As he pulls on the ropes to pull you across, the ferryman speaks, "So, what brings you folks to Ravenmoor? We don't get a whole lot of strangers round these parts."
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Salvius seems to dote on the little boy, finding kinship in the training of animals and wild beasts-"We should try and see what the town offers in terms of food, maybe try the local delicacies. I'm sure we can find something tasty - my treat!"-smiling at Ornigaard.
When traveling the river, he mentions-"A Wolf in the Water, is it? Pray tell, what does it look like? Shiny skin would mean oil secretion, and whether it hunts with teeth or claws might indicate where it makes its home."-trying to make a cartoony doodle of the creature for Ornigaard's amusement.
"Hmph." She rubs her fingers along her pistol. "They can get a look at this barrel."
"Oh, were here to find a friend of ours. Has been quiet for a bit, so we want to make sure he is doing fine." Tanya states to the ferryman.
"Oh, you know someone from Ravenmoor? Well now, that makes sense of why you'd be coming here." He rubs his stubble, "Although, I can't begin to guess who you'd know in town... unless... is it the mayor?"
Salvius seems to dote on the little boy, finding kinship in the training of animals and wild beasts-"We should try and see what the town offers in terms of food, maybe try the local delicacies. I'm sure we can find something tasty - my treat!"-smiling at Ornigaard.
When traveling the river, he mentions-"A Wolf in the Water, is it? Pray tell, what does it look like? Shiny skin would mean oil secretion, and whether it hunts with teeth or claws might indicate where it makes its home."-trying to make a cartoony doodle of the creature for Ornigaard's amusement.
The ferryman shakes his head, "Don't nobody know quite what it looks like seein' as anyone who gets too close a look, well, they aint in no condition to tell folk what they saw." He pulls strongly on the rope, "It's a greedy thing, I can tell you that."
The ferryman spins a few more yarns and Linka concludes that it’s either a great, evil river god or it’s a particularly tough bunyip that he is describing.
As you all disembark the ferryman gives you a nod, "Does y' know wherein you're headin'?"
The ferryman grins, "Well, you won't be gettin' none this minute but if you've some patience then you'll get plenty tonight at the Founder's Feast. Why, yes, you've arrived at just the right time."
The boy climbs back up onto Lackadee and directs you through the village, "Thataway. My Pa should be home."
You pass through a village of rickety, one-storey wooden buildings, augmented by a few that have fallen in or burnt down. You pass what appears to be a weaver's shop, a trading post with a smithy attached, a barbers with a red and white pole outside, an abandoned church with a caved-in roof and no bell left in the tottering belfry, and a ring of 6-foot-tall, black river stones, as well as several homes, on your way to Ornegaard's home.
A few non-plussed locals stare at you as you pass. One even scratches her head.
"Dear ferry man, Sir, have you seen someone around here going by the name of Elias Kyle? we heard he might be around..."
"Well, no, the name don't ring no bells. I don't think there's no Elias Kyle lives in Ravenmoor."
A feast? What's provided at the feast? We only have some trail rations, so we aren't going to have much of a contribution.
He smiles, "Oh, the feast? It's a hell of a good time. There's games and contests, I might run a book on some contests if'n you fancy a wager, and a slap-up feed when they're done. It's our way of showin' gratitude to Iola Kriegler, our founder, an' the Dreamtender, of course."
Ekanta heads to take a closer look at the derelict church. Perhaps it's some unholy instinct. Perhaps it's just to get some distance from Sayuki and Tanya.
The ceiling of this abandoned church has mostly caved in, and while the church’s two-story steeple still stands, the bell that once hung within appears to be missing.
Inside you find a single crude idol of Desna, more akin to a gourd-faced and straw-stuffed scarecrow than a proper statue, sagging against the pulpit wall. Otherwise, the church is empty. Moss grows on the walls and weeds rise from cracks in the flagstone floor.
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Pathetic, Ekanta thinks to himself...and perhaps concerning.
They must have moved out of this place and dedicated a new temple, he reasons, but why would they so neglect the old place while it still stands like an eyesore in full view of town?
This is the sort of thing one might see back home, he reflects, as long-buried memories of Wanshou stir but, mercifully, remain buried. Still, back home they would likely demolish it and salvage the materials; why not here?
Hicks, he thinks to himself with a shrug as he heads back out to look for the new temple.
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On the way to Ornigaard's Vina will check out the weaver, barber and trading post, asking the young boy each time, "What do you know about this store? are the people nice here?"
Ornigaard shrugs, Pappy gets ma clothes from Alizna." The boy pulls at his well-worn shirt, "An Mr. Eestok pulled my tooth out when it turned bad," He points at a gap in his lower teeth, "That hurt real bad. Papa gave me a piece o' honeycomb after, cause I dint cry overmuch." He puts his finger in his mouth and feels at the space where the tooth was.
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What kinds of games? I have a pretty good arm, if I do say so myself.
"Oh, the stars then! You can have a go at the star tossin'! My friend Brindle says it's real hard. He had a go with one of Mr Lupescu's stars after harvest an' he couldn't throw it any distance. An' Brindle's real good at throwin' old crab apples at trees, he hit the blackthorn down by the big willow from right by his papa's shed!" He smiles up at you.
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As you arrive at the house, a man working in the yard puts down his wood axe and approaches you, peering up into Lakadee's branches, "Ornigaard, you okay son? What's up with ol' Applesauce?"
He looks over your group, "You..." He takes in the motley array of strangers for a second, "Well, I, well, a pleasure to meet you all. Ahm Viorek, Viorek Khorza. I hope my boy's been polite an' shown his best self to all of you?"
Ornigaard climbs down from Lakadee's branches, "It was a accident, Papa, but they done killed Applesauce." The boy focuses on the stirge in his arms again and a tear begins to well in his eyes.
His father looks up at the group, a questioning eyebrow raised.
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Sayuki frowns. He figured out what happened, she says; unfortunate, but the truth is important in these cases.
Still, she feels compelled to speak on the matter under Viorek's eyebrow.
She offers a polite bow. "We apologize; though there is nothing we can do to undo what has been done, if there is anything we might do as penance for you and your family, please do let us know."
The man scratches his beard, "Aw, heck, you outsiders aint gonna no anything about trainin' up stirges. The mayor said we're just about the only people as know how it's done."
He ruffles his boy's hair, "We'll give him a little burial under the rosehips, like we did with Cromarty. Now, you get in the house an' get cleaned up. We've got the Founder's Feast this evenin'."
He returns his gaze to the party, "So, what brings you folks out to Ravenmoor anyways? We don't get a lot of visitors round these parts."
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Salvius ponders for a moment and says-"We're looking to mingle with the town, participate on this Founder's Feast festival. I do say, I've often wondered if one could tame a stirge. Your town may have the greatest treasure of all: knowledge."-he says smiling at the man and the boy. His notebook open, he starts taking notes about the local flora and coming up with theories about their secret.
"We're also looking for the tax collector," Vina announces, direct and to the point. "He goes by the name of Elias Kyle. His boss Jeminda Anikee has grown worried for his safety. He was supposed to report to her a week ago or so by now. Hear of him?"
"Tax collector?" He pauses for a second and waves at another child, "Hey, Bidrin. You fed the hogs?" Then he returns to your questions, "Ah remember, yeah. There was a man, out-of-towner, came by last month. He talked to the mayor mostly." He shrugs, "I heard some folks say he lit out for Riddleport with the money, but I don't see as how they'd know much about it?"
"You gotta get 'em young. That's the first thing, afore they can do any kind o' harm to you...." Viorec gives a quick summary of stirge rearing.
Hicks, he thinks to himself with a shrug as he heads back out to look for the new temple.
Wandering away from the group, Ekanta cannot find any other obvious temple. As he searches, the blacksmith walks out of the smithy beside the general store, wiping dark stains from his hands, "Hey, fella, you look lost. Anything I can help you with?"
Viorek scratches the back of his neck, "Ahm not sure." He looks up, takes a deep breath... "Nope, no good: could've been anyone."
He shrugs, "If anyone knows where your man went then I reckon it'd be Mayor Kriegler. He spent most of his time with the mayor, far as I know."
Then he tips his head to one side, "Say, you got anywhere to stay in town?"
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”Ah, that does make sense. We will check with him, then.”
At the question of lodging, Sayuki taps her chin. ”I do not believe we had arranged anything yet,” she admits. ”If that is an offer, I insist that we repay you somehow. A few coins, at the very least.”
I have gone far too long without a hard drink and some good mischief. I will need to think of something.
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Wandering away from the group, Ekanta cannot find any other obvious temple. As he searches, the blacksmith walks out of the smithy beside the general store, wiping dark stains from his hands, "Hey, fella, you look lost. Anything I can help you with?"
Ekanta stands awkwardly for a moment, one hand firmly gripping his staff; he does try to avoid situations like this; rural backwaters aren't known for hospitality to strangers from far away...and Ekanta is way far stranger than most.
"Thank you," He says in his soft baritone, uncertain as to whether to make eye contact. "I...just visited your old church. That is to say, what was left of it; it must have been a fine place, once. I was simply looking for the new temple; I would assume you would not abandon one temple without seeking or building a replacement."
Viorek shakes his head, "Naw, we aint got no inn or such in Ravenmoor. No call for it. It might be the mayor can put you up," He gestures toward a large house, the only two-storey building in the town, "But if he can't, I could make some room in the stable for y'all."
He smiles, "At least you aint gotta worry 'bout food none. If you're at the feast, you'll get plenty of grub, that's for sure. You've come at just the right time."
Wandering away from the group, Ekanta cannot find any other obvious temple. As he searches, the blacksmith walks out of the smithy beside the general store, wiping dark stains from his hands, "Hey, fella, you look lost. Anything I can help you with?"Ekanta stands awkwardly for a moment, one hand firmly gripping his staff; he does try to avoid situations like this; rural backwaters aren't known for hospitality to strangers from far away...and Ekanta is way far stranger than most.
"Thank you," He says in his soft baritone, uncertain as to whether to make eye contact. "I...just visited your old church. That is to say, what was left of it; it must have been a fine place, once. I was simply looking for the new temple; I would assume you would not abandon one temple without seeking or building a replacement."
The man shrugs, "We aint much for temple-worship round here. I always learnt that the best place to worship the dream-tender is under the stars." He points down the street, "You should visit the standing stones. That's where we pray to Desna and watch for her shooting stars."
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The man shrugs, "We aint much for temple-worship round here. I always learnt that the best place to worship the dream-tender is under the stars." He points down the street, "You should visit the standing stones. That's where we pray to Desna and watch for her shooting stars."
"Of course; thank you," Says Ekanta awkwardly. Before heading in the direction he is pointed, however, curiosity gets the better of him. "I wonder, though; why leave the temple standing to rot, in that case? Surely some of the timber can still be salvaged."
Tanya leans over to Sayuki. "No inn.. Wonderful." She then sighs. "Suppose you are correct, Linka. I hope the feast has some coffee." Then turns to Vlorek, "Can you point us to the right direction to meet the mayor?"
Viorek points to the only two-storey building in town, "That's the mayor's house. That's the best place to find him."