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Selene gingerly took off her silver holy symbol from her neck. It was well forged and the detail was someone who did the project with love. the leather cord that held the symbol, was rough, but Selene untied it and slowly pulled the cord-free.
"Bors' never got around to making a proper necklace and clasp for my holy symbol. A gift for our wedding. He knew how much the goddess was to me, and to show he understood, crafted it with the silver he had saved." Selenes' eyes began to tear up as she pulled off both rings.
The silver bands were simple. One had a small hammer and chisel. This one was definitely sized for a man. The other had a little Cresent moon, one that was sized for her. Holding them up she was definitely letting tears fall down her lavender cheeks as she let the dwarf look at them.
" Everything else of Bors they took. His tools, the raw silver, his money, even his belt knife. These are the only things I have left of him." The Nun then reached in to grab a kerchief and sniffled into it, before a sob came. Selene didn't let the sobbing last to long before she began to utter in some guttural language a few words and she seemed to muster up some resolve.
"Sorry about that. It's just I miss him. We...were gonna come here and start a family" She admitted softly and somewhat distant as she stared at the symbol and then her rings. The whole thing was still painful. She honestly didn't know if she could find who did this to her husband, but if she could stop it from happening to another woman out there, then she would feel her crusade would not be in vain.
The dwarf shifts in his seat, momentarily uncomfortable as Selene's tears flow. But he'd shed blood with this woman, these people, and while he was still deciding the fact...they might very well become friends. "You have nothing to apologize for, Sister. I'm sorry that my question brings you pain. I was just thinking that perhaps we could help you in bringing his soul some justice."
A pause, then he adds, "Or barring that, possibly revenge."
"It seems we've several mysteries swirling around are little band. And yet nary a lead to follow." He turns toward their hostess and the owner of the Tea Kettle. "Perhaps the good Freona has another task or contact in need of services we could provide. Might as well see if we can earn a bit more coin. My guess is, it'll be needed if we wish to track down either bandits or killers." He adds with a nod toward Selene and Reuleaux talking together.
Freona way over at the other side of the busy common room and behind the counter, does not seem to hear Oskar’s words directly, though she does look around when her name is spoken.
Later…
Having made a decision the young farmer crosses the common room and eventually gains the attention of Freona. Keeping his voice low, he politely asks about the possibility of other such work as she had discovered for himself and his companions.
"You see, we worked well together and thought that by banding together we could accomplish more than racing about all on our own." He adds with a casual shrug.
”Unless you are interested in some stable work, I don’t think I can help you” - Freona smiled at Oskar - ”The pretty lady from yesterday asked for you specifically, without me suggesting or pointing anyone out” - she added with a shrug - ”Seemed like she already knew exactly who she wanted to talk to”
Growing up on a farm, stable work certainly wasn't a foreign concept to young Oskar. And although, he didn't mind caring for animals and certainly didn't shirk away from mucking a stall or two when the need for coin was great, that need wasn't currently acute following the previous night's success. And so with a polite nod of his head he thanks Freona and returns to the table just in time to hear Selene talk of her departed husband.
His gaze drifts over to the fire as he ponder the list of stolen items. The flickering flames dance upon the thick wood giving off both light and warmth. The yellows, oranges, and reds occasionally highlighted with a hint of blue or a pale green. It takes him several seconds to make out the face of the elderly looking man staring back at him. The flames twisting and turning to create the bushy eye brows and wild shock of hair that always sat atop Yosef's head. Tiny dashes of blue flame, oddly oval blink and flicker where the jeweler's spectacles used to rest at the end of a long crane-nose.
An artist's tool always tell a tale. Josef used to tell him when he was just a boy. A cousin of his mother's, he would often visit the master craftsman at his home during feast days or other occasions. He could remember seeing the set of wood handled files and punches each stained and nicked from years of use but the working surfaces all clean and well cared for. You can tell much about a man by the tools he keeps and each craftsman leaves his own story upon the instruments he works with each and every day.
The memory sends a bolt of thought zipping through his mind even as Selene wipes the tears from her eyes.
"Begging you pardon Selene." Oskar says quietly as the priestess composes herself. "But you mentioned that your husbands tools were taken. Now I doubt that the thief or killer was simply looking for a new set of artisans files. No, those he would try to sell off as soon as he could." He says, trying to build upon a thought as he goes. Obviously uncertain as to whether it was actually useful or just another ghostly fever dream brought on by events locked away in his own sorrowful past. "Now, I'd a cousin of my mother's who was a jeweler and craftsman. His tools we as much a part of him as his fingers or feet. He always said that you could tell a man's skill and heart by his tools."
"I'm thinking if we surveyed the local shops and dealers, especially those catering to used or goods of...errr...questionable ownership, we might be able to locate the tools. And if we did...maybe a link to who took them."
He shyly glances at the tiefling. If you're able to describe what some of the items looked like in detail, I could start searching and see if anything turns up?"
Selene smiled as she felt that maybe with these Selune sent people, her husband's spirit and her own heart can be laid to rest. As Oskar speaks Selene nods.
" I gave a detailed account to the watch and had a copy of what I had said. It is in my journal. If you'd like I can fetch it and show the page." Selene says with a sense of relief that another of her party wished to help her.
Let's see what we can find then. Also I'd like to figure out how my clan is mixed up in the item business. Ox says to the rest of the group quietly.
As the group discuss their options, Briez, one of Madame Freona’s five daughters, brings around a serving of coffee and freshly made wildberry jam on warm biscuits - “My sisters and I picked the berries ourselves” - she explains with a smile, sweeping the long black hair out of her face - ”Some say the wildberries in this area are…” - before she can finish her thought, shrieking erupts from the street outside the Tea Kettle. While the words are mostly unintelligible, you do make out distressed cries of “help” and “family”.
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Although Johnny Boy went to bed early and mostly-sober (a rarity for him, but he had had a very rough day) he'd not slept well. He kept having vivid, active dreams, where he was the main attraction in a massive green-themed parade. Sometimes he was tossing candy to a huge, cheering crowd. Other times he was having shiny coin-shaped candy tossed at him. There was definitely a candy theme going on, is what he's saying.
The crowd kept yelling and pointing at him, and they were all dressed in green, showing kinship to a land they all adored, and he kept hearing the joke, "In the morning everyone is half Irish, and in the evening one fifth scotch." And he didn't know this "Patty" fellow, but from what he heard the lad seemed a right good'un all the same.
He sleeps long and late, pouring himself down on the breakfast table and making up for lost time as honeyed wheatcakes and salted pork disappear before him with great speed. So too, though he quaffs heartily from his wineskin, the thing never seems to run dry.
He was heartened by the appearance of fresh jam when the muffled tumult of the outside draws his attention.
"Whelp, we'd best be seein' what all the shenanigans are aboot," he states, clamping on his hat and waddling out the door.
The tumult strikes just as he is agreeing to look at Selene's journal and the drawings of her late husbands tools. Frowning at the sudden burst of noise it takes a few moments before the true nature of the calls register.
"Aye, sounds like someone in some kind of trouble." He says grabbing his hat from the table and shoving one last bit of muffin into his mouth before hurrying along in the wake of Johnny Boy.
Breakfast fully underway, Ispen is shoveling a fork-full of hotcakes into his mouth when the cry for help rings through the commonroom.
The fiery-haired dwarf coughs into a napkin that he uses to wipe syrup away, he rises almost in union with his companions, checking the fastenings on his axe harness as he follows them to the door and outside.
As you all move into the street, you can see townsfolk rushing to assist a middle-aged human woman. She has collapsed in the middle of the road, crying hysterically, clutching an infant boy in her arms.
The Ox stands and follows the rest of the group out of the inn and into the streets. Noticing everyone gathering around, he walks up and begins to clear people, physically when needed, from around the human woman so his companions can come into triage the situation.
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"Faith'n'begorra, what's all this then?" Johnny Boy quips as he takes in the scene. It's a bit hard to make out at first, due to the crowd, but as the implacable Ox makes room, he can see more clearly.
"Oh, what's the rumbus. This wee won taken a bad spill? Let's see." John kneels down in the dirt with the woman, trying to get a gage.
"Here now, what happened? Is the boy hurt?" Johnny Boy tries to see if there are any obvious injuries on the child.
If there are, he offers a GoodBerry. "'Tis a wee bit of Leprechaun magic," he says with a smile, crushing the healing juices into the babe's mouth.
Letting Johnny and Selene help the woman while Ox manages the crowd, Oskar scans the street and faces for any sign of who, or what, may have caused the woman's outburst.
Selene rushes out holding up her skirts as she gets to the woman and begins to look her over as she does she speaks."Are you and your child alright?"
Selene will try to assess the best she can first with a general once over and then digesting the overall look.
"Fear not, I am a servant of the Moon Maiden, you are safe with me and my friends" Selene will say after a moment to hopefully ease the woman's fears and anxieties.
The scene has gathered quite a few onlookers, but the imposing Davorox easily manages to have people stand aside and make room.
"Please, please sir! Will you help me?!" - the woman begs Johhny Boy - "Madam! Thank you for your words..." - she cries to Selene.
"My husband! My husband and my boy! They were taken!" - she managers to stammer with a trembling voice - "Goblins! Those monsters took them!" - her voice turns to a wail, as the desperate crying returns. - "Someone please... Help me... Help them..."
Both Johnny and Selene notice she has multiple scrapes on her arms and legs. The boy child is crying his lungs out, but seems otherwise unhurt.
The woman is clearly panicked, and in shock.
You notice a Black Fist patrol not too far away - they are observing the situation, but do not seem interested in intervening. For now.
"Let us get you inside." Selene says as she looks to the others.
"Let us help her up and get her and her child inside." Selene says to others. She literally held her hand out to the woman.
"Which way did they go?" Oskar asks the woman seeing no threat in the immediate area, except possibly the Black Fist patrol lingering nearby. Seeing that the guards seem little interested in helping or hindering, the young rogue turns to the other onlookers. "Did any of you see any goblins or in what direction her assailants may have escaped?"
"Let us get you inside." Selene says as she looks to the others.
"Let us help her up and get her and her child inside." Selene says to others. She literally held her hand out to the woman.
The shaken woman acquiesces, her legs faltering as she accompanies Selene and the others, entering the Kettle.
"Which way did they go?" Oskar asks the woman seeing no threat in the immediate area, except possibly the Black Fist patrol lingering nearby. Seeing that the guards seem little interested in helping or hindering, the young rogue turns to the other onlookers. "Did any of you see any goblins or in what direction her assailants may have escaped?"
”They jumped us back home, close to our peat farm, in the bogs…” - she manages to add, between sobs - ”I grabbed young Bo here, jumped on a wagon and ran away as fast as the mules would take us. My Harald told me so….” - you can easily see she is barely holding her composure for a few moments - ”I looked back to see them being dragged away…” - another fit of crying ensues.
”I will get her some tea. And some milk for the young one” - Freona busies herself in trying to brew up something that will calm the woman’s nerves.
"Oh, well, you should have this berry then," John says, seeing the child is quite fine but the woman has scrapes.
"Aye, if'n you could tell us where they went we'll be off to set thing t'rights."
”Will you sir?! Will you please?!” - she thanked, grabbing the berry - ”A berry…?” - the woman seemed momentarily confused.
In the meanwhile, Baby Bo seems to have calmed down some, now producing only cooing and gurgling sounds.
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"Oh aye," Johnny Boy says with a spry little smile. "One could say they're...magically delicious!"
He gives her the berry and walks away laughing. If she were unconscious he'd force it down her throat, but people who are still conscious tend to be not as understanding about such things.
He passes the Reu hard at work and, a naturally curious being, glances at his thesis.
"But what about the ChaosBerries?" he asks conspiratoriously.
Seeing no immediate threat Oskar follows Selene and the distraught woman back into the Kettle. Hearing her tale he sighs heavily and forces the growing doubt out of his mind.
That woman's a widow and you know it boy. The old craggy voice of Tom Potter rasps in his ear. The old man's face was all bloated and tinged with blue. That was how Oskar had found him after the flood. Pinned under a pair of beams in the farmer's partially collapsed barn. Them critter's will already have 'em cooking in their pot.
Shaking the pessimistic old ghost's voice away, Oskar grabs his gear and hurry's back down to the common room where the others continue to calm the farm wife. It may be futile, but he'd at least try to help the woman and her family.
With the child seemingly less disturbed and recovering he drops to a knee near the woman. "First of all, what's your name? And then where is your farm? There are those of us I'm sure who are willing to help, but we'll need to be quick if you want to see your loved ones again." He says adding a sense of urgency, depending on the tough spirit residing within most country folk who live every day with the threat of predators, raiders, bad weather, and any number of other dangers to their lives and livelihood on a daily basis, to keep her from panicking further.
Selene helps Ferona with getting the woman settled in. As she does she then sits beside the woman and focuses on keeping the baby calm. as she does she hopes that Oskar and the others can talk to the mother.
Selene listens as she does the little baby coos and giggles back entertaining the child. Selene was saddened she would never get to be a mother, at least of Bors and her children. Now she just wanted to make sure no one else suffered having a loved one slain in the night, by faceless thugs.
Silent through this all, and brooding, for he knew the devious nature of the goblin people, Ispen scanned the street up and down, looking for the beasts he knew were not there. Goblins were the bane of the dwarven race, and their sworn enemies...along with Orcs, Giants and...well, that just wasn't the point.
Cowardly, the creatures were, other than when roaming and raiding in packs. Glancing down, it was only then that Ispen realised he'd drawn his axe and was holding it with his hands clenched along it's handle.
Coughing quietly to himself, Ispen relaxed his grip and his shoulders, and then followed the others inside.
True to form, his newfound companions hand things well in hand, with Oskar soothing the mother's fears, Johnny tending to their health, and the good Sister tending to their spirits.
...and Reu feverishly doing...whatever it is he was doing.
"Aye, ma'am, we'll help, sure enough." Ispen echoes Oskar's offer, "But the lad is right. We need ta move fast if'n we're ta help yer kin."
"Oh aye," Johnny Boy says with a spry little smile. "One could say they're...magically delicious!"
He gives her the berry and walks away laughing. If she were unconscious he'd force it down her throat, but people who are still conscious tend to be not as understanding about such things.
The woman seems slightly confused, but still tastes the berry - her eyes going wide at the surprisingly strong flavor, and her skin taking a more... Healthy look? "They do taste amazing..." - she ponders out loud.
With the child seemingly less disturbed and recovering he drops to a knee near the woman. "First of all, what's your name? And then where is your farm? There are those of us I'm sure who are willing to help, but we'll need to be quick if you want to see your loved ones again." He says adding a sense of urgency, depending on the tough spirit residing within most country folk who live every day with the threat of predators, raiders, bad weather, and any number of other dangers to their lives and livelihood on a daily basis, to keep her from panicking further.
"Me name's Milivent Moss Mr... And our farm is about an hour from here... Toward the bogs" - she explains as the baby reaches out and grabs Selene's finger.
"Whoa, Johnny-lad. Easy. Not just yet...wait fer us." Ispen does his best to catch Johnny before the halfling can charge out of the Kettle. "We're not quite done here."
With a general description of the farms location and knowing goblins aren't usually much for covering their tracks, Oskar nods to Milivent and starts to follow Johnny out the door.
"We'll do our best to bring him back Mrs. Moss." He says stopping and pulling back at Ispen's call.
Ispen gives Milivent his kindest smile, and asks, "Ma'am, if'n ye don't mind...yer husband, his name is...Harald, yes? And what about yer boy. What's his name?"
The dwarf pauses, then for clarification, adds, "Just so we can more easily identify 'em and whatnot."
Selene enjoys the smiles she receives from the child and then finally speaks. " We will do our best to find these goblins. Have faith, though the answers you hope to have may not be the ones you get I hope you get closures!"
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"We'll do our best to bring him back Mrs. Moss." He says stopping and pulling back at Ispen's call.
"Thank you Mr!"
"Me other boy is named James, master dwarf" - the woman replies to Ispen between sobs.
Selene enjoys the smiles she receives from the child and then finally speaks. " We will do our best to find these goblins. Have faith, though the answers you hope to have may not be the ones you get I hope you get closures!" [
At Selene's words, Milivent nods solemnly, but then bursts into an uncontrolled crying again.
Grab your stuff and lets go.Ox says on his way out the door
Selene takes a moment to place her hand on the woman's shoulder before she went upstairs. She prayed as she donned her gear, returning to more of her traveling style. She then came down to place her habits with Ferona.
"Please keep these for me. I shall return for them and wish them not to get lost. I trust and respect you Ferona. The Moon Maiden guided me her and she was not wrong for entrusting me to your care. I pray she keeps you and your kin safe, and that she blesses your house with all she can spare." Selene says coming back down in her scale mail, her shield, and holding her spear. On her head though remained her Coif, and about her neck was a scarf as the cleric wondered if she would need it should the weather turn sour.
" May Selune blesses us and guide us. May she protect us and watch over us as we journey into the bog and seek the lost. Let us pray to find them and return them safely." She prayed again using now the common tongue instead of that she was accustomed to using.