Grilgoth determines that that is a Very Bad Idea. The stuff is poisonous to ALL plants and would likely have the opposite effect than that desired.
The carriage house holds several large wagons and you find the sheriff tending the garden for the place. A small bell tower is attached the southern side of the building which, you suspect, is the one that is run at the beginning and end of curfew each day. The sheriff eyes you as you approach the building.
"Well..."
He slowly stands up and brushes the dirt off his hands.
"She went to Alkenstar a mighty long time ago and hasn't returned. I would’ve thought she’d be back by now. Maybe she decided to go back to city life, but it’s awfully rude of her not to at least stop by and say goodbye first."
"The wastes are a dangerous place if you don't stick close to Mercy. She might have met any number of unpleasant situations out there. A pity if that is the case. She's not a proper one of us, but she's nice enough, and follows the rules, so we don't mind her sticking around, and she makes good toys for the children. At least, she used to."
"Dolls."
Then he launches into a ramblingly dull account of marriages, children, and construction. A boring lecture that seems to have no end as he fiddles with his hoe.
The sheriff pauses and says, with frustration, "No and they don't. Now, excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."
|
Ezekiel laughs at Nasitivo’s jest, Come, let’s venture to the market and talk to folks in the street and see if there is anything else we can learn here.
Ezekiel begins wandering that direction, stopping a random passerby when he gets to the market, Excuse me, we are visiting here trying to find out more about a friend of ours who’s gone missing. Her name is Amenira, and she is a doll-maker. We’re worried about her and haven’t heard from her in quite some time.
The visit to the cottage takes a few hours all told and it is about time for the mid day meal. You return to your lodging and share a meal and it is into the afternoon by the time you voyage forth. You notice that the villagers uniformly wear orange shirts and orange belts and scarves that have faded toward yellow. The one that Ezekial questions stops, almost startled.
A bit the villager pauses to answer the question in a sternly polite kind of way. "Amenira? She lives in the painted house and makes toys for the children. She’s an outsider, but she dresses like one of us. If she would convert to Robori, maybe she could join us someday. She’s been gone for a while now.”
Anyone want to try and improve her attitude and wheedle a little more information out of her?
For some reason Eredur hits a soft spot and the Villager opens up a bit.
“Amenira has been gone for two months now, and people are starting to worry about her. No one remembers her saying anything about being gone for longer than her usual trips back to Alkenstar to send letters to her family. She has an odd habit of making dolls that look like her. We were all suspicious of Amenira when she showed up. The sheriff told us that he would keep an eye on her and that we should go about our lives. I’m ashamed to say I disobeyed him and started following Amenira. I saw her wandering off after curfew, and the sheriff caught me skulking in the bushes like a bandit. I should have trusted the sheriff. Sure, she breaks curfew, but she keeps to herself, roaming the Wastes for Robori knows what reason."
"What?" She snorts at Grilgoth and gives her the glossy eyed stare.
"You think I have nothing better to do than go looking for an outsider out there?"
With a harrumph she backs away like she just met something poisonous and hurries away.
The woman is not interested in more conversations and she pointedly ignores your final words. As you pause there you can't but overhear a heated argument between a couple of craftsmen. One of them is a burly specimen wearing a heavy apron and the other a tall thin man with a toolbelt holding a hammer, measuring tape, file, and a few other common tools.
"Come on, you fool, how can you compare pounding a few hunks of metal into shape with all the work we do, creating the homes you live in and the wall that protects us?"
"Rubbish! That hammer you use is only there because of me! I'd like to see you build a simple box without the tools we blacksmith's provide."
It seems like a pretty silly argument but the two of them are growing more an more heated and nearly to the point of blows. Before long a few others join one of the two groups and a shouting match ensues.
|
Grilgoth focuses her attention at the children in the distance. The fact that they are bandaged is quite strange but must somehow be related to what is going on here.
16 Perception on a take 10.
The alchemist ponders the thread that is holding everything together but is at a loss to describe it accurately. She speaks quietly to her party while the others argue in the distance.
"We are missing something here. Something important. The children are involved but how?"
|
|
That conflict is silly and completely unnecessary. I will end this.
Baldrum gets closer to the craftsmen and tries to get their attention by growing twice his size for a few seconds.
"AHEM."
When they seem to listen, he peacefully holds up one hand (open palm) and says the following words of wisdom:
"Where I come from, both the sun and the rain are needed for a tree to grow fruit. Isn't it the same here?"
Yea, this is definitely going to require a diplomacy roll. Intimidation might stop the argument, but it won't make any friends :)
|
All craftmen worth of their skills knows that the sum of a thing is more than his parts. You need so many things to create an item, you need time, materials, concentration, tools, skills, creativity... It doesnt matter if you work stone, wood, metal, wool, or something else. This conflict is useless. Those are the words from a craftman to fellows craftmen.
Eredur displays his own artisan's tools, beautilfully crafted and engraved with his initials , then, his eyes twinkling, he says his final argument
The wood is used to create the hammer's handle. But the wood couldn't be cut and used without the axe's blade. Everything is tied together, and each craftman deserves respect for doing his part in the grand mechanism.
They are not convinced and Eredur is mostly ignored.
Ezekiel causes the two groups to pause and listen and explain. It really is a silly argument that started during one of their festivals when the dunking tower collapsed and the carpenter's blamed it on the faulty nails, which of course made the blacksmiths insist it was because of the shoddy work by the carpenters. That turned into eternal bickering over who is more important to the town.
bump
|
|
Nistivo pulls out Amenira's letter and re-reads it. "Hm, have we checked out this weaver she mentions "infiltrating"? Apart from that, I think we have concluded our good faith due diligence on this search and should report back to the Society that Amenira is nowhere to be found. Perhaps they'll be able to try divination magic or something of the sort. And back in Alkenstar, I could have a nice, long bath and a real meal!"
|
|
Not yet, and we should have a discussion with this weaver soon. Thank you for reminding us, we should focus on that, as soon as the local craftmen are calm again. It might be irrelevant to our mysterious disappearance, but being seen as peacekeepers by the citizen might help our future inquiries.
Eredur looks around
Is it my imagination or we don't see that many children outside? I understand the Wastes are dangerous, but the town is boastful enough in the protection of Robori for feeling safe to let children play outside.
@Nistivo
No, the houses look very much the same. You will have to be inventive to find out where the weaver lives. However, the main square is a trading center and finding the weaver would not be difficult, particularly for someone skilled at business such as Nistivo.
A villager points to one of the cottages.
"He is either at home, or in the square conducting trade."
Three sets of orange robes hang from the clothesline outside of this simple cottage. Two of them are sized for adults, while the other one is sized for a child. The orange flag on this house’s message box is raised. Orange curtains cover all of the windows.
The family’s message box contains a pot of skin ointment and contains a letter from the Sheriff, reminding the family to “be mindful of the curtains with visitors in town”. You can hear sounds coming from within the house.
[
@Grilgoth
The ointment is for skin conditions that involve cracking and dryness.