Sariel smiles. "That's th'spirit, Horgus! Whateva yoo can spare'll be put ter good use, it will!" Sariel will accept what Horgus is offering, and thank the man.
Claire grins. "Auww, thanks, Horgus! Can Janeth stay here with you? It looks like you've got lots of space." She thinks for a moment then grins again. "Hey! I bet you could fit a TON of refugees in here! If we find some more we'll send them to you, kay? And we'll give them a secret password so that you know WE sent them to you and its not a trick!" She puts a finger to her lip, cocks her head to the side, and thinks....
"What do you want the password to be, Horgus?"
" 'Open up big jerk' seems pretty good to me," Alistair trills sweetly.
Unfortunately, Claire doesn't seem to notice.
"Tons!?! -I think not, it would likely be unsafe to go sending people through the ruins here. I can't be sitting by the doors all the time either. If you find someone who is skilled enough to get here without you tell them to say 'Gilded Keystone'." He nods to himself "That would do. But don't go sending unattended vagrants this way, you'll attract demons and cultists who'll tear the password from them. Now city watch or knights-" He stops and looks at Janeth "Who haven't gone mad that's different."
Fredric keeps the password in mind but adds nothing else, having tired of dealing with Horgus.
"Gilded Keystone. Got it!" Claire remarks with a nod. "Auww, you're just a big softie!" She gives Horgus a big hug goodbye. "See ya' later!"
Then she turns and scampers off with her 'pals.'
"WHAT?!" Alistair chirps in jealousy as he flutters after Claire. "AGH! No! Don't hug THAT guy!"
The journey after leaving Horgus behind has far less complaining thankfully... but without the distraction of him talking and complaining the city seems somehow grimmer.
Going through the ruins towards Annevia's house you come upon a group
of cultists openly wearing unholy symbols of Baphomet who have captured a survivor that they’re preparing to sacrifice in the middle of the street. This woman is tied to a stake with bit of kindling and would salvaged from buildings around her.
A man with dark hair calls out to the others "Look, more members of proscribed faiths against the new order!" The other three cultists laugh at the man's poor joke as they ready their weapons.
The cultists each call out to Baphomet for protection.
They all cast protection from good.
The woman being sacrificed is Claire's mother.
Sariel
Claire
Kaeldron
Davok
Fredric
Cultists
Fredric's teeth grind at the audacity of these slaves.
"Your foul master shall witness your miserable end!" , he yells as he charges into the fray.
Davok seems less upset by these cultists than he did by the wayward knights. He still needs to put them down, though.
"MOM!" Claire screams. She races off recklessly with Radiance in hand, and swings her blade at the first cultist she reaches. "Get away from her, you big jerks!"
Alistair looks positively furious. "Skewer them, Claire!" He sends her some more of his good luck and clings tight to her shoulder.
Kaeldron ran forward after his companions, looking to use their numbers to position himself well.
Sariel frowns, wordlessly releasing two arrows in the time another might take to draw a dagger.
Sariel frowns, wordlessly releasing two arrows in the time another might take to draw a dagger the first arrow bouncing off the warding spell of the cultist but the other strikes home.
"MOM!" Claire screams. She races off recklessly with Radiance in hand, and swings her blade at the first cultist she reaches. "Get away from her, you big jerks!"[b] Already pierced by the arrow the cultist collapses.
Kaeldron ran forward after his companions, looking to use their numbers to position himself well.
Davok seems less upset by these cultists than he did by the wayward knights. He still needs to put them down, though.
Fredric's teeth grind at the audacity of these slaves cultists. [b]"Your foul master shall witness your miserable end!", he yells as he charges into the fray.
The smirks and jeering swiftly stop as the cultists' numbers are cleft in twain. "Purge these meddlers!" The two cultists move to the side and release waves of negative energy
The woman tied at the stake sags but stays upright due to her bindings.
Sariel
Claire
Kaeldron
Davok
Fredric
Cultists
Davok grunts in frustration as his axe again fails to find a target.
Kaeldron grunted as the negative washed over him. But, just as quickly as he was hurt, he was restored by his faith. In return he stabbed with his spear once more.
Fredric roars in the face of the cultist slave.
"Slave of darkness! Eat cold iron!!"
Fredric swings his bastard sword hard.
Bugger!" Sariel yells as the cultists release their magic. He fires to more arrows, trying to take them down before they can cause more damage.
no, lost
"No!" Claire shrieks. Her lip quivers and big fat tears stream down her face. She rushes recklessly over to her Mom and reaches out her hand as she cries, "MOM!!!"
"OW! DAMMIT!" Alistair cusses as the foul energy surges over him.
As Claire rushes recklessly through the enemies to get to her Mom, Alistair tweets loudly in her ear. "WHOAH! Easy, babe! You'lll get yourself killed! Your parents would rather die than lose you!"
"Bugger!" Sariel yells as the cultists release their magic. He fires to more arrows, trying to take them down before they can cause more damage.
"No!" Claire shrieks. Her lip quivers and big fat tears stream down her face. She rushes recklessly over to her Mom and reaches out her hand as she cries, "MOM!!!"
"OW! DAMMIT!" Alistair cusses as the foul energy surges over him.
As Claire rushes recklessly through the enemies to get to her Mom, Alistair tweets loudly in her ear. "WHOAH! Easy, babe! You'll get yourself killed! Your parents would rather die than lose you!"
Claire's mother breaths a little more easily after receiving healing.
Kaeldron grunted as the negative washed over him. But, just as quickly as he was hurt, he was restored by his faith. In return he stabbed with his spear once more finishing off the cultist with Sariel's arrows sticking from it.
Davok grunts in frustration as his axe again fails to find a target.
"Slave of darkness! Eat cold iron!!" Fredric swings his bastard sword hard.
A deep gash across her thigh the last cultist breaks, withdrawing from the area "You only delay the inevitable! Kenabres is ours."
Sariel
Claire
Kaeldron
Davok
Fredric
Cultists -8
"No, it is you who delay righteous vengeance!"
Fredric runs up to the speaker, determined to stop her escape.
If he can reach the target, Davok tries one final time to land a blow this fight.
Sariel pulls his bowstring back, a final arrow poised to strike the fleeing cultist in the back. But he hesitates. It was against his code, to attack a fleeing opponent. When does a hunt become a slaughter?
When danger threatens, I am not a fool. I seek first to make sure the weak and innocent are safe, and then I quell the danger.
Slowly, he lowers his bow. "Ours?" How many of them are there?
He hurries to help Claire tend to her mom. "She still hurt?" he asks as he works to loosen her bindings.
Claire cradles her mom in her arms and sobs. Big tears and snot start to run down her face. "Uh-huh," she tells Sariel with a nod of her head. "Hurry!"
Alistair swoops down into Claire's lap, stuffs his head in her belt pouch, and drags out a vial. "Use this one!" he tweets.
"Huh?" Claire asks with a hysterical sniffle. "OH!"
She quickly grabs the potion and feeds it to her Mom.
Davok cuts the fleeing cultist down before they can get much further.
Claire's mother slowly comes around to consciousness again. Confusion wars with the other emotions on her face. "My Claire, you didn't make it out! My baby, no." She draws her daughter closer to her trying to comfort her.
Fredric nods to Davok.
"Good blow."
With no other cultists he can chase down effectively, he returns to the group. And hears the commotion.
"Ah. Ms. Calloway, you can take pride in your daughter. She has been a most able ally against evil, and bears no less than the blade Radiance."
Claire smiles and wraps her Mom up in a giant hug. "YOU'RE ALRIGHT!!" Whatever she says next sounds more like a bunch of shrill squeals of glee than really words.
Eventually when she's intelligible Claire wipes her eyes and nose off on her sleeve. With a giant sniffle she asks, "What? Leave? Why would I leave? We're going to save Kenabres and everyone still here!"
When Fredric compliments her Claire blushes bright red and grins. "Oh, yeah! I got this famous sword! Want to see?" She holds out Radiance to show her Mom.
Alistair swoops down and lands on Claire's shoulder. He tips his head up at Claire's Mom and waggles his feathered brow at her. "'Sup?" he asks in his most 'manly' chirp. For a moment his tiny tongue sticks out of his beak and he waggles his head at her again.
No one's entirely sure what he's trying to convey, but most of you are pretty sure its inappropriate.
Claire doesn't notice at all.
”Ma’am. I know that this is much to take in. You should indeed be very proud. The blade Radiance only responds to Paladins, which it has judged your daughter to be. She has to proven herself to be a valiant warrior, and I am convinced that she has a mighty destiny to fulfill.”
"She's a real trooper, madame! Gon' rescue Kenabres, she is!" Sariel beams behind Claire, but narrows his eyes at the bird.
Fredric nods to Davok.
"Good blow."
Davok nods back.
"It was necessary."
Davok waits stoically while Claire reunites with her mother and the others praise Claire. He nods in the appropriate places describing Claire's heroics. When it seems like an appropriate time, Davok addresses the bar owner.
"Mrs. Calloway, what happened to your patrons when the city was attacked? My sister, a half-orc like me, was in your tavern when I saw her last."
"I- she got out at least. We all saw the explosion at the start of the onslaught. But there was a man in the tavern. He seemed normal at first, a human. He had been quiet."
"We heard screams and when I turned around his eyes were glowing red and he was breathing fire. Some people tried to stop him but he wasn't alone. He had peopler dressed in red and black motley. Your sister saved me and some others. She hit one with a chair and we fled... the last I saw of the inn it was in flames. I got seperated from the others but when last I saw her she was alright." As she is talking she can't help checking Claire over in disbelief that she is there... and alright.
"Radiance...?" She looks to Claire for confirmation of this fantastical tale as she holda up the sword to her.
"Ma'am, do you have any idea where the others may have fled to?"
"If he were a demon, he bypassed the Wardstone 'afore it were destroyed," Sariel muses. "How'd he've done somethin' like that?" He looks to his senior officers.
"Someone had suggested Old Freds house and he agreed but by the time I got there it was leveled."
"Magic maybe or perhaps he only had some abyssal taint? A glammered half fiend or tiefling? Or a spellcaster perhaps."
"That's horrible!" Claire exclaims in surprise. "Oh, and our HOME!" She juts her lip out in a pout for a moment, then shakes her head. "Well, it's... It's just some walls, right? Home is more than, like... walls and a roof. Home is Kenabres and the people in it! We need to keep saving people and fighting demons and evil and stuff!"
With a nod of her head Claire stands up and helps her Mom up. "We need to get you someplace safe, Mom. There's a nice old man who you can stay with. Mr. Horgus has a HUGE house! There's a secret code to get inside and everything! We can take you there."
The look of confusion as different pieces of information come in is interesting. "A huge house... you don't mean Horgus Gwerm. Honey he's not that nice."
All the talk of homes being destroyed is clearly playing on Anevias mind. "We need to find out what has happened at my house and... Irabeth, whats happened to her. Please don't turn back now."
"There is Horgus' mansion and that library. We will not turn back, but we are heading towards danger, not away from it."
"Oh, of course he is!" Claire assures her mom. "He's like a hedgehog! All prickly on the outside, and soft and squishy inside! You'll be safe there. I know it!"
Claire proceeds to give her mom thorough directions to Mr. Horgus' house. Plus the password.
"Hey! Why don't you just come with us, Mom? We're going to Annevia's place next."
Claire's mother would normally be slowing things up as you progress to Annevia's house by all her mothering and concern over her daughter but with Annevia's leg this isn't too bad.
The Tirablade house is a lot smaller than you might have imagined being single story. The front door is closed but undamaged. Annevia starts moving with all the haste she can despite her discomfort. You can easily outpace her if you want to reach the house first or with her.
Fredric moves a bit ahead of Annevia.
"Let us first see if it is secure."
He hastily glances around at the front of the house.
Fredric moves a bit ahead of Annevia.
"Let us first see if it is secure."
He hastily glances around at the front of the house.
"Mmmm," Davok grunts in agreement.
Claire nods. "Yeah, let's check it out!" she exclaims enthusiastically.
Without regard to her safety she hurries out ahead of the group and up to the front door.
...And knocks!
"Hello? Is anyone home?"
Ferric and Davok can see the door is unlocked.
Claire gets no response as she knocks on the door.
As Davok draws closer he can feel goosebumps all over his body, something is off... there is a presence here.