"Um, th-thanks for not mentioning me in your song," the tiefling says. "E-e-even if it seems like that was in vain."
"I tried to warn you. Folks saw you doing good deeds and fighting bravely, bound to get out. But you're welcome? Maybe in the future you'll let me beat the other minstrels to song making about you if it's gonna happen anyway?" Hopeful
"I tried to warn you. Folks saw you doing good deeds and fighting bravely, bound to get out. But you're welcome? Maybe in the future you'll let me beat the other minstrels to song making about you if it's gonna happen anyway?"
"You did, and I'm sorry," Tot says. "Though I don't really want to do anything that draws attention like that."
"Tish tosh, Gillmen under the docks already," She assures Tot "All right. I will continue to downplay your role, BUT, when it's already out and about I reserve the right to do what other bards are doing.. just better."
Listening and still always curious. "Perhaps an alias could be used? Izzy? Don't some entertainers use aliases in their work? Maybe that would work for Tot. Then she could be famous and anonymous!"
Tot looks at Erridon and blinks in surprise before smiling as she stifles a giggle.
"A-ari, how can one be famous and anonymous? Does not one defeat the other," she asks.
Erridon openly laughs. "Think of a writer using what they call a 'Pen Name'. It isn't the person's real name, so if the fans of the writer don't know the real name, the fame only spreads for the fake name. The writer would only be recognized by someone that actually knew him, or if he announced his presence."
"So if we all start calling you.... Andrea Goblin-Pounder, the stories that leave the area about you would be tied to that name. Then when you travel to a new place, pick another new name. Just be sure that we all know whatever name you want us to use!"
"You could use makeup to change your skin color too. Of course I think covering up your cute freckles would be a crime...."
"I didn't know writers did that," Tot admits when Erridon tells her about pen names. She's learned a good bit in the past two years, but there are still many things she doesn't know, and the list seems to get ever longer. "Maybe we should let Izzy come up with the names, though." Tot's voice trails off as Erridon leans in and whispers in her ear. Her cheeks burn bright red as once again Erridon compliments her freckles. She has always be self-conscious about them and how they make her look like a little girl, especially since her small stature only adds to that perception. Now, though, she's starting to feel--well, she's not sure what she feels. Happiness? Appreciation? The truth is, she has never felt like she does now.
"B-best not do that then," she mutters. "I would hate spending a night in the gaol." The twinkle in her eyes and the small smile she gives Erridon let him know she is joking.
As Ari and Tot discuss, the guard leads the group through the narrow streets of Sandpoint to the squat Sandpoint Garrison, a solid-looking building of stone that houses the town's militia and armory. Ushering them in, the guard shows them to the sheriff's office, a modest room at the back of the garrison. Within, the heroes of Sandpoint see the familiar Shoanti guardsman who delivered the speech on fire safety at the Swallowtail Festival, but two others are present. Erridon recognizes the hunchbacked man of around forty winters in the dirt-stained clothes of a peasant as Naffer Vosk, the town's lisping gravedigger and one of its most zealous worshipers of Sarenrae, but the other figure, a tall elven woman in rough hunter's clothes, is unfamiliar even to him.
Noticing the party, the sheriff nods curtly to them. "There you are. I won't take up too much of your time, so we'll keep this brief. Naffer here-" At this, he nods to the hunchbacked gravedigger. "-was doing his rounds earlier today when he noticed an issue with the Tobyn crypt. As near as he can tell, someone used the goblin attack as a diversion - they stole two bodies, that of Father Tobyn, the old priest, and that of Nualia Tobyn, his daughter." The gravedigger nods vehemently, speaking up. "Weren't no goblinth, that'th for sure. I know goblin trackth, and those weren't them." He glances around nervously, tracing a warding sign in the air to keep away evil. "I don't know what whoever thith ith needed corptheth for - probably dark magicth. It'th definitely a bad portent."
The half-elven woman steps forward next, nodding to the party and extending a hand to shake. "Pleasure to meet you all - I'm Shaelu Andosana. I've heard a great deal about your exploits. I was out hunting the night of the raid - trying to track down old Koruvus - but I wish I could have been there. Actually, it's about the raid that I'd like to speak with you. There are five major goblin tribes in the region, and, traditionally, they’re pretty good at keeping each other in line with intertribal squabbles and the like. The Seven Tooth, Licktoad, and Birdcruncher tribes mostly keep themselves to themselves - I trade with them from time to time - and the Mosswood and Thistletop tribes are too lazy and too stupid, respectively, to pose a real threat to Sandpoint. Yet despite that, we still had a raid - what's more, goblins from all five of the tribes were involved."
"In any event, the fact that the five tribes are working together disturbs me. Goblin tribes don’t get along unless they’ve got something big planned, and big plans require big bosses. I'm afraid that someone's moved in on the goblins and organized them. And judging by these recent raids, what they’re organizing seems like bad news for all of us."
Erridon considers the theft of bodies. Necromancy had a bad enough reputation, but dealing with stolen bodies.... Then he hears Shaelu's words.
"Hi Shaelu. I was wondering.... well, worried about that. The first group we saw were with the Seven Tooth tribe. They're usually harmless. They scrounge through the refuse Junker's Beach, and trade the garbage to some locals. They wouldn't attack us unless they thought they could get something for their trouble. Somebody had to stir them up."
"Odd about the bodies. There weren't any undead used in the raid so they didn't steal them to scare us that way. But why them? And on the day of opening the new Chapel."
Tot squeezes Erridon's hand as Naffer Vosk tells them about the grave-robbing. She has a feeling that both the grave keeper and Shalelu are right. The corpses were taken for some ritual and someone is pulling the goblin's strings.
"D-did F-father T-T-Tobyn have any e-enemies," she asks quietly.
Noticing the party, the sheriff nods curtly to them. "There you are. I won't take up too much of your time, so we'll keep this brief. Naffer here-" At this, he nods to the hunchbacked gravedigger. "-was doing his rounds earlier today when he noticed an issue with the Tobyn crypt. As near as he can tell, someone used the goblin attack as a diversion - they stole two bodies, that of Father Tobyn, the old priest, and that of Nualia Tobyn, his daughter." The gravedigger nods vehemently, speaking up. "Weren't no goblinth, that'th for sure. I know goblin trackth, and those weren't them." He glances around nervously, tracing a warding sign in the air to keep away evil. "I don't know what whoever thith ith needed corptheth for - probably dark magicth. It'th definitely a bad portent."
The gnome looks intrigued, "Did anyone have a hatred for either Nualia Tobyn or his daughter back in the day? Something that would to the desire to desecrate or defile a corpse?"
"D-did F-father T-T-Tobyn have any e-enemies," she asks quietly.
"yes, that!"
At the talk of the goblin tribes, the gnome makes a face. She doesn't think goblins are 'harmless' they're cruel, killhappy monsters with terrible fashion sense who brutalize music. But she also knows she's not the one to ask for an unbiased view.
Ari squeezes Tot's hand and answers her and Izzy. "Father Tobyn, Ezakien, Nualia was his adopted daughter, was well loved here. He died in the fire, along with all of his acolytes and his daughter. It was a tragedy, which is why the ceremony for the new church was such a big event."
"The new chapel was built over the old, and dedicated to several Gods rather than just Desna."
Tot moves closer to Erridon as a thought comes to her. Ostensibly, she'd been in Nidal to help hunt demonic cultists and monsters. Ever since that night she'd witnessed the slaughter of the Sarenrites, she'd wondered if there was any truth in that reason, and a couple of years ago she'd decided that there wasn't.
But what if there are cultists here? From what she has seen, the governments of Varisia are not so tight-fisted as those of Cheliax and Nidal. The lands here are more wild, and she has seen some strange things in her travels. The thought blows like a cold wind, snuffing out the last vestiges of the warm feelings she was enjoying until just a few moments ago.
"Wh-wh-what about e-enemies of Desna o-or th-the oth-ther gods worshipped here," she asks.
Erridon hears the question and a darkness crosses his eyes. He glances over to Shaelu and the Sheriff, then nods. "Sadly, I don't think there's anywhere that doesn't have enemies of the good Gods hiding in the dark places. The fact that the old church was burned down is sufficient to answer. Sadly there's little that can be done but watch and be ready."
Tot's tail wraps around her leg as she hears Erridon's answer. A part of her had hoped she was wrong. She wants to live here for a while at least. She wants to get to know Ari better, a desire that causes her cheeks to color slightly. She wants to get to know Ameiko and find out why the inn keeper is willing to employ her when before she'd mostly been treated with suspicion. She wants to make friends, to have people she can trust in her life, even though she knows that trust is not something she extends to others easily.
She looks at Erridon and realizes that it is getting a little easier with some people.
"Wh-what do you want us to do," she asks after a moment.
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"So, this goblin leader wanted the bodies of Tobyn the priest and his daughter. Was the arsonist ever caught? It is possible that whoever set the fire had something against those two but was unable to claim the bodies before burial. But, why wait several years before snatching the bodies now. Perhaps it took them that long to bully their way to the top of the goblins or, more like they needed resources to dominate the goblins and just recently gained those." Garen then ponders the question about those hating Desna. "If it were merely to strike at Desna I think the other acolytes would have been claimed or perhaps just Tobyn would have been taken. In this case it was both Tobyn and his daughter. I think it is personal. Perhaps they wanted to question the corpses." Another pause and then Garen asks, "Perhaps they are being reanimated to be used for something. Is there a spell that would bring them back with some semblance of life and flesh that they could be used?"
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Then Garen turns his attention to Shelelu. "My lady, you said you were hunting. Can you track? Perhaps there are clues we could follow from the graveyard. I doubt many have gone through there since the attack and perhaps you can point us in a direction for action. To that end, Sheriff, do you have any bloud hounds?"
Tot slumps against Erridon as Garen starts talking about hunting the grave robbers down. She hopes that isn't what they are expected to do. She's been away from the kitchen in the Rusty Dragon longer than she'd expected already. She's not dressed for a hunt, nor does she particularly want to go on one. She knows the goblins and the grave robbers are a problem, but wasn't this a responsibility for the guards? She just wants to get back to her job before she gets in trouble with Ameiko or worse, Bethana. It's only been a few days, but Tot's learned to fear the look the older halfling can give when something isn't right.
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Zorlen smiles as he sees Erridon and Tot approach the group, hand in hand, but his expression grows more serious as they reach the sheriff.
Zorlen listens quietly, his brow furrowed and his fists clenched as he considers the implications of what they've just been told.
Father Tobyn... Why? First I lose him and the church to that fire, and now someone takes away his and Nualia's remains? Why?
"I... I can't think of anyone that would be after them, either. I mean, the town adored Nualia. Blessed by Desna, some would say, due to her celestial blood..." Mixed with the pain and sadness in his voice, is a slight hint of lingering envy at the way the town looked up to Nualia.
"And the fire, I always thought it was an accident... If there really are dark forces moving against the town..."
He freezes for a moment as his mind goes back to the fires and the awful nightmares he's been having, before he shakes himself back to the conversation.
"I agree with Master Garen, looking for clues around the graveyard seems like the best place to start."
And if all that happened really is the work of some dark forces moving against the town... I'll stand up to them, this time. I just hope... My magic is up to the task.
Grod stands to the side, thinking. His eyes dart around the room, taking in each of the people in the rom, before coming back to this elven newcomer, Shalelu. "You're right about goblins. Little s*#%s rarely coordinate above the tribal level, if then. It definitely suggests a greater intellect in the shadows. Likewise, the timing of this raid can't be coincidence. If some necromancer just needed the bodies for some foul ritual, why wait until this big celebration, when loads more people are in town? There's got to be something symbolic, maybe astrological, in the timing."
Erridon pauses at Grod's words. "Timing.... It could be someone with a problem about the town. They took the bodies of Father Tobyn and his daughter on the day that we are celebrating the new temple. Maybe they just want to make things bad for the new temple. It might not be some big magical thing but just somebody local with an axe to grind!"
You do recall something about a splinter group of Desnan militants known as the Order of the Black Butterfly, around the time of the Chelish settlement - the faith of Desna is a disorganized affair, but in their prime, most Varisian priests in the area warned their flocks about their influence, which is about as close to excommunication as you can get with Desnans.
The zealots attacked settlers who strayed too close to the Lost Coast, trying to drive them off - around the time of Sandpoint's founding, most of them were wiped out in an ill-conceived attack on Magnimar, and the remnants faded into obscurity. Their captured leaders were publicly hanged at the urging of the burgeoning Sandpoint Mercantile League - it's not inconceivable that the order might resent the town and its people.
At the questions from Tot and Izzy, Naffer Vosk nods. "Good quethtions, both of you. Tobyn wath a good man - helped me get on my feet in this town - and I can't think of a single enemy he had. Far be it from me to thpeak ill of the dead, but hith daughter, Nualia, was a bit of a brat at timeth - thtill, I don't think anyone hated her enough to dethecrate her corpthe."
The sheriff seems agitated at Garen's questions, grimacing. "Well, everyone assumed the fire was set by Chopper, a local killer who started his work around the same time. Casper, the old sheriff, tracked him down - we..." He takes a moment to compose himself - he seems pale, and nervous sweat gleams on his forehead. "There were things in his home. Dark things. We burned most of them, smashed the ones that didn't catch, but there might still be a few in care of Headmaster Gandelus, the director of the orphanage - he's an arcane scholar of sorts, studies all sorts of trinkets that surface around these parts. I'll see what I can dig up." He seems distracted, perhaps by some dark memory, but he does catch the tail end of Garen's next question. "Blood hounds? Some of the deputies might have hunting dogs - nothing much, though, we aren't equipped to handle this sort of thing."
Noticing his distress, Shaelu steps in. "Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I've done some poking around of my own - this discovery changes things. I had a look at some of the corpses from the festival - they weren't killed by goblins. Maybe a human, maybe an elf, even a tall dwarf, but the angle's all wrong for those stumpy little runts, and the blade was too fine. Someone in town is working with the goblins, and I'm going to find out who it is. You six are heroes, and every eye in the town is on you - if you're seen poking around, and you will be seen, gossip will spread like wildfire, and our traitor will know we're on the hunt. The best thing you can do is to go about your business, enjoy being heroes for a few days - I'll contact you if I find anything."
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"I can act like a distraction, Shaelu? I start going around, demanding where people were on this or that night, who were they seeing ? Why the surplus of green foods on their plates? Do they like Green, green like GOBLINS? They panic, and escape me... but in the shadows you watch where they go, and who they talk to as they hide from the Gnomish Inquisition. NO one will expect it!" She volunteers to make a big to do. Whether that will be helpful or not? That's another matter.
Erridon listens, and holds on to Tot. It sounds like Shaelu just wants them to hang around and "be heroes" for the town. It's tough for him since he really wants answers to his questions.... but maybe this is exactly what he needs? And obviously it is what Tot wants.
"I think Shaelu's right Izzy. We can be the focus for the town's folk. Get their minds off of the goblins and the attack. Let them get back to their regular lives. Attacks like this hardly ever happen, so let it be history. And let Shaelu poke around and possibly find a lead to whoever was behind it. The new chapel is up. If someone has an issue with it, let them try something while it's watched."
Tot's hand squeezes Ari's hand a little more than is comfortable as Shalelu lays out what she wants them to do and the sheriff follows up with details on The Chopper, but she lets off when she notices that Ari is wincing. At Izzy's suggestion, the tiefling finds herself bemused.
"If that is all, Father Vosk, Sheriff Hemlock, and Lady Andosana, may I return to the Rusty Dragon? Miss Ameiko hired me to help her cook, and I've been away too long already," she says before she can stop that last part from slipping out. She blushes a little at her slip up, but only a little. It was the truth after all, and that seemed to matter to the people in Varisia far more than it ever did in Nidal or Cheliax.
"I think Shaelu's right Izzy. We can be the focus for the town's folk. Get their minds off of the goblins and the attack. Let them get back to their regular lives. Attacks like this hardly ever happen, so let it be history. And let Shaelu poke around and possibly find a lead to whoever was behind it. The new chapel is up. If someone has an issue with it, let them try something while it's watched."
"Oh very well, I guess I'll have to settle for celebrity worship." She concedes
”That is not how i would choose to pursue the situation but it’s your town. Garen says to the group at large. ”So, what would you like us to do sheriff? Surely you didn’t call us here just to tell us to look pretty for the next couple of days.”
"Oh, good point. I'm overqualified for the job of looking pretty, what else you got, Sheriff?"
Erridon rubs his hand after Tot releases it. He smiles at her to let her know that he isn't hurt or upset. "Sorry I wasn't thinking about that. I'm sure Ameiko won't be upset. Now she'll have one of the Heroes of Sandpoint working for her. You still need a different name that Izzy can use.... Would people know you by 'Tot'? It's a nickname isn't it?"
"Hey Izzy? You've got the hardest job of us. You're the leader of us, getting the word out. Maybe you should go with me and Tot the the Rusty Dragon to see when Ameiko would want you there for performances?" He quietly adds, "And you'll need an alias for Tot."
"i'm the LEADER?" She gasps, "Wow, it's an Andoran ambush, the people have spoken behind my back and made me their grandpoobah... " A smile though at Eridon, "Perhaps I'll just be the adorable chronicler or 'facegal' , I know my limits. I can inspire, but you need wiser or smarter heads than mine to really lead a group. I'll be happy to help whoever becomes our leader. They get the blame, I get part of the glory." Then she ponders "I'll think on an Alias for her."
Ari considers, then grins. "Would Manager be a better title? Don't try to get us performing though...."