ontalen," he introduced himself, "I've come here with my father on business a few times over the years. And I'm a friend of Caraid's."
The Creekside Tavern and Inn is just off the Circle, so you don't have far to travel. Audrahni pays the innkeeper, and soon the barmaids bring out tasty plates of seafood and glasses of apple cider for each of you.
The elf is silent for a while, idly poking at her meal, until she realizes she's expected to say something. She clears her throat awkwardly and scratches at her arm. "We should talk business after we eat. I've only lived here in town for a year or so, and I fear I haven't yet met a lot of its citizens. Perhaps you'd like to tell me a little about yourselves?"
After she takes her seat and the food arrives, Nime gives quiet thanks for the food before digging in.
"I'll never understand human's need to cook their food," she says through a mouthful of fish. "It tastes so much better right out of the water."
"I'm Nime," she says, holding out her hand over the table. "There's not much to say about me. I just listen to Shelyn's whispers and pass them along. Many times her words are prophetic so I'm sure she spends a lot of time talking to Pharasma."
She cocks her head to the side as if considering something.
"I wonder if they drink tea while they chat."
She shrugs.
"Anyways, I'm sure we'll be good friends."
She looks over at Caraid.
"Remember to eat all your shrimp," Nime says. "They're good for you."
Caraid does as he is told and tucks in to his shrimp, which aren't as good as when Nime cooks them (not that he'd tell her that, teasing her about her cooking is more fun!). It also has the side benefit of making sure his mouth is full, so he doesn't have to talk.
Calendula seems embarrassed to receive such attention, turning her face away and blushing. Her cheeks grow cold, dark and gray as the blood flushes into them.
"I am Calendula," she starts. "I'm a fisherwoman, an I own a small farm jus outside town. Lived here nigh upon twenty years. Was a soldier in the years before that, as was my family. At the moment, if'n ya don't mind, that's all I have to say about that."
Rudrik slowly stows his sword, then as the group forms up for a free meal he calls over his older sister Katrin. Katrin is the source of some controversy in the town, as she, like her brother, has a rather humanlike appearance, enough so that a few young rakes have taken an interest in pursuing her; but, also like her younger brother, she's not stupid and she tends to unpleasantly surprise the wandering eyes or hands that think that they'll make a quick conquest of a cute but (mistakenly presumed) dull-witted half-orc mistress. Already she's blackened the eyes of two different would-be one-night-stands.
Rudrik excitedly tells his sister, "Hey, this lady wants to buy some of us dinner 'cuz we saw the ghost! Can you watch the cart until dad gets here?" Without waiting for her exasperated answer, he shoves the scabbarded shortsword into his belt and turns back to Caraid and says, "I won't say 'no' to a free meal, you know what I mean? Let's go get that corn I was talkin' about!"
He enthusiastically joins the group in heading to the fishery for the aforementioned free meal, nattering all the way about this and that. Once the group sits down to eat he rubs his hands excitedly as he awaits a plank of seared salmon, upon which he applies a liberal amount of mustard powder before cutting off large bites.
"This is great! So, it's the first time I've seen the ghost," he says around a mouthful of fish. "He looked like he was still underwater! Really strange. I wonder why he showed up like that? You think he really cares about a little gang scuffle in the market green?"
Theodric certainly wasn't going to turn down the free meal, and certainly not seafood at that.
He chimed in after the others introduced themselves.
"Theodric Silvui d'Ontalen, sounds like I'm the only one who isn't a local. I've passed through town a few times with my father over the years on business, this is just my first trip here without him."
As soon as he says that, a loud Andoran-accented voice rings out across the inn coming from an older man arguing with someone in the far corner. "Listen pal; we're the bulk o' your business so you either help me find out what the hell happened to that wine shipment or we're gonna have some problems!"
Theo just looks rather sheepish at the man's outburst. "That being said; I did not come alone. Mainly because my skill at investigating when things go wrong with the family business is considerably lacking. Caraid here can certainly vouch that I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer on many a subject."
"I was wondering where your father was, Theodric," Nime says as she takes a big swallow of apple juice. "So, does he think you're ready to handle things yourself now?"
"Not in the sense you're thinking of. I've no head for business and my siblings are going to be inheriting most of it. I think he's just worried about mollycoddling me and whatnot. I mean this is more of a holiday for me, Samuel over there's doing all the business."
At which point a loud thump echoed out from that corner of the inn along with a cry of pain as Samuel drove the man's head onto the table.
"For a given definition of business. He's usually much more diplomatic, honestly."
"Is that what they call 'Barrel-head Diplomacy'?" she asks with genuine curiosity.
"It's... it's a long story but I'm certain he deserves Sam doing that to him. He likes to do research on a person before deciding how to approach them."
"Hmmm ... well it doesn't look like he's enjoying it," she says with a frown. "Not Sam I mean, the other gentleman. Sam looks like he's enjoying it."
"You think he really cares about a little gang scuffle in the market green?"
"I think there's more going on than we know," Audrahni replies. She does not elaborate immediately, instead listening quietly to your introductions. Once you have finished dinner and are relaxing with your drinks, she nods and speaks at length.
"Thank you again for taking the time to chat with me. You seem like capable sorts. I think the Cove needs people like you: heroes. The stink of violence is in the air. The near-confrontation you were just involved in isn't the first we've had recently... surely you've heard of the slaughter that took place last week? Something strange is going on here in Roderic's Cove, and someone needs to do some investigating to figure out what that is. I'm hoping you'll be up to that challenge.
"My main concern is the appearance of Sir Roderic himself. The last time Sir Roderic's ghost made appearances in the Cove was during events 10 years ago that culminated in a minor uprising. Roderic's Cove's previous port-Governor, Jess Gildersleeves, was run out of town after she was found to be undermining the Cove by diverting funds meant for the small town to shady interests in Riddleport.
"I believe that Sir Roderic becomes restless when his beloved cove is in danger, not that he is the cause of those dangers himself. I now suspect that, in order to give the town's founder the rest he finally deserves, Roderic's Cove must be made safe for its citizens. But that would first require determining what sort of peril is building in the town's shadows. I've done a little bit of work looking around for clues, but I'm not the best at talking to people or noticing subtleties. Perhaps you will have better luck than I did."
Calendula stands and bows. "I proudly offer my services to this town. A truer home, I have never known."
Caraid looks downright nervous at the prospect of becoming a hero and helping to save the town. He shoots glances around the table and seeing agreement, he clears his throat.
"I'll help. I'm not sure exactly what I can do, but this is home, so I'll do my best." He tails off...
"If you want to try to find out more about Sir Roderic's ghost, an investigation of his old home, Roderic's Wreck, would be a logical step. The old building is dangerous, though, so you should be cautious and deliberate if you decide to search it."
Audrahni scratches her chin before continuing. "As for the slaughter, I can give you a few leads. I'm the one who gathered the bodies and dug their graves. All six were human, locals who left behind no immediate family. Of the six, two worked as trappers, one as a fisher, and three were unemployed. One thing tied them together apart from their shared deaths: all six wore the same rune on their clothing, the sign of one of the new gangs in town--the Horned Fangs. That rune is actually the old Thassilonian rune of wrath. I'm not certain why the Horned Fangs have adopted it as their symbol.
"One of the bodies bore an obvious sign of death—a deep puncture wound to the throat from a stabbing weapon, likely a rapier or a short sword, but the other five bore no physical wounds at all. The expressions frozen on their dead faces suggested a singular cause of death. I believe they all died of fright.
"The first person on the scene of the massacre was Ladia Kelstrop. She might be able to provide more information."
"That's really strange! Interesting that they dug up such an old symbol," says Rudrik. He sips at a fruity dessert cordial. "So mostly you just want us to ask around and maybe peek in old Sir Roderic's house and see what we can find?"
Audrahni nods. "For now. Once we learn more about what's going on, we'll be able to determine what our next steps should be."
"Well, now I wish Father was here, if only so I could ask him what he remembered about the rune and what else it represented in Thassilonian culture. I recall it being tied to evocation magic - one of the easier-to-remember details since the first school of magic people think of when they think of wrath is the one that lets you blow things up - and that there was a Runelord of Wrath. I'm tempted to say Runelady but the term's gender-neutral in Thassilonian."
Caraid looks downright nervous at the prospect of becoming a hero and helping to save the town. He shoots glances around the table and seeing agreement, he clears his throat.
"I'll help. I'm not sure exactly what I can do, but this is home, so I'll do my best." He tails off...
As Nime puts the last of her shrimp into her mouth, she tips her head, listening.
"No," she says simply. "You're not going, Caraid. You're not supposed to go, you're supposed to ... " She looks confused."I'm not sure ... that doesn't ... "
Nime shakes her head.
"Someone else is ... there's someone else. She's ... I'm sorry, Caraid, but you should ... it's very confusing."
There are several moments of silence, then Audrahni coughs. "Right, well. Feel free to begin investigating whenever you're ready. You can find me at the Lady's Chapel if you have any more questions. Um, good night." The elf stands and bows stiffly.
"Good night, Audrahni. Sleep well," Nime says cheerfully.
She then turns to Caraid.
"Now you need to get home and finish work on that wall. And tomorrow morning ... we ... we might have guest." The Ondine frowns. "It's confusing. She might ... Hmm." She shakes her head. "Anyways ... off you go."
The woman gives him a chaste peck on the forehead and then pushes him off towards the door. She then looks around at the others.
"So, shall we talk to Ladia?"
Caraid nods at Nime, grasps Theo's arm briefly and gives an awkward half wave to Calendula and Rurik before slipping out of the door.
As Caraid shoulders his way through the door, a dark-haired woman slips through behind him. She's beautiful, long raven-dark hair falling past her shoulders and curves which draw the eye of almost everyone in the tavern.
She looks around the room, dark-purple eyes crossing face after face, passing each one swiftly before jerking back abruptly to Nime. An expression of delight lights up her face and she strides across the room with her arms wide open.
"Nime! What are you doing here? This is a sign, fate even!" She seems genuinely delighted to see the Undine.
"Are you the one we're waiting for?" Nime asks, confused. She looks around at the others. "I think she's the one we're waiting for."
She looks back at the woman and her head tips curiosly.
"You know me? How do you know me? Do you hear her whispers? Do you ... ?"
Her hand reaches out and gently touches the woman's face.
"I know you," she says quietly, her gray eyes searching the woman's dark-purple eyes. "But I don't know you. I'm confused."
She drops her hand and steps back, a look of fear on her face.
"I don't like ... being confused."
Nime's head turns and twists as if trying to hear multiple voices at once.
"No, you can't be Ieldana, can you?"
Her eyes search out the woman's face.
"Why are you ... ?"
"Yes. And no." The woman responds, a small smile curving her lips. "I was Ieldana. I even tried to be more like you Nime - signed up to an adventuring group and everything, and then..." Her smile fades somewhat. "Well, there was an accident and I ended up like this." She twirls, letting her split skirt swirl out around her.
"An improvement, don't you think?" She asks, eyes raking across Theo as she does so. "You're quite the handsome one aren't you?" She runs the tip of her tongue across her lips before bursting out laughing.
"I'm sorry. It's just far too much fun to tease people these days, I never realised how interesting people are!"
She spins around again, coming back to Nime. "So, what are you up to these days? Have you seen Audrahni, I was hoping to find her? And who are all you new friends?"
The new arrival had easily caught the young sorcerer's attention, not that that was hard with a figure like her's. She looked familiar but he couldn't place where he'd seen her face.
He'd been walking over to introduce himself when she'd noticed him. The realisation that she was being purposefully teasing did bring a smile to his face, though.
"You'd probably get along famously with a friend of mine back in Magnimar who can be just as much of a tease," he remarked, "though I shudder to think of the chaos the two of you could cause if you started working together. Theodric Silvui d'Ontalen, at your service."
To his credit, he managed to keep his eyes... mostly on her face. Though that presented its own problem as the familiarity of that face was going to be bugging him for the rest of the day.
Calendula grunts, thoroughly nonplussed. "Can we please get going, there's still work to be done. We can all gape and goggle at the skinny woman some other time, but Audrahni tasked us with something important, and I say, the sooner the better."
Regardless of support or silence, she shoulders and elbows her way through to the door, stopping just outside. "We goin or ain't we?"
Nime seems to process the information that Shenuska gives her for a moment and then the fear and confusion seem to fade.
"So you're Not-Ieldana now. I think I understand," she says, her smile returning.
She takes the woman's arms and leads her out the door. "We're going to save the world," she begins. The Ondine then begins to relay everything that had happened in Roderick's Cove in the last few days.
"So now we're off to talk to Ladia," she concludes.
A haze of smoke hangs in the air around Kelstrop's Meats, bringing with it the mouth-watering smell of smoked salmon, beef, and pork. Ladia Kelstrop can be found within as she monitors the temperature of her fires and directs her staff in rotating the meats or tending coals.
She gives you a nod as you enter. "Welcome. I'm about to close shop for the evening, but if you know what you want, I'll be happy to wrap it up for you."
"Hello, Ladia," Nime says cheerfully. "We're not here to actually buy anything, but that salmon smells heavenly."
She tips her head.
"Hmmm... maybe I'm mistaken about cooking food. Oh well. We wanted to ask you about the people that died in the circle last week. Audrahni told us that you were the first person to find them. We were hoping that you might have seen or heard anything else?"
The Ondine frowns.
"Now that's distracting. I just ate and that lovely smell is making me hungry all over again."
Ladia nods eagerly. "Aye, a frightful night that was. I rose late at night, as I do most nights, to tend to my smokehouse fires. On my way, I saw a number of people fleeing north from the Circle. Rushing to the scene of the fight and shouting at those fleeing to stop, I stumbled upon the grisly aftermath. Six bodies were sprawled out on the ground dead. I immediately started shouting for the neighbors to wake up and help and to keep an eye out for the varlets who’d committed the crime. Alas, it was too dark for me to recognize any of the people fleeing the scene, but I suspect they weren’t thugs from Riddleport. Pirates would have fled south to board their ship at the docks, not north."
"That sounds horrible," Nime responds.
She sniffs the air again.
"Oh, I just can't resist. Could I get two pounds of the smoked salmon, please?"
As Ladia gathers her order, Nime appears to be listening to something.
"Ladia, are you sure there wasn't something else you might have seen or heard?"
In the smoky room, Calendula is overtaken by a series of quiet coughs; sitting down and gathering her scarves tightly around her, she completely misses any nuance or hesitation in Ladia's voice as she fights to keep herself back from another fit of coughing.
Ladia hesitates a moment before responding. "There was one more thing. I noticed Kynae Fromperton, lurking around the scene soon after I started yelling for help. Kynae slipped away before more help arrived—I certainly don’t think he was involved in the actual deed, since he’s just a kid, and I don't want to see him get in trouble, but there’s a chance he might have seen something more."
You know that Kynae is the son of the town drunk. As such, he rarely spends time at home. He can most likely be found at Blackberry's Bakery.
Rudrik is momentarily quiet as the strange woman arrives. He swirls his dessert cordial and listens intently to the exchange that follows. It's not clear whether he understands it all or not, but he certainly pays close attention.
----------
"I'll get some smoked salmon too! Bring it home for my folks."