Stryn stays in the back as the others move up to engage the man. He had seen the man around town but knew nothing about him and he figured it was generally better to let the non-goblins do the talking. So, he stays quiet and observant.
Kolton doesn't seem put off by Hal's question, merely smiling and answering, "Worthless? When one lives in Varisia, the worth is in the land around you. Listen to the breeze, see the beautiful colors. What value could I possibly have that is more than this?"
Addressing the group, he said, "I heard you spoke to young Kynae about the events at the Circle Market, and you were looking into them. I thought I'd help out with things, since I saw some of what happened. Hello, little goblin. Are you a Bramblemouth, and do you consider yourself a hero?"
When the man specifically addresses him he shakes his head adamantly to the first part of the question then nods it in rapid succession to the second. "Stryn hero, yes! Stryn Thistletop not no Bramblemouth!"
This seems rather timely, Henric thinks to himself, but to the old adventurer he says, "Any information you can provide could be helpful, uh... sit."
While the man speaks, Henric tries to gauge whether he is being honestly helpful, or if there is some other motivation.
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"How right you are," Hal smiled in recognition of a fellow epicurean, and then, true to these convictions, promptly left the discussion. He hadn't been present for the events at the Circle Market, didn't know what a Bramblemouth was beyond a vaguely funny word, and had never heard about Kynae as anything other than maybe those seeds his mothers had used in a very lovely dish. Or was that quinoa? Regardless, the inevitable result was the elf losing interest in the conversation. Those birds sitting in that tree though - those were awfully pretty. Hal decided he would climb it.
He didn't see much success in this endeavor.
Renae bobbed her head at Henric's words. "Yes. If you saw anything of note that night it would do us and the Cove a great ser-" the wizard stopped mid-sentence as she was suddenly distracted by the sight of Hal inexplicably deciding to climb a tree.
"Hal? What are you... what are you doing?" She turned her head towards the rest of the group as if to ask them if they were seeing the same thing she was.
"He's being Hal," Kiley says with a chuckle. The elf was odd, so she was beginning to expect these kinds of antics. If she wasn't in a dress with her good stockings, she might have been tempted to join him. She turns back to Kolton and gives him a smile.
"Stryn here is very brave and we're all rather fond of him," she says, hoping to convince the man Stryn isn't a threat to anyone in town, at least anyone that doesn't have it coming. "As Renae was starting to say, any information you have would be greatly appreciated. We want to do everything we can to help the Cove, and keeping a couple of gangs from turning it into a warzone would be high on our list of things to do. Right at the top even."
Stryn just shakes his head and shrugs to Renae's question. In the short time they had been together he had quickly recognized the elf's chaotic nature and while that isn't a bad thing in itself it seemed to often get Hal in trouble so Stryn didn't pay him much attention figuring at some point he would do something and get himself killed anyway.
Kolton nods his head and says, "Oh, Thistletop from way down south, near Sandpoint. Lovely town. I'm glad to hear you're a heroic goblin. It's very lovely to meet you, Stryn. As to what I saw, that night was overcast, and I was sleeping beneath a beautiful tree when I heard shouting. Looking about, I saw some of those Order of Resplendence cultists running north, away from the Circle, with Ladia Kelstrop yelling at them to come back. Tell me, given Stryn the goblin hero's nature, are the rest of you heroic sorts who like to help others?"
Henric listens to the strange man's story and is caught off guard by the question. "Umm.. I'm not sure that's a fair question. Would anyone who is truly heroic say that they are? We just want to help make sure that no harm comes to the people here."
At hearing Kolton mention of the Order of Resplendence, Renae's attention immediately went from Hal back to him. "Hmm. That is very interesting information, Kolton. Thank you for sharing it with us."
Renae turned to the rest of the party sans an awkwardly tree-climbing Hal. "Kolton makes for two witnesses that have seen the Order of Resplendence. Methinks we should definitely investigate Peacock Manor after we're done with the Stone House."
"Yeah, here's hoping they don't try to smack us with that sword they've got," Kiley says while trying not to draw too much attention. She really wasn't liking the way this guy was focusing on Stryn.
"I want to help," Kiley answers honestly, "I'm not very brave, though. I'm pretty sure that makes me no hero."
Kolton looks disappointed that only Henric had answered him, but at Kiley's answer he smiled and said, "Being a hero doesn't mean never being scared. It just means being able to be scared while doing something to help others."
Looking over the rest of you, he said, "Since you do want to help others, I thought I'd let you know of a small issue. I don't know what the Stone House is, but if you're heading out to the Churlwood for it, you might be able to do a little search and rescue. I've heard that a couple of Dwarves traveling to Roderic's Cove were kidnapped by the Bramblemouth goblins, and might need rescuing. Larenza Thort, the Captain of the Guard, might be able to tell you more. Supposedly she sent three guards out to retrieve the Dwarves, but they haven't come back yet. The two Dwarves who did arrive were supposed to deliver a shipment of armor and weapons to Lyndwyn Suvasa, the local weapons dealer. I hope you can help them out. Toodaloo!"
With that, the strangely charming vagabond wanders off, a smile on his face.
Stryn watches as the man wanders off, his eyebrow quirked in bemusement. Looking back to the others Stryn shrugs "Could get us a reward for helping and if it's on the way toward the Churlwood might as well take a look. Should we, and when I say we I mean one of you longshanks, go talk with the Captain to get more details?"
"I'd love to," said the cleric who had by all appearance not heard a word of anything said. He had returned from his climbing expedition, charitably described as unsuccessful, with his thin lanky hair tussled and the birds scared off. But he had found a shiny beetle, so that was alright. The insect was navigating the elf's long fingers, a sight Hal evidently found endlessly fascinating. At no point did he look up from his hands.
It wasn't that Hal was absent-minded, although one could certainly accuse him of being so. It was just that he saw no hurry here. Two dwarves taken by goblins what sounded like days ago? Clearly they were already dead. There was time to take in the wonders of life.
Despite his initial misgivings, Henric finds himself smiling at the happy-go-lucky man as he wanders away. "Thank you for the information," he says, though not loud enough to carry very far. "We'll do our best."
He turns to Stryn, "I agree. No sense that we shouldn't help those who need it, and possibly earn some income on the side."
With Kolton off and away, and Hal apparently back from his odd climbing trip, Renae spoke to the rest of the party. "We were already planning on venturing into the Churlwood, so I don't why we couldn't add finding these dwarves to our list of concerns."
Her voice grew more serious when she considered the wider implications of their mission beyond goodwill and coin. "Besides, the town may need those weapons if the gangs, cultists, and whatever else is lurking tries to attack it."
She sighed sadly at the thought. She didn't like the idea that the whole town (including her parents) would need to be armed in case of the worst. Such a possibly would surely be a catastrophe, which gave Renae all the more cause to stop whatever was going in the Churlwood and Peacock Manor before things could escalate to such a disastrous point.
"Well, I suppose we best make a move on to the Guardhouse. I'm sure Thort could give us some information on the dwarves and these Bramblemouth goblins."
"I'm all for helping out," Kiley says. "After we go see the good captain, though, can we please get something to eat?"
Stryn nods to Kiley's suggestion "Yes food would be good. Let's go see the captain first though."
He waits for one of the others to take the lead, knowing its probably best the goblin wasn't the one strolling up to the local law.
You make your way to the Cove Guardhouse, and, upon entry, you see Captain Freson, who you remember had asked you about the ghostly apparition of Sir Roderic in the Circle Market earlier, speaking with a young woman, also one of the guard. Seeing you, Captain Freson says, "Ah, good afternoon. What can I do for you today? Not another ghost sighting, I hope."
"Nope, we heard about some people going missing in the Churlwood," Kiley says, more like her normal self, "We wanted to help and were told you might have some more information about what was going on with that."
"Whatever has been happening around here seems to be stemming from that area. Someone told us that some dwarven merchants have gone missing recently, and there may be a connection."
Stryn stands near the back of the group, letting the longshanks do the talking, doing his best not to draw any unwanted attention from the captain. Even though they had already met he was still cautious, specifically around law enforcement, since many were prejudiced against goblins to begin with.
Captain Thort nods and says, "Well, if you can look into it, I'd be grateful. Here's what we know. Galsbredtha Morgmon, a dwarven weaponsmith from the Iron Peaks, arrived two days ago with her valet, Fordren Kulsoth. They and two other dwarves were bringing a shipment of armor and weapons to Lyndwyn Suvasa. While coming through the Churlwood, they were set upon by the goblins of the Bramblemouth tribe. The goblins kidnapped the other two dwarves, who were driving the wagon, and ran off. We recovered the wagon, and nothing was stolen, but the three guards I sent to demand the release of the dwarves haven't returned. I don't want to send any more in, not with those murders in the Circle Market last week still unsolved. If you can go get the Dwarves back for me, I'd be grateful. Here." Captain Thort shows you a map of the Churlwood, and points at a forested hill. "The Bramblemouth tribe lives in a cave on the southern side of this hill. You'll be able to find them there. They usually only cause minor annoyances - they've never committed a roadside abduction like this. Something might have changed - see if you can find anything out."
You recognize that the hill the Bramblemouth Den is on is also the same hill with the Stone House - the Bramblemouths are on the south side, and the Stone House is on the north side.
When the captain pulls out a map he moves up with the others to give it a look. Seeing the location she points out on the map Stryn gives a knowing nod and looks to the others to see if any of them caught the significance. If not he waits until they are away from the captain to relate what he saw.
Henric's eyes go a little wider when he sees the location of the goblin tribe on the map. "The plot thickens..." He says to no one in particular.
"These two incidents are looking more and more as if there is a strong connection, Captain," he tells Thort. "We'll look at getting those dwarves back and try to find answers on the recent events."
When Stryn looked to the others to see whether they had recognized the crucial detail he himself had caught, he was sorely disappointed at the cleric. For while the elf's eyes might have been directed at the map, they were completely glazed, as if he was far off in a world of his own. Which was probably the case.
This was in fact the case. The crisscrossing lines and abstract shapes on the chart had reminded Hal of inkblot tests back at the asylum. He had rather enjoyed those. They were a nice diversion from looking at the walls of his padded cell.
Two kings' crowns. Ox head. A horseshoe crab. Octopus playing the piano. Two bears highfiving.
Kiley's eyes meet Stryn's and she gives him a nod.
Renae gave the Captain Thort's map look and internally criticized herself for spending her childhood with her head in a book instead of exploring the nearby woods like most kids.
Fortunately, it looked like Stryn and some of the others picked on up something she missed given that knowing nods that were being made. The wizard stayed her tongue and waited for them to fulfill her in later.
Captain Thort nods. "Thank you. Between the murders, the ghostly appearance, and the sudden uptick in goblin activity, I'm worried this is only the start of a much larger problem. If you can find out what happened to my men, let me know."
After getting some distance from the Captain Stryn points out what Henric hinted at to the others "That hill the captain pointed out where the Bramblemouth den is located, it is the same one from the other map where the stone house was marked. The den is on the south side of the Hill while the stone house is on the north. I doubt that is a coincidence."
He scrunches his nose as he considers their options then adds "Do we want to head there now, or does anyone need some rest first?"
"I don't think I'm ready to go back out. This outfit isn't exactly one that I'm okay fighting in, and I think we all need a break after the Wreck," she answers Stryn, pointedly not mentioning the ghostly apparitions they encountered and she fled from. "I'm not good with maps, so I don't know if we should take a tent or other camping supplies with us. Is the stone house close or is it a days travel away?"
Kiley's stomach growls, causing the young woman to blush.
"Maybe this is a conversation better had over food," she mumbles sheepishly.
Henric ponders briefly before responding, "My resources are still fairly good, but we should probably be at our best. I just don't want to wait too long. People's lives may be at risk."
"Don't worry, Henric," Hal said, eager to assuage his companion. "This is all two days past. They're all clearly dead. There's no rush."
This dire assessment was delivered with a reassuring smile.
Stryn shrugs "Lunch sounds good, then we go? He specifically looks to Kiley to make sure she is ok with the group heading out after eating. Thinking back on the map he simply notes [b]"No idea how long it will take, but don't think it will be too bad."
Renae ignored Hal's rather morbid (if likely) comment and nodded at Kiley. "So its decided then. We'll return to Creekside for some much needed food and rest. Afterwards, we can go to Conrel's General Store for any extra supplies we may need for our journey."
Having decided to get some lunch, you go to the Creekside tavern. As you all enter the tavern, a voice suddenly shouts, "You!"
Stomping over to you is an irate Dwarven woman who points a finger at Stryn and says, "Whatever you have done with them, you will return my wagon drivers to me immediately! I am a Dwarf of the Iron Peaks, and if you fail to do so, you and your entire clan will face our wrath!"
"That'd be good. Maybe we can find me something a little more appropriate for fighting goblins in, though I think I'm going to need one of your to pay for it or some of it at least," Kiley says, looking rather embarrassed as she admits the last.
Kiley steps in front of dwarven woman as she storms over and begins to berate Stryn before she can get within arms reach of her friend.
"Madam dwarf, I can assure you that Stryn had nothing to do with your drivers. We were planning on heading out and looking for them as soon as we have a plan and have resupplied," Kiley says, doing her best to imitate the accent of the chelish and taldane that had settled Varisia.
"Ms Galsbredtha Morgmon?" drifted a kindly voice somewhere far above the dwarf. The cleric recalled the name from the guard captain's account earlier. Contrary to what one might expect from such a seemingly flighty individual, Hal's memory was in no way impaired. Oh sure, much of what he believed to be memories were in fact just the delusions of a sick mind, but he remembered these just fine.
"It's true, madam weapon-smith. To be best of our knowledge, this particular goblin has no affiliation with the so-called Brambletops. Thistlemouths. Something or other."
He did, however, have trouble retaining information of no particular interest to him. But then, that was true for most.
Henric is caught off-guard by the dwarven woman's verbal assault, and reactively points his staff at her before realizing what's going on. Resting the end of his blackwood staff back on the ground, he chirps in to defend his goblin ally. "Look miss, just because he's a goblin, isn't that going too far to immediately assume that our friend Stryn, who has been with us for several days now, mind you, is associated with the goblins who took your men?" He lets that sink in for a moment before continuing. "Like Kiley said, we are all planning on trying to find your people and bring them back safely."
The eloquence of his speech surprises even himself, with barely even a stutter in his words. Maybe I'm getting used to talking with people...?
Stryn feigns shock at the dwarfs accusation, not because he actually had anything to do with it, but because he was accustomed to being immediately blamed for things. He does his best to hold back a smile as the others come to his defense and simply adds "Stryn good, make promise be good. Not take shortshanks. Stryn help find shortshanks, you give shinnies yes?"
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Galdsbretha, caught off guard by such a staunch defense of Stryn, looks at all of you before looking at the goblin and saying, "Well, if you vouch for him, and find our missing companions, I suppose I might be able to reward you. Only if they're alive, mind you." The Dwarven woman moves away from you, looking back, clearly puzzled by the party's staunch defense of their friend.
The situation defused, you are able to find a place to eat your mid-day meal.