Aneka gives Dart a murderous look when he mentions a little girl, but she quickly identifies her as Elise. She says "Oh, those two. They don't get out of their farm much. They live in Emile's farm to the south but came for the festival. I haven't heard of them, but if they were in the cathedral square, they must have been harbored by someone around there." At first, Aneka seems sad that Dart motions to leave, but she hardens her face and goes back inside and says with a relaxed face "Have a good night, Dart. And thank you for your heroism."
It takes Dart some looking around and asking, but he finally finds out mother and daughter took harbor in the jeweler's store, but they have already left. After the raid, they safely left town and headed back to their farm.
Most people, though thankful, begin going to bed.
Poppy gives a huge smile when she sees Spot, she drops her hammer and shield and runs to give him a huge hug.
Spot, you're alright. I really missed you. I wish you were there with me.
Spot just barks and knocks Poppy to the ground giving her lots of doggie kisses.
lets go see ma. let her know I'm alright. thanks for guarding her for me she says.
turning to those that are with her, I gotta make sure mama is alright. Thanks for everything. I'll see ya tomorrow or sooner. ok? she says and waves to everyone.
I feel like Father has had me sparing all morning... but I'm going to make sure Poppy gets home safe, and then I'll do a walk around. I'll be back after that.
With that she lines up along side Poppy.
Jonathan nods at Dart's compliment, but he beams when Ameiko compliments the group. He returned to the rusty dragon and made his way to his room.
A hero it is then. Jonathan thought, even as he couldn't stop smiling.
"Well well. OK, Izumi, I'll patrol with you then, before turning in." Dolgrin follows Izumi and they walk around the town making sure no goblin was hiding in a haystack or else.
T
Afterwards he returned to the Dragon and got his well earned ale, before turning to bed.
She gives Dolgrim a bow.
My thanks, she says smiling. I would grateful for your aid and company.
Spot looks at Poppy with a determined face, almost making her feel that he understood her. Next, she goes check on her mom. She finds her mom with her fingers almost bleeding. A goblin lies unconscious on the ground and she has clearly been biting her nails, knowing that Poppy would run right into the fight. She hugs her daughter tight, checking whether all of her parts are in place, as if being in the streets somehow would make her arm swap places with her leg. "By the gods, are you all right?"
Dolgrin and Izumi's thorough search of the city is somewhat fruitful. They manage to find two goblins who were hiding in a barrel and under a cart. They attempt to fight, but without any weapons they are easily subdued.
They finally turn in at a time when the whole city has already gone inside to close the day. As Dolgrin gets to his bed in the Rusty Dragon and Izumi to her bed in her home, they nearly pass out of exhaustion.
The next morning, the air is still pleasantly warm albeit a little bit stale. People come out to live their lives and don't talk much about the previous evening. Mostly they are relieved to have survived. Despite the less than happy mood, it seems the threat has been thwarted.
A few guards patrol the streets. To those local to Sandpoint, there are more guards than usual, but it seems they're only there to give a sense of security, and it seems to be working. As people see the guards, they chat more. It seems that the town will recover quickly, as these are a resilient people.
As the party show their faces, people immediately recognize them. They come start conversations and offer a new pie they made.
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Dart rises early, a smile on his face and memories of the excitement and congratulations of the day before immediately come to mind. He checks a few spots where he'd taken some damage the day before and is pleased to see that the magical healing has done its work, and while there is bruising and the possibility of a scar or two, nothing major.
I can't believe I actually was in a fight like that, he thinks. Being a night's sleep removed from the actual fighting, he begins to realize more and more just how much danger he was really in. The sheer adrenaline had blocked out some of that at the time. "And you," he says aloud to Shelyn while holding his holy symbol in his hand, "I need to lean more on your blessings if I'm foolish enough to do something like that again."
Dart readies himself for the day and heads downstairs giving a greeting to anyone in the common room of Crookteeth's Tavern. He then keeps right on walking to Sandpoint Savories to get some breakfast. And see Aneka.
He gives his favorite baker a smile as he arrives and says, "Good morning, Aneka. What a lovely morning. Just thought I'd come get a bite for breakfast and then I have a task that maybe you could help me with. I wanted to go out to Emile's farm and check on little Elise and make sure she's okay, but I thought maybe it would be nice to get her a toy as well. Something to help take her mind off the fear of yesterday's events, you know? Anyway, do you happen to know if there's a shop in town that sells such...toys and things? And maybe, if you don't need to be at the shop all day and could spare the time, you'd...want to accompany me on the walk to their farm?" And he quickly adds, "I mean, I'm unfamiliar with the area and would hate to get lost and all that." Something within him was hoping desperately for her to say yes to his invitation, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was.
The next morning, Jonathan came downstairs and found a place at one of the tables and ordered breakfast. "Man, that was crazy yesterday." he said to anyone who was eating as well.
poppy gives her mom a big hug. I'm alright ma. you should have seen it. there wer ll these goblins everywhere. but izumi was with me, you remember he ma, she's real nice. anyway I met some new people even a dwarf ma. they kept me safe the whole time.
she hugs her ma again. I'm really glad your ok to ma. and guess what, I got real mad at this goblin and suddenly lighting shot from Toe crusher...ahh I mean Tor's vengeance. it was awesome, and I can do magic stuff now to ma. well a little bit. watch this..
she takes her ma's hands and places them on her hammer, Tor be praised she says and cures her almost bleeding fingers. see ma Tor has blessed us. I'll bet he's real happy about that helmet we made for him and gave to the church.
She goes on to describe everyone she met, about the funny man that talks alot, even more than her. and this strange guy that mages magic that hurts the goblins. and of course the dwarf and how he must know Tor also.
the next morning. Poppy wakes up rather refreshed. Ma!I'm going to the market, you want anything? she waits for an answer before heading out to see if she can find any of the people she was with yesterday.
Izumi rises before dawn, a habit born of years... and instinct, something deep inside of her that always pushed her to rise before the sun.
She gave herself a quick wash, shivering slightly at the cold and sometimes wincing when her efforts encountered a spot that was still tender, before heading outside into her family's small garden to pray, meditate and perform sword drills.
Now that she had used her blade in real combat, the drills took on a new significance. She found herself correcting balance or blade angle in line with what she learned the day before. It loosened stiff, overstrained muscles.
Praise unto You, Heavenly Emperess, for your guidance and blessings... please watch over my Family and Town, and give me the strength to bless them both, she finished praying in silence.
Her parents had yet another vast breakfast set in the family room... and well it was needed. A dozen of the Tien inhabitants of Sandpoint gathered there. A sign of approval and respect for her actions the day before.
She led them in prayer and in the lighting of incense.
After the guests departed her parents said little out of the ordinary but their pride shone on their faces as obvious as the sunlight entering front of the house.
She clad herself in armour, secured her blade and left to find what the day would bring. Perhaps even to head to The Rusty Dragon...
Dolgrin had planned to leave Sandpoint as soon as possible after the festivities. He was heading somewhere als after all. Thinking about his larger goals, he took the heavy piece out of his backpack and unfolded the protecting cloth. For almost an hour he stared at and studied the stone tablet with its ancient symbols and writings. He went back and forth about his plans and eventually decided to stay. One day more doesn't hurt. This is a really nice place after all. Maybe there's even a helpful scholar in town. Not the most unluckly coincidence, regarding this popular festival.
He secured the tablet once again, grabed his essential gear and went for breakfast. Afterwards he headed straight to the first ptrol he spotted. "Is this goblin menace a frequent danger? Or was this totally unexpected?"
After breakfast, Jonathan made two stops: first, he went to check on the jeweler making his charm bracelet; he knew it wouldn't be ready yet, but he wanted to make sure that the craftsman was alright.
His next stop was to a weaponsmith, where he purchased a blade; specifically one that he had trained with when he was a boy, before he was sent to study at the church of Desna; a hand-and-a-half sword, or in more uncivilized tongues, a bastard sword.
Aneka is happy to see Dart. She promptly brings him a piece of bread before he has a chance to ask for breakfast. As he tells her that he'll eat, she invites him inside to the counter, and brings him some things to spread over his bread. She also offers him watered beer to wash it down. She is about to ask him something when he talks again about the girl Elise.
Her smile fades a little and she says "Well, I know Ven's general store sells some dolls, but I don't know if you'll find one that looks like her. You could also try Hayliss's boutique. It has things from all over the world coming in by sea. You could... also ask for a customized item from either one of Aesrick's carpenters or from the glassworks. And if none of these work, you might just as well wander the shipyards and hope to find a sailor who has one and for some reason hasn't found his or her way to Hayliss's shop."
Afterwards, he asks her to accompany her to Elise's house. Her face becomes red like cooked beet root and she looks down so hard, her head might have flipped over. "Ow, Dart, I don't know how things work where you come from. What would people think....", she says and starts laughing very nervously.
Jonathan finds people in the inn to be somewhat relaxed, different from the rest of town. People nod at him, recognizing him as one of the fighters that defended the people. Ameiko comes and asks him what he'll have to eat. "I'll bring over whatever you wish on the house.", she says.
Poppy can see that her mother listens to her stories with moist in her eyes. She goes on asking for a very detailed gap filling. She wants to know whether people were hurt, if Spot was with her and whether Poppy was scared. Her pride is visible. Only after a small while does she realize that her fingers were healed and hides them instinctively behind her back, as if ashamed. In the end of the conversation, she doesn't give up until Poppy promises her that they would make something for those who helped her as a thank you.
Madam Grendysa tells her daughter "Well, we'll need things to make these friends of yours, aren't we? So unless you're making them a hammer as well, you must bring me flower, sugar, eggs, butter and whatever berries are ripe." She is back to her old active self, making sure everything is thoroughly taken care of.
Izumi's impression of her daily routine is not different only due to her muscles. She actually feels a warmth that she has never experienced before. She remembers how hard it was to keep a balance between defense and offense in battle, and for some reason the kata she is performing seems to fit perfectly in the battle from last night. She feels what she would later interpret as a divine presence and that, as long as she is dutiful, she will never be alone.
As she leads the prayer and rites, she finds new significance with the ritual, as if everything she studied had suddenly a meaning so real that it was palpable. In the streets, she sees that people say hello to her with much reverence.
Dolgrin finds a guard in the street who apparently still needs to learn what patrolling means. He talks to people, accepts treats and surely doesn't seem like he is looking for signs of danger. As the dwarf approaches, the young man assuming a clumsy stance of attention says "Yes master dwarf. Uh, what? Uhm, I don't know about that, sir... master." He finally takes a moment to breathe and his mind clears some and he says "I believe we are safe now, but you should talk to the sheriff about that, I believe he'll be more helpful."
Jonathan finds the gemcutter hard at work. He lifts his head and, with a smile, says "Oh, yes! How lucky I am, the town hero is my customer! Tell me, is this for some.... special lady?" Jonathan isn't sure if his sudden curiosity has anything to do with his sudden celebrity status.
After leaving the store, Jonathan finds the armory very close to the cathedral. There are several weapons and armor available for sale. The owner, a hard looking woman, immediately lights up at Jonathan's sight. As he asks her for a bastard sword, she jumps up to the storage and comes back with a finely made sword and says "These usually go for 35 gold pieces, sir... I'm sorry, what was your name? I'm Savah, by the way. For you, I'll make it only 28 gold pieces!" She's anxiously expecting Jonathan to be very happy with the discount.
Poppy has her little basket in hand and heads to the market to get things needed to make some special treats for her new friends that fought with her against the goblins. her list in hand she goes from stall to stall looking for all the items on the list. As well as some special treat for herself along the way.
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In response to Aneka's apparent embarrassment, which Dart doesn't entirely understand, he says, "Oh, I...I mean, they might think...I mean, you know how people talk. Guess I wasn't thinking. This is really good bread," he says, changing the subject. "You are truly an artisan! Have you always had a passion for baking? I've always had my passion for acting."
After some subject-changing chatting that he hopes smooths things over a bit, he heads out to look for a doll. Boutique. That sounds promising. Maybe? And that's the moment when he realizes that he'd never really done much shopping either. As he wanders towards the shop it occurs to him that it might be nice to get something for Aneka too. Or maybe he shouldn't. Would people talk about that? I might need some input on this. Maybe my dear friend Johnny Silk would be able to offer some insight. He really seems to have it together...whatever "it" is.
"It's a gift for a friend. I tried to get things that I thought she would like." Jonathan looked a little uncomfortable with the line of questioning, to be honest, mainly because he didn't want the jeweler to spill the beans to Ameiko before he had everything set up.
"Also, I'm hardly a hero. I just acted to help people who needed it. Ayone would have done the same, and in fact several people DID do the same."
Jonathan shook his head and said "Please, madam, I know you worked very hard to make these and prepare these weapons. I could not in good conscience accept less than full price." Jonathan counted out the coins and set them on the table. He was less than thrilled about how light his coin purse felt, but it was heavy enough to see him through the near future, especially since he could count on at least free food for the next week or so.
Speaking of the situation, he wondered how the others were doing and decided to see if he could gather them all together to see about striking back at the Goblin attackers and maybe finding out why they had attacked Sandpoint in the first place.
Dolgrin had planned to leave Sandpoint as soon as possible after the festivities. He was heading somewhere als after all. Thinking about his larger goals, he took the heavy piece out of his backpack and unfolded the protecting cloth. For almost an hour he stared at and studied the stone tablet with its ancient symbols and writings. He went back and forth about his plans and eventually decided to stay. One day more doesn't hurt. This is a really nice place after all. Maybe there's even a helpful scholar in town. Not the most unluckly coincidence, regarding this popular festival.
He secured the tablet once again, grabed his essential gear and went for breakfast. Afterwards he headed straight to the first ptrol he spotted. "Is this goblin menace a frequent danger? Or was this totally unexpected?"
Izumi saw Dolgrin talking to the guards and decided to stop by and give thanks. In truth she was very grateful for his steady presence and his willingness to stay with her.
Good morning Dolgrin, my thanks for everything yesterday.
Aneka seems to like Dart's change of subject and asks "Well, do you like our theater?" Then, mustering some courage she seems to get from the deep pits of her soul, she says "I would like to see Cyrdak's play tonight, but my sister won't go with me..." After a few seconds, she allows herself to breathe.
As Dart makes his way to the boutique near the docks, he sees many friendly faces. There are even people who he's sure he has never seen before who claim to have helped him the day before. Some children come ask him how his hair turned blue and how they can do the same to theirs. In the distance, he sees that Izumi and Dolgrin talking to a guard.
Dart sees a doll made of porcelain with red hair which costs 5 gold pieces, which he thinks is expensive for a regular doll, but maybe not so for one this unique. There are many other articles from all over the world.
Jonathan notices that the jeweler Kesk wants to keep talking, but he is somewhat focused on the job. He finally says "I think this will get done by tomorrow in the end of the day. Unless your lady friend particularly dislikes jewelry, I think she will be very pleased... And I've never met a woman who dislikes them, huh?", he completes with a wink. His wife who is cleaning a shelf nearby says "Maver, if you don't stop speaking nonsense right now, you'll be having stone soup for lunch." The jeweler replies with a customary "Baaah" and retreats to the working bench.
The woman looks a bit disappointed that Jonathan won't take the discount and takes his money and lets him get the sword. Jonathan feels the sword's weight which is heavy. However it feels familiar and his muscles feel drawn to wielding it once again.
He goes back to the streets but this part of town is emptier and he doesn't see anyone familiar. As he goes back to town, people talk to him, making his progress somewhat difficult. He can even see some girls giggling from the corner of his eye. He eventually finds Izumi and Dolgrin talking to a guard.
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"Oh, yes, I wouldn't mind taking in a show," Dart says in response. Then fter things process for a moment he adds. "Oh, here's an idea, if you want to go, but your sister won't go with you, maybe we could go watch it together...with each other? I'm not sure if saying 'together' was ok. But anyway, since we're both maybe wanting to see the play anyway, maybe we could see it...in each others' company?" "Great!
It's a date...I mean...a...scheduled event...that we're doing."
Dart is having an odd experience of feeling far less eloquent in this conversation than he normally finds himself to be...
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As small children approach Dart asking about his blue hair and how to turn theirs blue, he squats down to be closer to their height, smiles, and says, "Well, I believe my blue hair is a gift from my goddess, Shelyn. I'm pretty certain it's a reward for being a very well-behaved young boy nd always listening to my parents and helping out around the house. If you do the same, who knows? Maybe she'll bless you with blue hair as well," and he gives them another big smile and a wink.
After this, he walks over to greet Izumi and Dolgrin, commending them again on their courage in the fight the previous day. He then says to Izumi, "Might I have a word in private, Priestess Izumi?"
He says, "There's a young gal in town who is...dear to me, I suppose you might say, and I don't want to overstep any boundaries, but we're going to the play tonight together...or maybe not "together," but with each other...and I wondered if it would be appropriate to maybe bring her a gift of some sort? And she seems to have concerns that people might talk, and to be honest, I'm not sure what people would be talking about...?" he says, clearly indicating that any type of romance or courtship ideologies are very foreign to him.
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Dart examines the little redhaired porcelain doll and says, "Yes, this will be perfect." He then inquires of the shopkeep if there is any way to affix a little sword or some such weapon to its hand.
Aneka smiles so large, it looks like her smile actually hurts her face. "Yes, yes! We'll go together!" As if not knowing how to act next, she looks for something 'bakery' to do. She says "Until tonight, I'll be free at six!"
Dart thinks he can tie a tiny wooden sword on the doll's hand.
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"Oh, yes. Good. Good then," Dart responds to Aneka's happy response. "I'll meet you there, or here? Or at your house? We should probably meet before to walk there together, you know, to make sure we end up sitting together. I'll meet you at...your house at 6?"
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Dart thanks the shopkeeper and pays for the doll and secures the sword in place with some string.
Later in the day Poppy has a rather large package she is carefully carrying to the Rusty Dragon.
Once there she tries to avoid dropping anything and gets to a table. It takes some effort since these tables and chairs were designed for the tall folk.
She orders some juice and waits for the others to arrive.
Jonathan looks to the man's wife when he starts making comments, then smiles sweetly when she jumps into the conversation, then nods to her when the man returns to his work.
"Thank you sir. I'll be back tomorrow."
Seeing her reaction, Jonathan says "I was raised by merchants who run a small shop, and I know that every coin counts. Please let me pay you a fair amount, and accept my sincere appreciation."
Jonathan then buckles on his blade, bowed formally to the woman, and then headed back out into the city.
After walking for a bit, and extricating himself from any entanglements as gracefully as he can, he eventually saw Dolgrin, Izumi, and Dart talking and approached. "So, has anyone else had people start acting wierd to them as well?"
I have little to compare it to... my parents were very strict about my movements until the last year or so, and even then they were controlling about times and so forth.
She frowns slightly.
Why? What happened?
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"'Happened?' I mean, nothing 'happened,' per se. I simply invited her to walk with me to go check on little Elise, you remember her from the attack, right? And then she was all, 'Oh what would people think?' And honestly, I have no idea what people would think. I just...I really enjoy spending time with her, and I don't know if this is unusual or whatever, but I find myself thinking of her a lot. For example, during the fight I was very concerned for if she was safe. But I'm getting off topic. Do you think getting her a gift would be overstepping? And...do you have any idea what might be a good gift idea?"
Sounds like you have been struck by Shelyn, she says as Dart thrusts his relationship into Jonathan's topic. I have little idea about who you are talking about but people around here are a bit more proper than in the big cities. I'd start by asking her parents for permission to court her formally, says the priestess whose Goddess is big on family, filial piety and traditions.
On her way to the Rusty Dragon, Poppy catches a glimpse of Izumi, Dolgrin, Dart and Jonathan talking around a guard. The guard is unsure whether he should linger or turn around, so he ends up just looking to the horizon.
Savah the armorer is glad to have something in common with Jonathan and smiles while asking about his merchant family. "I'm sure you learned all the tricks of the trade", she says.
"Not really. Like most young people, I rebelled against their 'boring life'. It was only in hindsight that I realized that maybe a bit of boring isn't so bad." he says with a smile and wink. "Thank you again for this. I realized yesterday that I was missing a weapon to protect myself with, and so here we are."
"Well, I had someone offer me a discount on something I purchased, which I don't think has ever happened, and I've had 4 marriage proposals, and 7 women hit on me in the last hour, so something odd is definitely going on." Jonathan shrugs and says "Regardless, I would like to have a conversation with you all, but I think that it's something best held in private."
Poppy stops in her tracks, almost dropping her bundle. looking over at the group.
The suddenly realized she never spoke to ny of them since the big battle. So she heads on over to the group.
Hey everyone. funny meeting you all here. I was gonna go to the dragon place and wait for ya. But then I remembered I never told ya that I was gonna be there, you know waiting. anyway. Ma and I made these special treats for all of you. you know, as a thank you for yesterday. she sets the bundle down and unwraps it. handing each person a personalized cupcake (actually the size of a muffin) to each of them.
"Thank you Poppy. This is very nice."
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Dart, of course, has no idea he interjected when Izumi was adressing Jonathon rather than him. Instead, he listens to Izumi's words and nods along as she speaks and then responds with, "Struck by Shelyn. Interesting. Yes. That makes lots of sense, actually. You are well-placed as a priestess, and therefore, counselor to others. Thank you. Talking to her parents. Yes. I must find out if she has some of those." He ponders that for a moment as Jonathon shares about his experiences around town, and Dart gives him a light nudge, winks, and says, "Four proposals? Dibs on being your best man!" Around about that time, Poppy shows up with her bundle.
Receiving the muffin-sized cupcake from Poppy, Dart gives her a big smile and says, "Why thank you, Poppy, this is extremely thoughtful and I was happy to have such a fantastic warrior beside me on the battlefield!" and then, to the group as a whole, "I was going to head out to the farm where little Elise and her mom live to check on them and make sure they're all right after yesterday's chaos. Would anyone else like to come along? I won't be staying long, incidentally. I'm...really looking forward to going to the play tonight," and he gives a coy smile and Izumi, as well as any member of the group who listened in to their conversation, now understands he has a deeper reason for the enthusiasm which actually has nothing to do with the acting. "But if you'd all like to accompany me, maybe it would be that private time to chat as the bridegroom over here suggested," and he gives Johnathon another wink.
Suddenly remembering the end of their fighting, Dart says, "Oh, yes, the 'dragon place,' as Poppy puts it. We should all head there at some point to speak more with that Foxglove fellow. He'd mentioned wanting to speak with us more."
Unsure what to think of the quite useless guard that he found, Dolgrin just stands around thinking. Luckily, Izumi found him and just s few moments later more familiar faces approached.
Not really hearing any of the small-talk, Dolgrin keeps on arguing with himself, whether he should finally leave, or take this situation a step further...
"I want to talk to the sheriff. I need to know more about the severity of the goblin danger, before I can leave this town with peace of conscience!"
"I've been turning down marriage proposals since I was 15, but it's the NUMBER of them that I a shocked by."
Becoming serious for a moment, Jonathan says "I think that we need to have a conversation, and including the sherriff and perhaps the mayor would be a good idea." he nods at Dolgrin as he says the last part.
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"Ah, I see," Dart says after Dolgrin and Jonathon chime in. "If we're including the mayor and sheriff, they probably aren't going to walk to the farm with us, so my suggestion's out. Are we wanting to have that chat now, or do I have time to head to the farm and come back?" And after asking that, he adds, around a mouthful of cupcake, "These are really quite good, Poppy!"
Poppy's treats are customized. Dolgrin's cupcake has Torag's hammer on it, Dart is as colorful as a flamboyant gnome, Izumi's has a sun sitting on top of it, and Jonathan's is plain black, made of chocolate.
As the group talk among themselves, a little boy approaches the group. Poppy identifies him as Sid, the boy who talked to Father Zantus two days before. He says in an attempted official voice "Masters Dolgrin and Dart and Izumi, father Zantus asks you if you can make it to the cathedral's consecration three hours after lunch." With incredible effort, he remembers the rest "The ceremony will be more intimate, but the presence of the priests of... uhmmm... Shelen, Shez-Shezeru... and uhm... Turag will be appreciated." Unsure whether he should linger, he runs off.
Apparently Father Zantus doesn't really understand that Poppy and Jonathan are infused with divine power also.
"We can talk after your meeting with the good father. I'll see if we can get a meeting room at the Rusty Dragon to discuss what we're going to do here."
It would be an honour to assist him... I will be happy to be a part of the consecration lets make haste
"I agree and will be there. The All-Father would be pleased to see his faith revered in this remote place." Dolgrin wasn't a priest of many words, but words weren't needed for prayer.
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"And he said three hours after lunch? Then I should be able to..." and Dart thinks, his lips moving and his hands flitting about as he's pondering his schedule, "yes, I should be able to get Elise a toy, make it to the farm, swing back to town and be there in plenty of time for the ceremony. And that will be finished in time for the play tonight, right? I mean, I really want to see that play," he says, not mentioning that the company is more important than the theater...which is a new experience for him, actually.
"Oh, wait," he says suddenly, "He left you out, didn't he," Dart says, looking at Poppy. "I remember numerous valiant calls to your god during the fighting. I imagine that young lad forgot that Father Zantus had invited you as well. And Johnny Silk," Dart says, giving a mischievous smile towards the other fellow, "you can come as my plus one and every gal in town will be super jealous."
"Well, I've got some shopping to do. Offer still stands if anyone else wants to come along to check in on Elise. Well, except maybe Jonathon. Don't want his throng of admirers swarming us," and he throws an ornery wink Jonathon's way then turns and heads off to the boutique.
What a strange man..., she murmurs as he walks off, presumably to go shopping.
He is right though, we are not required for a few hours. I had wanted to visit the Rusty Dragon. I have this excellent cupcake to eat afterwards.
To Jonathan and Poppy, such a ritual can sometimes display incredible divine energy, but it can also be a waste of time, depending on who is performing it. As time goes by, the five clerical bellies start to rumble.
It doesn't take much asking to find out that Elise lives with her parent in the Harold farm to the south. It's about an hour walk from the gates.
Upon getting there, Elise is sitting on the floor near the gate holding her knees close to her chest, looking down. Upon seeing you, she wipes some tears off her face and turns her face. She says with a practiced voice "Good afternoon, mister. May Desna protect you in your travels."
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As usual, Dart squats down to be on eye level while addressing a child.
"Hello, Elise! You were so very brave during the scary stuff last night, so I got you..." he says, pulling the doll out from behind his back, "this! She's a brave little warrior, just like you!"
And then, Dart notices that she seems to have some bruising on her legs. "Oh, sweetie, did you get those during all the scary stuff yesterday?"
Elise is immediately distracted by the doll. She hesitates to take it with her hands, but eventually does. She holds it looking at it for a long while, ignoring Dart's questioning. Very hesitantly, she touches the doll's hair and gasps very quietly. After a few moments being enthralled by the doll, she turns to Dart and asks "What's her name?" Her voice is completely different from before and even from the previous day, much more high pitched, as the voice of someone who just now started to learn how to talk.
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"Oooo, I didn't give her a name yet," Dart says, sitting on the floor besides Elise as she inspects the doll. Dart is mildly confused by the change in Elise' voice from what she'd previously sounded like. This change plus the bruises is definitely making Dart concerned. "Maybe we could pick a name together. Do you have any ideas of what we could name her?"