Constable Dara Whitestone's page

Thravum and Olek: Dara thanks you two for your help in this, and wishes him well on your journey.

Olias: Dara promises to be in touch with you once the contracts are drawn up for the workforce, and also promises to negotiate a fair price for his recruiting work. She asks you to check in with her in three days. She says she will deliver your apartment key by messenger to the Griffins Nest later tonight.

Jorlitharr: Dara accepts your offer to help with the logistics and financial parts of the venture. She asks that you return the following day at noon to start the planning process, figure out who could captain the squad, and figure out what to pay you.

Dara takes this opportunity to chime in. "I like the way you think Jorlitharr. I've wanted to buff up our squad for a while now, and this gives us the means to do it. I'll make sure we have provisions in the contract on security details, plus training. Your offer to stick around is generous, and I'd love to employ you on the squad to help us get things squared up this winter. You said you'd be sticking around, but would you accept a position to oversee this project?"

She turns to Olias. "If you are skilled in negotiations, I'm sure we could employ you as well. We'll need a recruiter and help getting the word out. Interested in a job for the winter?"

She turns to Thravum. "You've been awfully silent. Care to join in the project to excavate the mountain?"

"Well," Dara says, "You lot have certainly proved that you can handle yourselves. We don't have others like you here, unlike Haven's Cross."

She swigs her beer. "I know you have all been busy in town. I wanted you to know the shop owner at the general store was hoping to thank you for saving his grandson. He mentioned something about a map he found. Or maybe he made? Can't recall." She drains her mug. "Oh yes, Sighanna, you should stop by the Inn. You have a fan."

Dara stands. "I wish you all luck. Dragons have mighty hoards of treasure, so I've heard. I hope you can help this town out one more time!" She leaves unless others want to talk to her.

At the end of the 4th day, Dara seeks you out at the tavern (where she assumes you all go for your evening meal).

"That blasted dragon was seen over the eastern farms. Luckily no one is out there anymore, but it did some fire damage to the estate. It's going to make rebuilding much more difficult, especially if it keeps coming back out of that mountain."

She swigs her beer.

"Also have had reports that game in the east is growing scarce. That dragon is taking whatever it wants and it's keeping food from our mouths."

She pauses.

"I don't want to tell you what to do, but are you going back to the mountain? I heard the Mayor talked to you. Do you have the skill to wrangle a dragon? Orcs are one thing, a dragon... phew. Entirely different."

Dara comes up to your party at the gates. "Good morning!" she calls, "I see you have returned, though two of you have not... I hope you did not run into too much trouble on your quest." She glances over your party again. And what happened to that orc prisoner?"

She gestures east toward City Hall. "The Mayor will want to hear of your tale, and will have payment from the Baron." Lowering her voice, she says, "But I'd like to hear as well. I haven't heard any reports of attacks since you set off. We've gotten all of the families in the outlying farms here into town. My guess is you were successful!"

Dara looks at Oleksandr thoughtfully as he speaks. "I did not know this history between the orcs and Solnevo. I distrust them in general, but perhaps you are right. Perhaps we could come to an agreement."

At first, Dara looks completely shocked at Olias' suggestion to let the prisoner go with them. "I suppose you have a point, that he could lead you to the headquarters. And this goes along with what this wizard here was saying, he can lead you there quickly. I am hesitant to let him go; most of the town knows the orc is here in jail, and want to see justice for their pillaged farms and murdered loved ones. I'm not sure I can let him go."

After she says this, she listens to Jorlitharr. She respects that he spoke very formally in Dwarven to her. "You are more cunning than you look, my Dwarf friend. His sentence would be that which the Mayor comes up with, and he has not spoken of a trial yet. If you can get back with the orc within a week, you may take him."

She leans in over the table and looks at the party. "If you find there is something more dangerous than the orcs leading them, do what you need to do. I worry for the safety of this town, as I said, especially with winter coming. A couple orcs we can take. Anything bigger..." She shakes her head. "I wish winter wasn't on the doorstep. Hopefully it'll be a short one and I can get this town guard up to where it needs to be. And perhaps I could talk to this Rurik," she adds, looking at Jorlitharr.

"Are you setting out tonight? You just got into the city today. Do you have enough provisions to last you for potentially a week? If you stop at the Inn the owner Sarel can fix you up."

She goes back to shuffling papers. "We have an exit from the jail that leads out under the eastern wall. I'd rather have you leave this way, in order to not draw attention to the fact that the orc is leaving. I will lead you out when you are ready."

Dara nods at this dirty yet somehow charming dwarf before her, not being able to resist grinning and feeling a little flustered with his encouraging words. "You speak wisely. And you know of Rurik Deepflagon, an actual Deepflagon of Doriast! Oh how I would desire to speak with him about more tactics and strategies! But back to the task at hand. You are right, the city still stands and we have enough food for now. Your suggestion about building up our active duty officers is very helpful. We have never asked for trade with Haven's Cross, being mostly self-sufficient over the years, but we could offer some of our mining surpluses as trade material." She sits back. "I must speak with Mayor once we have this situation under control." She pulls yet another blank paper towards her and begins scribbling notes.

Not looking up, she continues. "Please, move quickly and do what you must. I trust your judgement." She slids the map to Oleksandr without looking.

"Good, precise questions! I will attempt to answer them as well as I can."

Dara sits at the desk and pulls a large blank paper towards her. She begins sketching square shapes and talking.

"About six weeks ago we had our first message from an outlying farm. One of the furthest from our walled city." She makes an X on the paper in the east. "This was highly unusual. Reports of orcs in this land have been few and far between for last several decades. We sent an officer there to investigate. He reported all of the food stores and provisions had been taken, and the fields had been burned. Everyone escaped, luckily. They told of five orcs total who attacked with bows, black arrows, and swords."

She sketches out more squares. "I thought this was a one-time attack. It seemed random and strange. I didn't think much of it... Until a week later, another outlying farm was attacked in the same way." She marks another in the east. "Same thing, food and water taken, fields burned. One man killed, who tried to fight back. Stabbed by an orc blade. Reports of four orcs were there."

"I couldn't ignore this now. However, we only have myself and two officers. I tried to investigate but I was wary to leave the city." She sketches the town walls and a forest. "I scouted around for three days around the outskirts of the wall and the pine forest. Pretty sure orc prints were littered around. Maybe there is a trail or tunnel around the forest? I wasn't able to follow up because more attacks came and I was needed here."

She marks some farms on the west side. "These were the next farms attacked. They started doing this every couple days. Some farmers fled, some sent their families here. In the last six weeks I believe most of the farming families have arrived within the city. Eight of twelve farms have been attacked, with reports of a band of 5-6 orcs. With winter coming, we have enough stores here for six months, but after that I'm worried. If the looting, killing, and burning continues, we won't have any fields to plant in the spring."

She finishes the map and scoots it across the table. "Here is a map. Knowing you are on this task will let me and my officers make sure all of the farm families are here and safe. Officer Smithens is at the Inn making a roster of names now. Don't worry about that."

"What I need from you is to find the orcs and get rid of them. I have this orc captured here, but he won't talk to me. I've tried persuasion, food, threats. Nothing has worked for me but I'm not well versed in this."

She sighs. "I've failed this city. I'm glad you can help us."

As you enter the jail, which has an entrance off of the Town Hall, you see a small office off the main corridor. A stocky dwarf with thick braided hair and a dark uniform is seated at a desk, speaking to two humans in uniform and gesticulating while at the same time rifling papers and trying to write on a paper on the desk.

"Brown, let's see, what can you do...? Okay I have it. I need a wide berth around this prison. Don't want any folk snooping around. The Mayor was all too loud about having an orc here."

She turns to the other officer. "Smithens, I know people have been coming into the town from the farms for these past couple weeks. I haven't gotten around to writing down who is here and who is still out in the farmlands." She hands him the paper she was writing on. "Get the names from Sarel at the Inn. We can form a plan to get everyone to the city from then." She sighs. "Don't know who can escort them, but hopefully we don't have to worry about too many families left out there."

She gestures wildly for the two officers to leave. "Go, go, go. I have to think of a plan to get this orc to talk." The two officers leave the office, then the one called Brown sees your group. He motions for you to halt, but the Constable stands and motions to you.

"The Mayor said we would be getting some help here. Please come in!"