"I'm that obvious, am I, Tomas? Or have you just seen that much? Nevermind--I don't think I need the answer to that. Thanks for the information."
Rory finishes breakfast quickly and smiles a goodbye to Pai as he heads out towards the docks...
...Once he arrives, Rory looks for a flat, open area with a good view of the sea to do his morning Katas...on purpose not noticing any pretty priestesses who might or might not be about.
...and how good is Rory's Kata this morning?
"I'm that obvious, am I, Tomas? Or have you just seen that much? Nevermind--I don't think I need the answer to that. Thanks for the information."
Tomas' only response is a shrug and a grin.
Rory finishes breakfast quickly and smiles a goodbye to Pai as he heads out towards the docks...
...Once he arrives, Rory looks for a flat, open area with a good view of the sea to do his morning Katas...on purpose not noticing any pretty priestesses who might or might not be about.
The sorcerer may or may not notice the honey-haired half-elf sitting on a crate underneath one of the awnings on the dock focused entirely on her sketchbook. He also may or may not notice the emotions warring across her face as she works.
Spying the priestess out of the corner of his eye, Rory continues on with his practice, but his Kata falters a bit when he sees her (Bluff roll). Noticing nothing out of the ordinary in her expression (Sense Motive roll), Rory continues his exercise, perhaps showing off just a bit in an attempt to look ‘artistic’ for his distracted audience.
As Rory gets more involved in his exercises, he fails to notice Annabella move up behind him.
"If you'd really like me to sketch you," she says quietly, startling him out of his concentration. Her face is serious, but there's a humorous tone in her voice. "We could meet in the small meeting room off the common hall this evening. Perhaps just after dinner?" She raises a questioning eyebrow and then turns and saunters away. "Wear whatever you'd like," she says over her shoulder. "It won't matter."
Startled out of the flow of his Kata and gobsmacked by Annabella's invitation, Rory is completely at a loss for words. "This can't be really happening!" he thinks. "Is she setting me up just to make fun of me again?"
As she saunters off, Rory's brain turns completely off as he is hypnotized by the sway of her hips. When he recovers his senses, she is gone, and he is befuddled, but hopeful...
With no chance of aligning his Chi to finish his morning exercise, Rory finds himself a bundle of restless energy. The sound of hammer striking nail reminds him of his purpose today, and he runs off to get the construction supplies and help the townspeople repair their homes, spending the better part of the day burning off his nervousness with hard labor.
Yolar stretches as he walks outside. He follows Rory to help the townsfolk repair their property. He came here looking for solitude..."Gozreh works in mysterious ways...", he says as he joins Rory at one of the houses.
Rory seems a bit more flushed than usual, even for being fresh from his morning Katas.
"In what way do you mean, Yolar?" Rory responds.
In spite of the damage from the storm, the mood in the Stone Hall is quite positive as the members of the group take in their evening meal. The fact that the village survived with minimal damage from such a major storm has seemed to inspire the villagers into a minor celebration. Ale flows freely and songs are sung.
It seems that someone or another has covered the group's meal and drinks for the evening and Tomas makes sure to keep their mugs and plates full as the evening draws on.
Keeping an eye out for her, Rory doesn't miss when Annabella makes her way downstairs with a bag of supplies and approaches Tomas. After speaking with him quietly, the ostler leads her off to the door of the private meeting room. He nods and smiles at something she says and hands her what looks like a key. At a shout from his wife, he says something else to the half-elf before returning to his duties.
The priestess turns and meets Rory's gaze. She gives a small smile, tips her head towards the door and then vanishes inside, closing the door behind her.
While the tenants of Abadar prohibit offering healing for free, the Head Banker considers the labors you've performed for the village to be worthy of compensation and enough to warrant healing both Ashlion and Tygrah up to full health.
Having worked all day, Rory takes care to rinse himself clean before dinner. He eats heartily, but avoids the alcohol, preferring chilled water instead. At Annabella’s nod, he excuses himself from his companions and follows her downstairs.
Rory seems a bit more flushed than usual, even for being fresh from his morning Katas.
"In what way do you mean, Yolar?" Rory responds.
"I thought I came here looking for solitude. Gozreh has sent rain and wind to batter this area...and I'm starting to become fond of these people. Perhaps Gozreh sent me here for a different purpose.", he says as he continues to hammer nails in to the wood.
@Yolar: ”I, too, have found a welcome in this town I did not expect. Perhaps the Divines have a plan for us both in this place.”
Stepping past the closed door into the meeting room, Rory finds Annabella arranging drawing supplies upon the small table that she's pushed to one side of the room. There are more lanterns here than the man remembers from when they met with the sheriff previously and the room is filled with light.
"Eventually I'll have a studio here in town and won't have to resort to these kind of measures," the priestess says as she looks over Rory with a smile. She stands there expectantly for a moment.
When it doesn't appear as if he knows what she wants, she shakes her head. "You've never done this, have you?" she asks with a twinkle in her eyes. She moves to the door and locks it with a distinct click.
"Stand over there and strike a pose," she says with a gesture towards the open space. Her smile broadens. "And take your clothes off."
Uh, Rory came from a Monastery—he has very little experience with women, much less being unclothed in front of one.
”But..but..but..the other sketches have people with clothes on,” Rory blurts out, somehow managing to keep his composure somewhat, even with the thought of being naked in front of this beautiful woman.
”Isn’t there a version where I don’t have to get undressed, at least all the way?” he protests.
”Some people, like you, have beauty follow them like the brush of an angel’s wings, always at the edge of perception, ready to blossom at any time. Others, like me, strive for beauty and fall short often, but sometimes achieve a small portion of its essence with great effort. Then there are the turnips, as you call them, that are often crude and coarse, but occasionally stumble into a shimmering moment of beauty that steals your breath away.”
Continuing, Rory says, ”I saw a moment such as this last night. Ashlion had fought a great battle, and though he was gravely wounded, he had struck the killing blow against our implacable foe. Fighting ferociously at his side, Tygrah matched him strike for strike, but the Shaman’s lightning was too much for her, and she began to fall just after the enemy was slain.”
Looking directly into her eyes, Rory says intently, ”I was there, kneeling by the sheriff, and I saw it. Ashlion went from a full berserker rage to tender husband in an instant, dropping his axe and tenderly catching his bride before she could fall. It was raw, unrehearsed, and primal--a breathtaking display of the transition between rage and love, frozen in a split second of time. If I describe this to you in detail, can you paint it?”
She turns her back and steps over to where her sketchbooks and supplies are sitting on the table. "It's not salacious. I've worked with numerous models; young, old, male, female, ... other. If it's something you don't feel you can do, then ... " she gestures towards the door.
Annabella indulges in a few quick studies of Rory's Kata stance before sliding a chair over and asking him to take a seat in a more relaxed position before returning to her work. As she continues to sketch, she moves around the seated sorcerer and he can feel her eyes moving over every portion of his anatomy. She adjusts his pose a number of times, assisting his positioning with her hands, but never actually touching him. The few moments where his mind begins to wander to less pure thoughts and his body responds, she seems to give no more notice than perhaps a slight quirking of her lips.
After filling numerous pages of a fresh sketchbook with various studies of Rory's form, she closes the book. "See? That wasn't so bad," she says returning the book to a large bag sitting on the table. "You can get dressed now."
As the man retrieves his clothes and garbs himself, Annabella busies herself by pulling out an older and larger book.
"When I was first beginning down this path, my mentor taught me that there is a connection created between artist and subject that must needs be equitable. If there's no balance between the two then there is no art. You can't just take inspiration from someone or something without giving something back. It didn't take long for me to see the truth of it. So I've tried to follow his teachings in my walk. And so ... "
She hands Rory the older book. Opening it up, he can see that it's filled with sketches of Annabella. The oldest drawings are of her as a child. It's clear that the studies are all done by different hands and skill levels. Some chose her eyes. Some chose her hands. Some are full figure drawings while others are of more ... intimate areas.
"You'd be surprised at how much I can learn about someone by what they choose to draw," she says with a smile as she walks over to the empty chair. "And please don't be concerned about how well you draw - that's not what this is about. It's about balance. I draw you; You draw me." With that she reaches up to her neck and with a deft move her hands, her red dress drops to the floor leaving her standing naked in the lantern light. She sits down and takes a relaxed pose on the chair.
"Oh, and please don't use more than two pages."
~~~~~
"I can," she says. "It would take more what time we have this evening, though. Perhaps tomorrow night?"
"Thank you, Rory," she says with a smile. "Although part of me wonders if you're suggesting that I'm perhaps a little vain." She chuckles a little at the thought. "And maybe you're not a little wrong." She looks the mirror over again. "Thank you," she says again with sincerity.
He also agrees to the start work on the commission the following evening--as if he could envision anything but her tonight anyway.
Rory rejoins his friends later with a smile, but remains tight-lipped about what they have been doing.
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Ashlion sleeps deeply through the night, arms protectively around his (now healed) wife. The next morning he is his usual boisterous self, pitching in with a will to the repairs and singing loud working songs at every opportunity.
That night, unaware of the artistic seduction going on downstairs he applies his own special brand of magic to Tygrah, and everyone gets to hear about it...
Indeed, it's unclear whether the two half-orcs are making passionate love or engaged in a brutal brawl. Either way, they leave destruction in their wake, and the next morning, Tygrah offers the innkeeper a few extra coins to pay for repairs to the bed...
Bavick joins in the celebrations in the Stone Hall, but heads to bed at a reasonable hour.
In the morning, he goes to look for Muhdzuzi, to see if the Song'o halfling is still in town and made it through the storm.
~~~~~
"I want you to tell me about Ashlion and Tygrah," she says. "I've seen them and I know what they look like. I want to know who they are."
As the sorcerer begins describing his friends, she begins working in a sketchbook. He glances at her work periodically and is surprised to see the details that are springing up in the studies she's doing based simply on a description of their personalities.
"It's a gift Shelyn has bestowed upon me," she says by way of explanation. "If I know enough about someone, I don't even have to see them." she shrugs. "I can bring out their inner beauty and make it visible."
The duo converse until after lunch at which Annabella takes her leave. "I have someone else to visit with today and I think I have enough to get started on this. Thank you for lunch, Rory. I wouldn't be annoyed to visit with you again."
~~~~
[big]30th of Pharast, 4718 ar[/big]
After a couple of days of late mornings and busy-work helping the fellow residents of Pridon's Hearth recover from the storm, you find the sheriff waiting for you at breakfast. "Count Narsus has called for a council meeting this morning. As I've mentioned before, I'd like you to be there," she says brusquely as she puts butter on a biscuit. "You'll want to be there - I hear he plans to reward you."
Once breakfast is finished, you follow Sheriff Praet on the muddy path heading east out of the village. The path leads to a walled manor house wherin resides Count Lather Nesus.
The manor isn't large, but it's well constructed and seems to have survived the storm with minimal wear. You are lead into a large meeting room containing the Count himself, Head Banker Baldra Sifreth (whom you've already met), and a woman introduced as the count's financial advisor, Hamsa Gadd. Hamsa is a very attractive human woman in her late twenties or early thirties with an expensive looking rapier on her hip.
After introductions are made and everyone is seated around the table, the count speaks. "Before we discuss what happened at Fort Breakthrough," he says. "I would like to personally express my thanks for what you've done in protecting this village from the storm." He smiles honestly. "I know that in many cases, the thanks of a politician are worth about as much as the hot air that propels them, but in this case ... " He rises from his seat and retrieves some items from a side table.
"There are material rewards as well," he concludes with a grin as he places a folded chain shirt on the table. Next to it he sets a couple of potion vials and a bundle of crossbow bolts. He then hands each of you a heavy coin pouch.
"There is also this," Lather continues, holding up a piece of parchment. "This is a deed to a plot of land within the town walls. It's yours."
"Contingent ..." Hamsa interjects. "... on you erecting a permanent structure and either living there or running a business from there for two years." She nods her head aplogetically at the count as she finishes. "Yes, of course," he says. "I want Pridon's Hearth to grow into a place where hard work can secure any family - not just mine - a legacy and land for generations." He grins at you and then takes he seat again.
"Perhaps we should hear about Fort Breakthrough?" the sheriff speaks up, intent on keeping the meeting on topic. "Yes," the count agrees. "Please tell us what you found?"
Rory will support Pai in recalling and explaining all the details of what they found at the Fort—and the apparent attempt by the Lizardfolk to frame the Song-o Halfling tribe. Given the sheriff’s reaction from two nights’ prior, he sticks to the facts and doesn’t provide opinions, remembering that others have had run-ins directly with the Song-o tribe.
Pai recounts the series of events they encountered at Fort Breakthrough, being sure to underline the evidence that Lizard folk appeared to be involved in some kind of frame job, but not diminishing the evidence that was there, either legitimately or planted, that could lead to the conclusion of the Song-O tribe's involvement. After that she proceeds to tell of their encounter with the lizard folk inside the town during the storm.
"...while searching for the sheriff during the storm we found her incapacitated by a lizard folk raiding party. One of their troop appeared to be a magic user making use of the storm to empower his spells. At first I had assumed he was responsible for bringing the storm, but in retrospect I am not as sure. He was easier to defeat than I would expect if he could summon such a powerful maelstrom. But, the fact that two such incidents have occurred so close to each other here and at Breakthrough makes me assume that the settlement will experience more lizard problems in the near future. The events feel correlated to me."
Pai watches as her tale is recounted to see what information takes the listeners by surprise and if there is anything that should be surprising that anyone seems to already know or is upset about having been found out.
She also tries to remember what she can recall of Count Nesus...
...But in the rush and nerves of recounting all of the details she is unable to recall anything.
----
"The Song'o ran into the lizardfolk up by their hunting grounds and ran away from them. Went to ask Fort Breakthough for help, hard as it is to reckon - they was that scared. Seems ta me like if the lizardfolk camp up near Cahshil, or been on the move a lot lately, the Song'o hunters might know somethin' about it. The one we saved didn't know, but maybe his kinfolk do. We help him, take him back ta his people, and maybe they help us.
That's what I'd like to do."
Adding onto Pai's story..."That storm did seem almost supernatural...I don't think Gozreh would approve of such a warp of nature..."
As usual Ashlion's share of the money goes straight to Tygrah. The prospect of land however makes him interested. "LAND. FOR US?" He bellows. "WE CAN BUILD HERE! THIS IS GOOD!"
He seems genuinely pleased by the idea.
Whispering to Annabella (if she is close enough), Rory says,”And I will have the perfect housewarming gift.”
As Pai tells the story with assistance and clarification from the others, Count Narsus' face darkens. When the story concludes he shakes his head.
"This cannot be left unanswered," he says grimly. "I'm going to take a contingent myself into the jungle and ...!" Almost simultaneously, the three other ladies present interrupt him. "Sir, no!", "I really don't think ...", "Is that the best ...?"
Sheriff Praet holds out her hands to calm the responses. "Sir. Rather than going out there yourself, why don't we commission these capable folks? They've more than demonstrated their skills by reconnoitering the fort, routing Graular, and defeating that lizardfolk druid."
The count takes a deep breath. "As usual, you're right, Adaela. My place is here." The man doesn't seem pleased by that.
Hamsa speaks up. "I don't think we should rule out the Song'o completely. I wouldn't put it past them to stage a double-layered deceit. Leaving evidence to mislead us into thinking that the lizardfolk attacked the fort and left easily discerned 'fake' evidence for you to see through. Don't discount their cleverness. One of the places you should investigate is the Song'o village of Cahshil - it's somewhere east of us in the jungle. We don't have a map, but there was one in the fort if you wanted to head back there to retrieve it." You remember that the sheriff mentioned that Hamsa had lost an entire expedition to Song'o tribesfolk and it's clear she hasn't forgotten that either. "The Mireborn tribe of lizardfolk have been seen farther north, but it's rare to see them here. Maybe they're working with the halflings?"
"I'm not sure about that," Sheriff Praet counters. "Early scouting expeditions conducted years ago reported seasonal camps of lizardfolk to the northwest, near some Ghol-Gan ruins, and to the northeast, near a bubbling tar pit, but never any farther south."
The count examines a parchment he's holding, looking down at it through his glasses. "There was another task that you could be helpful with," he says, before looking back up at you all. "Several villagers reported seeing the ship the Cobalt Eye run aground west of town during the storm. It would be a relief if you could investigate and check for any survivors and retrieve a copy of the ship's passenger list. It would be a comfort to their families to know for sure what happened. I would offer you a thousand gold for that information."
The sheriff speaks up again. "And that storm wasn't normal. Our 'seer' ..." she almost sneers when she says the word. "... didn't see it coming at all. I'll wager there was magic behind it. If another one like that hits us, I don't know what will happen. We should be looking for the source of that as well."
Rory checked the storm a few times, but didn’t get any magic pings within 60 feet, so he thinks the source of the storm may have been magical, but the “on-the-ground” results were not detecting as such. Upon reflection, Rory considers if he might have any further insight into the storm’s unusual nature and/or what direction the magic source might be?
Turning to the others, Rory asks, ”What do you think? They seem to need us and we do work pretty well together. I am up for being “commissioned” if you guys are.”
"Agreed.", Yolar says. "This town is nice, but I would like to explore the region a bit."
He eyes Muhdzuzi..."It probably would be best to escort this gentleman back to his tribe. After that...we should probably help the people of that ship. I am curious, however, about that storm..."
"Sounds good to me, Yolar. I would guess that you are uniquely qualified to investigate the magical manipulation of weather." He adds humbly, "I tried to make sense of it myself, but I could not."
[big]31st of Pharast, 4718 ar[/big]
A little after dawn, you set out for your second foray into the wilderness; To escort Muhdzuzi to his village. The only direction he indicates is that it's east of here and he can find the way. Before you manage to leave the village, however, you're approached by Sheriff Praet. She seems slightly embarassed.
"I know you got other tasks to perform that are more important, but ... uh ... you see ... my cousin, Jheri 'One Arm', runs a dika plantation along the marsh northeast of town and I would really appreciate it if you'd check in on him to make sure he's ok after that storm."
She presses a coin pouch into your hand.
"I would really appreciate it."
She gives you directions to find the plantation and walks away. Once the sheriff is out of sight, another figure approaches - Mr. Blackwell. The neatly dressed man seems to have been waiting for you to complete your business with the sheriff. His smile is practiced and cold.
"Ah, yes, I had hoped to catch you before you embark out into the wilderness. I've heard around town that you may be visiting the Ghol-Gan ruins that are reputed to lie buried somewhere ..." he gestures eastward. "... out there. If you do, I would pay handsomely for any intact archeological artifacts you recover." With a nod and a firm handshake, he takes his leave.
You wait around for a another few minutes, but it doesn't look like anyone else is waiting to approach you for any 'last minute' business.
~~~~~
The territory around the town of Pridon’s Hearth consists mostly of unexplored marshlands, tropical hummocks, and grassy lowlands, with the edge of the true jungle - known locally as the Jungle of Hungry Trees - beginning farther east. Rain blankets the area, varying only in intensity, with miserable spitting in the mornings, pounding downpours in the early afternoons, and mist rising off the marshes at random intervals. Many of the landscape’s ancient trees have toppled or now lean at odd angles thanks to the thunderstorm that just roared through the area.
The closest thing to a road you've found so far, is the muddy track that leads directly to Fort Breakthrough - not helpful. So you're blazing your own trail and it's slow going.
”I wouldn’t mind stopping by the plantation to the northeast on the way to the Song’o Tribe to the east. The sheriff has done well by us so far anyway...What do you guys think?”
"I think we should stop by the plantation too. That storm was too much for someone with two arms...let alone one.", he says without breaking stride or hesitating at clearing a trail through the forest.
"Agreed. Let's go check on Jheri."
Tygrah follows in Ashlion's wake, his destructive passage making her path easier.
The path being cleared quite effectively in front of him, Rory follows along in their wake on foot. ”Maybe next time with the horse,” he thinks.
You spend the day trekking northeast through the wilderness towards the location of Jheri's plantation. You encounter sporadic rainfall during the journey, but nothing else.
As the sun is setting to your left, you reach what you assume to be your destination. 'Plantation' is a generous descriptor to apply to this log cabin and the surrounding stands of dika trees. It looks a little worse for wear as well because of the storm. A portion of the thatched palm-leaf room has been torn away and freshly fallen tree limbs lie up against one side of the structure.
In the fading light, you see no signs of light or life from within the cabin.
Not liking the look of this, Rory flows into a few Katas, then looks intently around, assessing potential risks.
"Let me go take a look."
Bavick sneaks about 50' ahead of the party, listening for sounds and looking for tracks.
Gripping his trident..."This does not look good..."
Impressed by Bavick's stealthy approach, Rory tries to be quiet as he scans for magic and looks for any other threats. Ashlion's sudden outburst startles him and he jumps, then shoots him a withering look, slowly raising his finger to his lips in a "shhh" motion.