Theron is perplexed to find a note and a bottle of wine on his bed. He examines the bottle first, then reads the note, a smile spreading on his face as he does so. Suddenly the behavior of some people in town the last day or so made more sense.
His confusion remains, however. He looks around his room, as if expecting this admirer to pop out of the wall. Theron frowns. How were they supposed to enjoy the wine together if he didn't even know who she was? He shrugs and places the wine to one side before settling in for the night. Maybe she'll show up at some point.
Theron wakes groggily, the last remnants of his dream slowly fading. He rises and dresses himself. He spares a glance at the note and bottle of wine next to his bed before grabbing his bow and sword and making his way downstairs.
He quickly spots a few familiar faces already gathered around a table, and pulls up a seat for himself. He nods a greeting before waving over a waitress and placing an order for breakfast. He places his elbow on the table, resting his head in one hand. "Maybe I'll, uh, speak with some of the town's young women," he says, clearly amused by his own statement. "Otherwise I'm not sure who'd know anything about all this. Any ideas?"
Lucino spends his morning at Bottled Solutions, perusing the books and merchandise and getting to know Nisk Tander with a little bit of shop talk.
"...are you familiar with Prothofer's work? Apparently one lesser-known consequence of his discoveries is that with a little work, one can essentially create a cloud of accelerant particulates which can then be ignited to create what effectively amounts to a firestorm you can carry in your pocket..."
After departing the inn, Theron makes his way to Savah's Armory. He imagines that their encounter with the undead in the crypt will not be their last, and it's good to be prepared. With that in mind he enters the shop to browse Savah's wares.
"I'm lookin' for somethin' blunt," he says after a time. "Arrows, if you got them, but also something I can swing around, just in case. Any recommendations?"
Brandor continues to sleep through the second day, recovering from his wounds, and his bruised ego. "Thank you, Father, for mending me. Where did everyone go?"
"The Chopper eh? Isn't that the murderer nobody wants to talk about?" Aria frowned some pretty unpleasant things had occurred a few years before she arrived at Sandpoint which the community wanted to forget. She'd heard a few rumors but never anything concrete. "So wait you're saying the Cathedral just burned down? That seems hard to believe..." Aria's frown deepened, 'Could there be an arsonist, no a murderer on the loose?'
Perhaps she should talk to the Sheriff. She thanked Amiko and set off to find Belor Hemlock. Once she'd tracked him down, she asked, "Good Day Sheriff. Yes I'm feeling much better, thanks to Father Zantus. So we had a nasty surprise the other day and I'm wondering if it might be related to the events that lead up to the old Cathedral burning down. Where there any records kept into the investigation? If so would it be possible to see them?"
You also find a lot of information about The Chopper, a serial killer that was active around the same time and was caught a month before the fire. The Chopper, actually a man named Jervis Stoot, killed 26 people before he was caught, including the town's sheriff, Casp Avertin. Stoot had moved out to an island (now known as "Chopper's Isle) recently, and when they traced the murders back to the island, they found the eyes and tongues of all 26 victims, and Stoot himself dead at the base of an altar build to a birdlike demon in his home.
The third piece of information that you find is that, around the same time as both of these tragedies, Atsuii Kaijitsu, wife of Lonjiku and mother of Ameiko, fell from a cliff and died. The investigator notes that Lonjiku and Atsuii's son, Tsuto, publically accused his father of pushing his mother to her death at her funeral, but no other evidence pointed to Lonjiku's involvement, and the matter was dropped.
Lucino observes Nisk long enough to pick up a few things about the alchemical proprietor, then turns to leave the shop. With one hand on the door, Lucino stops and turns, addressing him once more. "Nisk, as I was here taking in the results of your craft, I nearly forgot why I came in the first place. I don't suppose you know have any other places nearby that were attacked two nights ago?"
Aria could scarcely believe what she'd read, the 'late unpleasantness' didn't really cover it. "Wow that was quite a harrowing read Sheriff. Frankly if anything I have more questions than before, who killed Stoot? What's all that about a demon shrine?! And as for what I read about Lonjiku Kaijitsu, wow. Amiko is a good friend, I had no idea."
The day winds on, and your dinner with Aldern Foxglove is quickly approaching.
Anyone can make a Knowledge (local) check, and also let me know if you speak Tian.
While Brandor relaxes and recovers, he really does pay as much attention as he can to the man's actions and mannerisms.
-----
The next day, Brandor decides to relax the mind a bit, and heads over to waste a few hours in the Rusty Dragon.
Lucino steps out of Bottled Solutions and wanders the streets of Sandpoint, generally keeping a low profile. At one point he spies a shop with dozens of books in the window, and wanders in; dropping his hood, he greets the shopkeeper and peruses the shelves and tables. He is searching for nothing in particular, though if he finds anything on invention or engineering, he will pick it up. He also makes conversation with the proprietor, trying to get a feel for the person and make a friend.
Wendell spends the day pouring over his notes from the previous day while others wander about town. He is attempting to put the pieces together but getting no where fast. He has papers scattered about the table and a couple of chairs. He ink and pen are also sitting out. It is not until a waitress checks on him that he realizes that he has been seemingly staring at the same piece of paper for hours.
When the gruff man sends the door open with a crash Wendell starts out of his own thoughts and gives the man a once a over. He jots down a few quick notes about the man just incase it might be needed later.
He then gathers his belongs and clears the table he had been occupying for a good portion of the day. "My apologies for taking up so much space for so long a time. Please take this in recompense." He hands over a single gold piece to the waitress. Wendell returns to his room, stows his belongs, and washes up in preparation for dinner this evening.
Aria shrugged when the sheriff clammed up about the demonic altar, she supposed he was right, no good could come from such knowledge. Still what she'd learned had left her much to think about. Besides she was hungry, so she meandered back to the Rusty Dragon and ordered a spicy snack to tide her over till dinner. While she ate she wondered if she should say anything to Amiko, but in the end she decided it was better not to. Why rake over old coals? Only pain could come from raising such a subject...
Her musings were interrupted by the sound of a door slamming and an elderly Tian man seemingly in a foul mood yammering something in his language.
"Aria, is it? Join me, will you? I hate eating alone."
Then he watches as the scene with the older gent unfolds.
Aria replied, "Barandor right? Yes lets see if we can get something to drink to go with it too." She waved at one of the serving staff to get their attention before whispering conspiratorially to the dwarf, "I wonder what all that shouting was about..."
Theron leaves Savah's Armory a bit frustrated with himself. It turns out gathering information from people was going to be more difficult than he thought. Apparently spending many of his formative years running around the woods and hunting animals wasn't the best training for those sorts of delicate social interactions.
He shrugs and walks away, whistling as he goes. Deciding there's no sense worrying about it, Theron takes a walk around town, going nowhere in particular. He finds himself unsure exactly where to go and decides to take an indirect route in the direction of the Rusty Dragon. On his way, though, he spots a sign indicating Vernah's Fine Clothing. Theron had never been in there, nor had he really considered going in before. He glances down at his own outfit, suited more for travel, survival, or fighting than for fashion. It probably needs mending anyway. He sighs in resignation and goes inside. It can't hurt to look, can it?
"Hello?" he calls out as he enters.