Audrahni addresses Stryn's question, "Captain Freson is quite capable, but she has her hands full with the recent gang violence. She may even welcome your help with this matter."
Once you've all agreed, Audrahni says, "Some of you may know this, but this wasn't the first time Sir Roderic's ghost has manifested. About 10 years ago, there were several reputed sightings of his ghost. It was later discovered that the Port-Governor at the time, Jess Gildersleeves, was discovered to be diverting town funds to shady interests in Riddleport. There was a minor uprising in the town, and she fled. I do not think Sir Roderic was the cause of that, nor do I think he is the cause of the current gang violence. I believe his spirit grows restless when the Cove is in danger. In order for his spirit to find rest, Roderic's Cove must be made safe for its citizens. Unfortunately, the exact nature of what danger threatens the town must be discovered first. I've tried looking for clues, but I'm not the best at getting people to talk to me or noticing subtleties in conversation." The elven woman gives a small, sad smile. "I'm honestly surprised you all agreed to have lunch with me."
Audrahni continues, "For investigating Sir Roderic's ghost, you may find some information in an investigation of his old home, which is just outside of town. The locals call it Roderic's Wreck, as it has been abandoned since he and his family died. The house is quite old and dangerous, so you should be very careful and deliberate when you do so. If you'd like to look into the gang violence, I can tell you that the six men were all human - locals who left behind no immediate family. They came from a variety of professions. Two were trappers, one a fisherman, and the other three unemployed. They all wore a rune on their clothing that has become the symbol of a gang known as the Horned Fangs."
Here, Audrahni pauses as though considering something, then says, "They likely didn't know the actual meaning, having just seen the symbol and adopted it, but the symbol is known by another name. It is the ancient Thassilonian Rune of Wrath. I'm not sure where they could have seen it - I haven't noticed it anywhere about town. As for the cause of death, one of the bodies bore a deep puncture wound to the throat from some kind of stabbing weapon. I suspect either a rapier or a short sword. The wound was instantly fatal. The other five...they had no physical wounds, no injuries on them at all. However, their faces were contorted into expressions of extreme fear. I think every one of them may have died of fright."
Audrahni takes a drink from her mug, then says, "I can also tell you that there were no witnesses to the violence I've heard of, but the first person on the scene of the massacre was Ladia Kelstrop, owner of Kelstrop Meats."
Stryn takes in the information and makes a number of mental notes to himself Great a haunted house... with more ghosts maybe... I wonder if there is anything I can find to steel my nerves. Maybe looking into the gang first would be easier and more straight forward. If the elf hasn't seen the symbol around town the men must have found it somewhere hidden, if we can track it down that might provide us a lead into things...
Eventually he looks around at the others once the elf finishes and exclaims "Sounds like adventure! Stryn will help new friends make the cove safe again! Stryn was getting antsy for some new excitement..."
"That's quite a lot!" Kera says, giving a small frown. "At least five leads, I'd say. There's Roderic's Wreck, tha' rune o' Wrath, th' Horned Fangs, th' Roadrunners, th' first on the scene, Ladia Kelstrop. And that ain't even countin' th' bodies o' the slain. What'd they do with their bodies?"
"I've tried looking for clues, but I'm not the best at getting people to talk to me or noticing subtleties in conversation." The elven woman gives a small, sad smile. "I'm honestly surprised you all agreed to have lunch with me."
Having gotten to know the elven woman during his time in Roderick's Cove, he knows the truth of her words. Henric's own social stigma makes it difficult for his to feel comfortable around other, so he feels a bit of kinship with her in this regard. It took some time before either one said more than a few words to the other, but eventually they grew more comfortable and interested in what the other had to say. He gives Audrahni and small smile and a slight nod of understanding when she looks his way, though he doesn't interrupt her.
He takes in all the information, but is especially interested in the rune that the Horned Fangs have adopted. This might just be the breakthrough I've been waiting for, he thinks to himself.
"That certainly does give us some leads to work with. I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to face Sir Roderick's ghost again, just yet, so maybe we should investigate into the gangs, or even chat with this Lidia Kelstrop"
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"That's quite a lot!" Kera says, giving a small frown. "At least five leads, I'd say. There's Roderic's Wreck, tha' rune o' Wrath, th' Horned Fangs, th' Roadrunners, th' first on the scene, Ladia Kelstrop. And that ain't even countin' th' bodies o' the slain. What'd they do with their bodies?"
"At least six for now," Renae concurred with Kyra with a nod. "But some seem more fruitful than others," she swiftly added.
Renae weighted each lead for their potential worth to their mission. Ladia Kelstrop may have been the first witness to the gang fight, but if she only arrived after the fact what more could she tell? Unless, of course, she hadn't been completely truthful about all that she had seen that day? Even so, it seemed to her that Roderic's Wreck and the Horned Fang use of the Rune of Wrath felt the most pressing of the leads, especially the latter.
The rune of my rival! That fool firestarter thinks she can dare-
Renae shook her head and banished the thought from her mind. That was Sorshen, not her. "How and why thugs would adopt the Rune of Wrath is definitely worth looking into. As is Roderic's Wreck. If there is any place where Sir Roderic's spirit would reside it would be there. If do find him there than we can potentially learn of what dangers he believes are plaguing the town."
"Well, unless one of us is one of them 'oly types, I don't think we're up to dealing with ghosties. I'd rather seek the gangs out first, then go to the wreck if we need to," Kiley says after some of the others have put forward their thoughts. "Actually, I've got an idea for gettin' the Road Runners' attention. I don't know any self respecting bandits that'd pass up the opportunity to 'arrass a couple of pretty lasses, and if we 'ave a wagon loaded with 'goods' it'll only make it all the better for them."
Stryn chimes in with "Stryn think we find both gangs! Good start place. We wait ghost last... Stryn not want to see ghost again soon..."
The Rune of Wrath was historically associated with the Thassilonian region of Bakrakhan. It's thought that the entirety of Bakrakhan was swallowed beneath the ocean during Earthfall, however, you have heard that there have been some sites found along the Lost Coast that may have been part of it. Hollow Mountain, on Rivenrake Island in the Varisian Gulf, is reputed to have been associated with it, but the distance between the Cove and the Island is great enough that any influence from there is unlikely, at best.
Audrahni answers Kera's question, "The bodies have already been buried in the cemetery, and I must insist they remain there. Whatever they may have done in life, they deserve their rest. I've told you everything you can learn from them, regardless, since I'm the one who prepared them for burial and dug the actual graves.
"It sounds as though you plan to investigate the murders first. You should be able to find Ladia in her smokehouse around this time of day, if you wish to speak to her. Please don't delay investigating Roderic's Wreck for too long, though. The sooner you find out what Sir Roderic views as this threat, the better you'll be able to focus your investigations. It's possible the gang violence is unrelated to his appearance. We just don't have the information we would need."
Stryn nods and hops down from his seat at the table and starts to head for the door, he turns and looks back at the others and nods his head toward to door "Stryn ready! We go see Ladia."
"It sounds as though you plan to investigate the murders first. You should be able to find Ladia in her smokehouse around this time of day, if you wish to speak to her. Please don't delay investigating Roderic's Wreck for too long, though. The sooner you find out what Sir Roderic views as this threat, the better you'll be able to focus your investigations. It's possible the gang violence is unrelated to his appearance. We just don't have the information we would need."[/b]
Henric nods solumnly at Audrahni's words of warning. "Understood. We won't spend too much time with this. The appearance of Sir Roderick is obviously important, but any information we can get before approaching him may be helpful."
Recalling her historical lessons at the Cypher Lodge, Renae told the table her thoughts on the gangs. "I find it unlikely that these Horned Fangs saw the Rune of Wrath from a Thassilonain ruin near the Cove," she theorized confidently. She had grown up around the Cove's ruins and had never seen the symbol even once in her amateur archaeologist days.
"The rune is heavily associated with the Thassilonian kingdom of Bakrakhan, which mostly sank to the bottom of the sea when Earthfall came about. Only a few remnants of the kingdom remain and all of them are far from here. Given that the Horned Fangs are mostly locals, it seems likely that whomever is leading them either isn't a native of the town or has recently returned to it from a very dangerous trip to Hollow Mountain."
Theories we're all well and good but they were nothing without hard evidence, no matter how confident Renae felt about them. And so, she voiced her definitively opinion on where they should go first. "Of course, the only way we'll know for sure is if we investigate the group ourselves. I agree that we should do that first before we tackle Sir Roderic."
"Great! Let's head over to Ladia's and see what she can tell us," Kiley says, happy to not have to deal with a ghost for the moment. She hangs back as the others leave for a moment, wanting to speak to Audrahni alone.
Kiley drops her friendly smile after she sees the others have left and turns her attention to Audrahni.
"Do you really think we'll have to go to the Wreck," She asks. "Nothin' good ever come from bothering the dead."
Her eyes narrow as she looks right at the and her voice becomes even more tense.
"And how much did you see?"
Audrahni returns the look with a sad smile. "It's as good a place to speak to Sir Roderic as any, and you're more likely to encounter him there. If there is someone or something that is a danger to the town and he knows about it, asking him may provide you with answers sooner rather than later." For the answer to the other question, she says, "I can tell you that despite outward appearances, you aren't human. You're hiding something with that scarf around your head - possibly some non-human ears? Regardless, I won't ask about it or tell anyone. Everyone is permitted to keep their secrets, so long as they do no harm."
You get the sense she's telling the truth - she won't talk to anyone about it, and she isn't going to pry. In fact, you're pretty sure when she says that last sentence, she might be referencing herself as much as you.
You depart the Creekside Tavern and head to Kelstrop Meats, on the other side of town. It takes you about ten to fifteen minutes to walk there, and a couple of minutes before you arrive, you begin smelling the delicious scents of smoking meats in the air. As you arrive, you see a dark-skinned woman with close cropped hair and large hoop earrings emerge from the source of that smell - a decent sized smokehouse. Seeing you, she says, "Greetings and well-met! Welcome to Kelstrop Meats, I'm Ladia Kelstrop. Can I interest any of you in some fine meats? How about you, little goblin? I'm told your kind have voracious appetites. I have an excellent smoked brisket, if I can tempt you."
Stryn eyes the wide assortment of meats upon entering the shop, when Ladia specifically asks him if he wants any he nods happily and just asks "How much?"
Even though he had just eaten his fill, this place smelled delicious and he couldn't pass up the offer. Plus he figured, maybe actually buying something would help loosen her lips for the others to get some information out of her.
"Hi Ladia, I'm Kera! This's Stryn, Renae, Kiley, Henric, and Georgi. I'm new in town. How long ya been in Roderic's Cove?"
Henric responds to the enthusiastic merchant's greeting with a small smile and a nod of thanks, but he leaves the talking to Kera and the others. Instead, he looks around, trying to seem interested in the contents of the shop while listening to the woman's responses and trying to judge their truthfulness.
Perhaps a bit impatiently, Renae followed up Kyra's question with her own. " Ladia," Renae said the name sweetly in a way that implied a higher level of intimacy between them than there actually was.
She hadn't planned it. The easy tone just came out of her. "I know you've already talked to Captain Freson, but we need you to reiterate what you saw at the gang massacre. My friends and I are trying make sense of Sir Roderic's appearance and we think that the two many be connected. I'd be very grateful for any help you could provide us."
"Thanks for that. I've got enough worries without adding a lynch mob to the list," Kiley thanks the elf as she hears her reassurances that she wouldn't out her secret. "And consider this an open invitation to come eat with me anytime you want," Kiley adds with a smile that shows one of her too-sharp canines. "Would be nice to talk to someone without having to worry about how wide I'm smiling."
Kiley catches up not too far from Kelstrop's Meats, she is almost as smitten by the smell as Stryn is, and just barely manages to keep from joining him in asking for a price.
"'Ello! If the food is half as good as it smells, you can tempt me all you want," she says as she's introduced. "D'you 'ave somewhere private for the more risque briske'?"
Ladia motions you into her shop, where she pulls out the brisket, trims a little bit off, and says, "Go ahead and give it a try." If you eat the brisket, you find it melts in your mouth and has an excellent spice crust on it - definitely worth a purchase.
At Renae's question, Ladia eagerly says, "A nasty business that, and it seems everyone wants me to tell what happened. Well, I don't mind a little conversation. Now, that night, as I do most nights, I got up to come tend the smokehouse fires to make sure they didn't extinguish. On my way there, I saw a number of people fleeing northwards, away from the Circle. I shouted at those fleeing to stop where they were as I raced to the scene. Once there, I came across a grisly sight. Six bodies, sprawled out on the ground, as dead as the cow that brisket came from. I shouted for everyone to wake up and help and to keep an eye out for the varlets who committed this heinous crime." Here Ladia sighs, and her smile fades a bit. "Regrettably, it was too dark for me to make out any of the vagabonds fleeing the scene, but I don't think they were thugs from Riddleport. They fled north, and pirates would have fled south, to their ship at the docks."
Ladia seems to be considering something, then she says, "Since you seem like good people who just want to help, I'll tell you something else. I did see a young boy, Kynae Fromperton, near the scene shortly after I started yelling for help. He slipped away before more help arrived. I don't think he was involved - he's just a kid and I don't want him to experience any trouble - but there's a chance he may have seen something more."
Kynae Fromperton is the son of the local town drunk, and often tries to avoid spending time at home. He can be found throughout the town.
Kynae is quite clever, despite his unfortunate parentage, and can typically be found reading at Blackberry's Bakery during the day.
After trying some of the brisket Stryn decides he needs to buy some and hands over some coin (up to 2 gold) for a good cut of the meat. He listens in as the woman gives her side of events. When she mentions it odd that the individuals fleeing headed north he looks to the others and asks "What up north, anything?"
Without waiting for an answer he eats some more of his food and then adds "Stryn, think we find Kynae. Ask him questions too."
Beaming a smile at Ladia, Renae thanked her for the information. "Thank you, Ladia. My friends and I truly appreciate your help.
Kynae Fromperton,she ruminated on the name, trying to recall what she could about the boy from town gossip. When she was finally able to delve up some useful details she reiterated them to her companions.
"I've been away for awhile but I know Kynae is the son of our local town drunk,"she informed them sadly. "As you can imagine the boy doesn't enjoy going home, so he usually spends his time at Blackberry's Bakery when he can."
"Oh don't worry," Kiley says after swallowing her tasty little sample of the brisket, "we won't get 'im into trouble. We'll be the souls of discretion, we will."
Seemingly done with their questions as the group had another lead to chase. Stryn buys some of the brisket and is ready to depart with the others to find this Kynae person. He looks to Renae and says "Ok, you lead to puffy bread shop, Stryn happy to go, maybe more goods foods to eat!"
Ladia answers Stryn's first question, "Nothing much is up north - the Churlwood, mainly. There's the cemetery and the church of Pharasma on the edge of it. There's Peacock Manor, although I doubt they came from there. No doubt it was some gang from the Churlwood, though. I'm surprised you don't know that, little goblin. Aren't you from the Churlwood?"
Kyra frowns. Kynae sounds like a lost boy trapped in a hard life. She hopes there's something they can do for him.
"Thanks Ladia, we'll be sure to be back to purchase some of your meats!"
Henric nods in thanks to Ladia as they depart, looking for the young Kynae. "You think this kid will talk to us, Renae? He might be a bit flighty."
As Renae guided the party to the bakery she ruminated on Henric's question. "Kynae has had a hard life for one so young," she admitted. "Even so, he's a good and clever child who I think would be willing to help us if given proper motivation and much needed compassion."
"What if I talk to 'im? I'm good with kids," Kiley says as they follow Renae's lead.
Stryn follows along munching on some of the meat he purchased as the others talk he adds "Stryn give him shinny to talk? Shinnies help people talk lots times."
You walk back across the river and to Blackberry's Bakery. As you draw near, you catch the smell of fresh baked bread. As you enter bakery, the smell grows stronger, and you see several fresh baked loaves, along with blackberry tarts, muffins, jams, pastries, and other confections. You see, sitting in the corner, a human boy of around 10 reading a book. A bell rings as you enter, and emerging from the back comes a halfling woman who steps up on a stool behind the counter and says, "Hello! Welcome to Blackberry's Bakery. I'm Blackberry. How may I help you today?"
Henric nods in greeting, tipping his wide-brimmed hat slightly, "Greetings miss. We're actually here to talk to young, Kynae, if that's ok. We just wanted some information, if he'd be willing to help us out."
Henric manages to seem fairly sociable for a change and keeps from stuttering too much.
Just as they enter the bakery, Kera takes a deep breath, reassuring herself of Desna's presence with them during their investigation.
"We could do it right ere, if yer worried 'bout 'im," Kera says. "Also, I'll buy a pastry while we're 'ere. You lot want anything?" She asks the others. "My treat."
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Kiley grins as she comes up with her ploy while the others are discussing things. She pulls out enough coin to pay for one of the sweet pastries and sweeps her hand over one of the tastier looking ones. At first, things go well, and Kiley feels a sense of satisfaction as the coins smoothly and quietly replace the pastry on the counter. Her smile soon fades into a look of desperation as she fumbles the pastry, though, and dances about trying to catch the devilish danish. She almost catches it, but once again, the pastry proves to have a mind of its own and arcs over at the boy. Showing off her reflexes and agility, she lunges and falls into a split and catches the errant eclair before it can splatter over the boy and his book.
"'Ey. Sorry about that. I was tryin' t'be more clever than I ought. Wha's yer name, kid," she asks as she its down, cross-legged, next to the boy's chair in a single fluid motion. "An' do ye like, uh... Whatever this thing is?"
She gives him a cock-eyed smile as she holds out the pastry to him.
It had been years since she'd been in Blackberry's Bakery and the strong scent of pastries in the air immediately conjured up childhood memories of excitedly visiting the confectionery with her family.
Coming out of her reverie, Renae greeted Blackberry, kindly refused Kera's offer, and lastly added her voice to her friends inquires.
"Kynae," she said, addressing him warmly, almost motherlike."We need your help. The whole town does actually. You're not in any trouble, but we think you saw the gang brawl that happened. If that's true than we need to know what happened that night." Renae paused for a moment, letting the boy process what she said and meant."The fighting needs to stop, Kynae, and the only way it can is by knowing more about the people responsible. Do you think you can help us?"
Stryn is overwhelmed by the delicious smells of the bakery when they enter. He starts looking around while the others talk to the boy, he's paying keen attention to their discussion and waiting for the boys reply, but is also interested in the various pastries.
This who hunting down clues thing hasn't been so bad as they've also been touring all the local food shops at the same time, a bit of adventure and delicious food is just a win-win. Eventually he finds some plump muffins and asks to purchase two for him to eat, while the others speak with the boy.
Blackberry frowns as you approach and ask Kynae about the night in question. She opens her mouth, and then Kiley does her trick, and Blackberry is rather stunned by the antics. Kynae looks from Renae to Kiley, takes the pastry and says, "Okay, but you can't tell my dad about it. You really can't."
Taking a bite of the pastry, he says, "I was out late at night look...getting some night fishing done..." he looks a bit askance as he says that, "...and then I heard people talking in the Circle. I snuck towards it to see what was going on, then hid behind a rain barrel so no one noticed me. There were two groups of people arguing. One was a group of those Horned Fangs, and the other was some of those Order of Resplendence people. I couldn't see who they were exactly - it was really foggy. One of the order people was accusing the Horned Fangs of 'properating a runelord's rune' or something like that. She seemed pretty upset about it. The Horned Fang said something, er...well...it was kinda naughty back to her. The lady sputtered and that, and then things got weird."
He takes another bite of the pastry, and then takes a deep breath and says, "The lady drew what looked like a broken rapier - at least, it had a basket hilt, but it didn't have a blade. The woman jabbed it at the Horned Fang, and then suddenly his throat opened up and blood sprayed everywhere. That wasn't the worst though." Kynae's eyes grow really big. "Things came out of the fog. Monsters. Ghosts. Worse. They started swirling through the air, and one after another the Horned Fangs just dropped dead! When I saw one of the ghosts turn my way, I thought it looked a lot like my old man, so I just took off running!"
He grabs Renae's hand and nervously, says, "Please, you can't tell him about this!"
Kynae described the effects of a weird spell perfectly.
The sword Kyane describes sounds like Baraket, the Sword of Pride, a rapier with an invisible blade.
Henric listens attentively to the young Kynae as he tells his story, making mental notes to bring up.
"No worries, kid."P He tells Kynae when he's done. "We're not here to get you in trouble."
"What do we know of this Order of Resplendence group?" he asks the others. "It looks like we've already answered one of the questions that we wanted to know. The Horned Fang seem to know where they got the rune from."
"Aye," Kiley agrees with Henric when he reassures the young boy, "we ain't about t'go blabbin' t'yer pa about this. We've all gotten a little o'erzealous about doin' some night fishin'. No harm done as far as I'm concerned."
The rakish young woman wraps an arm around Kynae and gives the boy a sisterly hug.
"If you ever need help with anything, go to the Creekside Inn and ask for Kiley. I'll let the keepers know t'look after ya if I'm out," she whispers in the boy's ear.
You see a glint of gold as Kiley's deft fingers disappear into Kynae's pocket and remains missing as her fingers come out.
She stands up and looks to the others.
"I think we've bothered Kynae and Ms. Blackberry enough for one afternoon. I'm thinkin' we need t'walk while we talk if ye catch m'meanin'," she says before sauntering out the door.
"This is bad," Kiley says with little of her normal exuberance as she leads them back to the Creekside Tavern and Inn. "There's three o' these gangs runnin' around that we know o' and one o' 'em seems t'have some mighty powerful magic t'use. Those Road Runners are probably in the Churlwood, but I'd bet a few silver that these Order of Resplendence fellas are too hoity toity fer campin' in th'woods. M'bet's on that big ol' manor."
"We won't, Kynae. Renae pledged after hearing the boy's tale. "You did nothing wrong, but I swear to the Gods to keep this a secret."
Renae's lips turned into a hard line as she ruminated on the fear she had seen in the boy's eyes. It was hard to tell what scared him more: His Father or the gangs?
She followed her compatriots out of the bakery, shaking her head as she did. The boy needed much more than promises from strangers, that much was clear. She almost said as much to the rest of the party but realized that they'd certainly say much the same. Anyone with a heart would.
Right then, Renae made herself a promise to ask Captain Freson about Kynae's situation the next time they meet. Something would be done for the poor boy. Even if the enchanter was forced to use... dubious methods to do it.
Her mind now somewhat at ease about Kynae, Renae started to wrap her mind around his story. The first thing to come to mind was the strange rapier he mentioned. Baraket, the Sword of Pride!, She exclaimed, it all suddenly coming back to her now. "That must be the invisible rapier Kynae described. It's a blade of ancient Thassilonian legend. How a mere gang was able to get their hands on such a relic is beyond me but having it makes them incredibly dangerous." She added.
Stryn pops another pastry in his mouth from the bakery as they exit the store, paying however much it costs, and follows along with the others. He doesn't speak up during the groups chat with the boy but as the discussion turns to next steps he chimes in "Stryn think maybe go see ghost now? Sounds like big bads with scary weapons. Maybe ghost not as scary as the big bads... maybe ghost help like elf lady say?"
Sighing outwardly to try reinforcing his nerves, Henric agrees, "That certainly sounds like the next best step. Whatever is going on, Sir Roderick may have the answers... or at least less questions."
The Order of Resplendence is, in fact, based out of Peacock Manor. They have recently closed their gates and are limiting interaction with the town. They said they would remain so until the dangers of the gang violence had passed.
Though viewed as a rather strange group of scholars, people in town have a generally positive opinion of the Order of Resplendence.
Kynae, looking relieved that no one is going to tell his father about this, says, "Thank you, miss. I really 'ppreciate it."
He looks at Kiley with a thankful look.
Kiley gives Kynae a smile and a wink as she leaves.
"Jus' between us, a'right?"
"Audrhani told me that we should go t'Roderick's Wreck an' seek 'is ghost," Kiley says, though she doesn't sound thrilled by the idea. "If you want t'go, then I'll go, but I really don't like dealin' with the dead."
Kiley's trepidation goes beyond just "not liking." She's afraid and the cause of it seems to be related to the dead, specifically the undead.
"But before we do anything, lemme go see if they still like me enough at the Creekside Tavern t'let me play tonight," she says, sounding more like her normal, cheerful self.
After listening to what her companions had to say on what their next move should be, Renae chimed with her own indecisive thoughts. "I'm at an impasse," she admitted, one hand on her chin. "Investigating the Wreck could definitely illuminate us on what Roderick believes is a threat to the Cove... But it's possible that will only lead us to the Order of Resplendence."
She finally turned towards Henric to answer his question. "They are a group of scholars residing in Peacock Manor. Most of town has a good opinion of them. They being involved with the gang violence, let alone having access to an artifact like the Sword of Pride is... shocking to say the least."
They are the servants of my rival. They must be. We have to destroy them!
Renae shook her head trying to block out the alien thoughts. "Roderic's Wreck or the Peacock Manor," she said, somewhat shakily. "Those seem to be our best leads right now. I'm game to go to either."
"Ghost's it is then," Kiley mutters before ducking into the Creekside Inn and Tavern.
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"Kynae described a powerful magic, a weird. Potent sorcery, it is, something we could only expect from a wizard of the highest order! That coupled with the sword. Whoever this Order of the Resplendence is, they have mighty powerful members, or friends. I wouldn't want t' confront 'em just yet, not least 'til have have other information. My vote is fer the wreck as well."
"But 'afore we go traipsing off int' danger, gather 'round, friends. Desna's got a word fer us..." Drawing everyone in close, Kera offers a simple prayer to the sky for good fortune in the trial ahead.
Following the prayer, Kera produces her harrow deck, shuffling it and drawing a card for herself. "Ahhh!" she says with a grin, stowing the card and rejoining the group. "I sense a storm's a'brewin."
"Let's pray it's a friendly storm. Magic weapons and mad wizards are trouble enough without added the wind and the rain," Kiley says with a grin. She banishes her fears for now, thanks to Kera's prayers over them. As the group heads for the Wreck, Kiley matches Kera's pace and speaks to her quietly.
"Thanks for including me in that," Kiley says, a bittersweet smile on her face. "'Aven't been a part of a Caravaneer's Prayer in a long time."
"Anytime! I always start th' day, and any difficult challenge with a prayer. With any luck, we'll be spendin' more days together!"
"Careful," Kiley says with a grin promising mischief, "I was the kid that all the other kids got warned about. I'm bound t'get the two o' us into some kinda trouble."
On an impulse, the auburn-haired woman gives Kera a hug. The other woman can see the tears running down Kiley's face even as she smiles.