Alfeo joins Venti in the small talk, hoping to glean some more useful details.
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Flush from the success in freeing Rhokrag from captivity, Alfeo feels truly blessed by the Lucky Drunk. He decides to practice his devotion the best way he knows how: in a bar. He finds one of the several pubs in Saringallow that caters mainly to a halfling clientele, that has need of an experienced barman to fill in, and spends the evening chatting and pouring drinks, gossiping in the familiar manner of his people.
Alfeo cries out in pain as the Chelaxian's blade strikes Early. He grits his teeth, and focuses on his spectral companion, causing Early to become limned in a pale light.
Alfeo shakes off the effects of the woman's spell, focusing on a call to Early instead.
Alfeo, hands falsely bound, does his best to reinforce Venti's play by adopting an attitude of terrified captive.
Alfeo pulls out a coil of rope from his pack. "Sounds like a plan to me. Early, you'd better duck out of sight again."
Alfeo focuses on Early, calling out to the phantom "You've got this, Early!" The eidolon seems to gain some opacity and begins to glow slightly.
"I'll help too, if you'd like."
"Thanks, as always Early, but I think it's best you duck out of sight again." With a nod, the phantasmal form disappears.
Alfeo looks guilty at Early's sudden appearance, glancing nervously around to see if anyone onlookers have noticed the ghostly form.
"Ah!" Alfeo let's out a yell of panic as the snake flies close. Almost as if charging to his rescue, the phantasmal form of Early flows into place beside the snake, pick held ready for a strike!
"Ah! Snakes!" Throwing his hand up in front of him, the spectral image of an arm bearing a shield embossed with the image of an eagl appears before him. Simultaneously, a large rock nearby lifts itself out of the mud, as if picked up by a strong arm, and hurls itself toward the nearer of the two snakes.
Seeing Venti motivate the remaining crew, Alfeo instead looks around for more supplies to save.
"Yow! Ok, everyone, still remain calm but...maybe remain calm a little faster."
Alfeo's heart isn't really in it, though, as he starts glancing toward the water and safety.
"Calm down, everyone! The ship is sinking, it hasn't sunk yet. Move, but don't panic!"
"Early, you'd better stay out of sight for now" Alfy says as the plan comes together. With a nod, the phantasmal Eagle Knight disappears. As the boat approaches, Alfeo wraps a loop of rope loosely around his wrists and stands behind Venti, doing his best to look the part of dejected captive.
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Alfeo scrambles back from the approaching loyalists, moving himself to relative safety while speaking a word of power to Early.
Alfeo's eyes flutter open as Priya's tune fills his waking mind. "Ugh" he says, groaning and sitting up. "What hit me?"
Alfeo lets out a strangled cry as Early is crushed beneath the boxes, the phantom's physical form dissolving as the halfling falls to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.
"Early, would you like to lead the way?"
"We can certainly head over there and make sure everything is ok. Are there any particulars we should know about posing as Everbloom Imports agents, as we go to the warehouse?"
"Yes please!" Alfy says, eagerly taking one of the offered pastries and only slightly burning his mouth on hot sugar as he quickly takes a bite. "Oh, Early, I suppose it's safe for you to come out again if you'd like."
Rhia nods stiffly, even with Priya's magic dulling the pain, the wounds are just physically limiting to her range of motion. "Please." Without a trace of irony in her voice she adds, "Unless you were the healer to Erlo Aduzzi." "I wish I'd had the chance," Alfy says, pulling out his meager healer's kit. "He was gone almost as the last enemy fell." Pausing, he says "I guess we're waiting here anyway, so may as well do this now."
"Ah. Um. Perhaps Early knows more about centaur medicine than I do." With that, Alfy focuses for a moment and a familiar spectral hand seems to surround his own, reaching out to tend to Rhia's wounds.
"I'm no expert healer, but I've patched up enough barfights to learn a few things. Will you allow me to examine your wounds, Rhia?"
"Thank you Early. Probably best for you to get out of sight again, though, in case we drew attention"
"Way to go, Early!" Alfeo calls, as he sees the spectral form land a heavy blow. He focuses for a moment, and Early's pick seems to become more tangible, glowing slightly with power. Alfy then scrambles back a few feet as Early continues his assault.
"Ack! Early, help!" Alfy cries out as the creatures approach. As if in response, his spectral companion once again manifests and wastes no time swinging a spectral pick at the nearest bat.
"Well," Alfeo sas after the loyalists have departed, "that went about as well as can be expected."
Likewise, Alfeo knows that the type to be so eager to enforce the decrees of a Chelaxian puppet-governor are not likely to take the word of a halfling with much weight. He remains quiet for now, waiting to see how they react to Venti.
"Well, I suppose I look the part of a typical Isgeri well enough. I'm afraid you may need to remain out of sight for the majority of the journey, though, Early."
Alfeo quietly steps to the bar, raising a glass in toast to the Lucky Drunk before beginning. "This tale will be familiar to some of you already, and I even see a few in the room who were active participants." He takes a deep sip of his ale, then glances at Early, who remains by the rest of the group, before launching into their tale. "As you no doubt remember, the Hellknights shuttered most of the bars in town during their occupation, including mine. When the battle started, a group of us took shelter in my place hoping to stay safe and out of sight. And it worked--for a little while. It wouldn't last, though. A squad of Hellknights caught sight of us through a window and kicked down the door, just in case we were conspiring Hellbreakers or something. Things would have gone badly quickly for us were it not for a lone Eagle Knight that appeared in the doorway. Despite his obvious wounds and broken blade, he didn't hesitate. Sweeping up a discarded pick from the ground beside the door, he charged the Hellknights. His sudden bravery caught the Hellknights unaware, and he quickly slew one of them. The Hellknights' numbers quickly turned the tide, though, and soon he was on his back foot." Here, Alfeo pauses for a moment and nods to a few peole around the room. "To the credit of all of us in the bar that day, every one of the gathered residents rallied to him, reaching for whatever was near at hand to serve as weapons. The battle was intense, but the Hellknights weren't prepared to fight a mob. When two more of their number were killed, the rest withdrew, leaving a few of us injured but all of us alive. However, our savior had born the brunt of the Hellknights attack, and he succumbed to his wounds moments after the Hellknights withdrew, before he could even tell us his name. I had to ask around the various Eagle Knight units after the battle was over to learn it. So," he says, raising his glass again. "Here's to 'Early' Erlo Aduzzi, and to every one of the folk who leapt into the fray in that bar! May the Hero's foam rain down upon you!" With that, he drains his own tankard and steps back into the crowd.
"Uh, yes. Well. As my friend here said" he gestures to Venti, "it's the other Eagle Knight, Howell, that we need to find and protect, right?"
"Nah, go ahead, Early. I'll watch."
"Oh, sorry" Alfeo says, seeing Venti's reaction. "Guess I've gotten so used to him, I forgot what a fright he must be." He holds out his hand to shake. "I'm Alfeo, Alfy to my friends. Blessings of the Lucky Drunk be upon you. And this" he says, hooking a thumb over his shoulder to point at the phantom, "is Early. Erlo Aduzzi, that is. He doesn't mean any harm. Heck, he saved my life!"
"Alfy, Early. I told you to call me Alfy. Or Alfeo, if you'd rather." The halfling sighs. "'Mr. Taproot' is so damn formal for someone who lives in my head. Besides, it makes me feel old."
"Early" the middle-aged halfling seated at the bar says before draining the las of his pint and turning to join the conversation, "do you know this Ethran Howell?" Even as he asks the question, Alfeo has to admit to himself how strange this all is. It was only days ago he'd decided to pack up his life in Breachill and go off to join the Hellbreakers, but still...he was expecting to go off and join the Hellbreakers. Being assigned to a unit in Breachill immediately had felt like a bit of a false start. |