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Jalros looks to Hamish when he crunches the apple, looks to Naomi as she peers out again and gives them both a cross look, then turns back to Hamish when she takes her leave and responds with, "Probably."
Looking back at Namoi with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention to Hamish, the bouncer's face nearly shatters due to the really odd expression his face makes as the smallest crack of a smile just barely forms, making it near impossible to catch unless one was focused on it as it vanishes just as quickly.
Pondering that a moment, Jalros eventually bobs his head and says, "Fair enough." Cutting his attention away from Hamish, "Glad I'm out here," he says flatly.
Jalros waits outside with Hamish. After what feels like an eternity, he turns to Hamish and asks, "What do you suppose is taking so long?" in a calm-like manner.
Jalros gathers his gear and rises from the table, ready to leave as well.
"Is this beef, or pork, or..." he chews the delightful but mysterious meat and decides "hmmm, I should stop asking, shouldn't I?" "I would," he responds in his typical stone-like manner.
Watching the entire exchange, Jalros eyes follow the halfling as he returns to their table. "I gather that amounted to nothing?"
Calmly cutting his eyes toward Elgrin, "No. It won't. Nothing more than talk is all that will occur," he states with complete confidence before returning his attention back to the table.
Jalros turns his focus square on Gubble and says, "To inquire about banditry and to see if those three at the table are involved in any way."
Jalros slowly picks at his food in silence while keeping an eye on the three men; completely unaware of any form of awkwardness. The next thing he notices is Gubble walking in and making his way toward them.
"Hamish paid a visit to the Captain," he answers, keeping his focus on the three men and occasionally cutting his attention toward the lone halfling.
Jalros gives a nod to Hamish as he takes his leave. Turning back to his food, Jalros eats slowly as he keeps a nonchalant eye upon the brigands.
Acting as if nothing was said, Jalros nonchalantly looks from Elgrin to Hamish and gives the swashbuckler a quick nod before reaching down, grabbing his tankard, and taking a drink as he cuts a quick glance over at the table of potential bad guys.
Jalros partially raises his mug before taking a meager drink. He partakes in the food brought to him, leaving no morsel behind.
Jalros pulls out the agreed upon coin, places them down on the table, and pushes them toward the innkeeper. "Thank you."
Hamish follows Jalros and Elgrin into the pub. Nodding his agreement with Jalros, the swordsman slides into a chair putting his feet out toward the warm fire. "Aye, I'll take a pub with a bit of wear and tear and a descent stout over them fancier joints with their pink drinks and overpriced bits of poached fish any day." Staring hard at the swashbuckler for a moment, Jalros eventually relaxes and nods, saying plainly, "I'll drink to that."
Completely straight-faced and with a stern tone, he looks directly at the man and says, "I'll have the pork, the cabbage, and the stew. Also, the bread and ale. And if you have the accommodations, a room for each of us which will put us at a cost of three gold and three silver. If you've got the rooms, I'll give you four gold for the lot of it."
Jalros finds a table away from the dogs, pulls out a chair, and takes a seat. Looking around, "My kind of place." He states plainly, crossing his arms while he awaits the proprietor.
As the group started to split up, Noami made a mental note that the boys were headed to the 'Cask and Flagon' Waiving to Jalros, she adds. "It sounds like the right spot." "I do prefer the name over the other one." He states plainly as he nods and takes his leave.
Jalros pours himself a bit of coffee and drinks it sparingly as he listens in on the conversation. Having nothing to add, Jalros rises when it's time to depart and leaves his half-drunk coffee upon the table. "If anyone wants to meet them I'm sure they wouldn't mind, but they wouldn't have room for all of us to stay. So you'd have to come back to town for the evening." "No thank you, Naomi. I will be at the Cask and Flagon if anyone needs me." Barring anything else from the others, Jalros gets directions and takes his leave.
With his eyes focused on the land in front of them, Jalros hears the question but doesn't respond initially, his mind whirling with thoughts on the subject. Finally cutting his attention over at them both, "I believe the law should do what it's supposed to do and do it properly. Unfortunately, that does not always happen." He pauses, staring blankly a moment, before finally continuing with, "While I do not have a high opinion of the law, due to the potential corruption you speak of Hamish, and also due to its lack of thoroughness at times, I do believe it is necessary to keep the peace."
Jalros stands with his arms crossed and watches the others leave with the prisoner. He listens in on Hamish as he speaks, his eyes scanning the countryside as he does. The bouncer never says a word, never cuts his attention to him, he just... listens. He does find the swashbuckler's words impactful. 'All you got is yourself, your kin, and a will to keep going because that's all you can do.' His mind replays the man's words. Or just yourself because everyone else has been taken from you. The will to keep going is all that is left. The big guy's visage remains completely impassive at the thought, leaving himself as readable as a blank book.
"I will remain back with Hamish as well."
Speaking to the others, "I'll bind the prisoner's hands behind his back and he can walk. We'll take whatever animals we can and leave the rest. After we've decided on the animals, we can close up the barn and the house. We could lock them up but I'm not sure what good it will do since there is no one to keep any bandits from breaking in. Maybe by leaving them unlocked, that would avoid any destruction of windows or doors. I'll let you all decide that while I tie up the prisoner." Jalros proceeds to do just that.
Jalros, with his arms still crossed, never moves a muscle. He simply stands there and watches the entire scene play out however it's meant to. Once Elgrin moves in and puts a stop to Hamish, Jalros cuts his eyes toward the swashbuckler, watching the man take his leave. Turning his attention back to the prisoner, the bouncer's typical stone-like expression unwavering, Jalros stares hard at him through narrowed eyes. "You were lucky. This time." His attention is then drawn toward Elgrin as he speaks before it returns to the bound man. "You know, you really should take his advice. He did save your fingers. I wasn't going to," he states matter-of-factly.
Jalros stands with his arms crossed, staring hard at the prisoner while he listens to Hamish break the man down mentally. At one point, the brawler cracks his knuckles before re-crossing his arms, not saying a word, thinking Hamish has this one well under control.
Listening to the opinions of the others, Jalros simply responds with, "Agreed."
Packing up her gear, she remembered they had a prisoner. Calling back to their bouncer "Jalros, how's the prisoner?" "Breathing but still unconscious."
Returning to the others, he resorts to simply listening in on the conversations at hand. After eating her jerky and drinking a little water, she laid out her bedroll near the door so when her watch was over she could get to sleep quickly. Asking Hamish, "Hamish, do you think both of us should be outside for the watch?"
Looking curiously at them both, "Why would you do that?" he plainly asks. "They cannot sneak up on us if they have to go through a door or a window. They can sneak up on you if you are outside, or they can simply attack you from range. The house is beneficial for its walls and its shelter." Not understanding the thought process, and moving on from it, "I'll be near the back door."
As she looked toward her companions and their wounds, she realized the prisoner was still unconscious, which was probably good. Walking back to the wagon with the wood she collected from the farmer's wood pile, she asks. "Should we disarm the archer and tie him up?" "Yes." Jalros pulls out his rope and does exactly that. He then removes any weapons the criminal possesses. As the wood and bodies of the family are being piled carefully in the wagon, Naomi approaches Thistle and takes her flint and steel out of the pack. Nearing Jalros, she asks him, "If we're sleeping in the house, do we want to keep the prisoner tied up with us, or tied in the barn?" Once he finishes restraining the man, Jalros rises. "We will keep him with us. We do not need him alone when he wakes, with no one watching him. And we will use the house as quarters for the night. Once I've gotten the layout of the house, we can allocate accordingly of who sleeps where." He explains plainly. When the funeral pyre is ready Naomi holds up the flint and steel, looking at the others, her eyes landing on the religious Egrin. "Does anyone want to speak any words?" Looking intently at the dead family, Jalros jaw clenches before looking over at Naomi and simply responding with, "No," before turning and heading toward the house, making his way inside. Once there, he walks throughout, drawing himself a mental blueprint.
She then looked towards Jalros, asking, "Is the archer alive? Maybe he can provide useful information." Nodding, "He is alive, just unconscious." ---------------------------------------------------------------- "If we and this Vortigern are headed toward the same destination, then he will be dealt with accordingly. He no longer has the surprise on us, we will be better prepared next time, of that I have no doubt." The confidence in his tone could not be more obvious. Moving to gather up a shovel before talk of burning the corpses commences, Jalros stops, narrows his eyes at Guthlag and studies his actions. Relaxing once it is obvious, he looks back to the others. "Guthlag is injured as well. He also needs aid." He then notices the many wounds on Hamish and Elgrin as well. "It appears the majority of us are in need of aid," he states in a matter-of-fact manner.
"I'll get him, Guthlag." Jalros grabs the man and hefts him over his shoulder, carrying him like a really heavy sack of potatoes. Once he eventually makes it back to the others, he lays the man down. Noticing Gubble stirring, "Good to have you back, sir. Guthlag managed to catch this fellow. When he wakes, he will have questions to answer."
Looking to Naomi before looking off in the direction of Guthlag, "I'm on it." Jalros takes off after the half-orc.
Putting the undead permanently at rest, Jalros looks at Elgrin and nods, saying, "Well done, Elgrin," before making his way over to the fallen halfling and bending at the knees, studying him a moment. "How does he fair? He is breathing so that is a good sign."
Jalros throws another unarmed attack toward the undead.
Many...thanks, Jalros." Hamish puffs as the brawler brings down the stubborn skeleton. Tossing the somewhat useless crossbow aside, he kneels down next to Gubble and does his best to see if the halfling still lives and to staunch any bleeding. Nodding at the swashbuckler, Jalros quickly notices one other still standing. He immediately heads over there to help Elgrin, kicking straight for the side of its head.
Jalros looks to Naomi with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention to the undead that are left. Seeing Hamish still dealing with the skeleton, "On my way, Hamish." Jalros moves and gets in position to set up a flank for the swashbuckler and once he does, he attempts to grab onto both of its upper arms while placing his foot directly on its spine, thrusting his foot forward with all of his might, hoping to snap it in two.
Seeing Naomi take a wicked shot to the ribs, Jalros moves in her direction and sets himself up on the opposite side of the undead. Reaching for the abomination...
...Jalros grabs the arm of the undead and pulls to spin it around before pulling on it stronger to bring it in close, creating momentum as he shoots a firm, open-palm attack directly towards its chin in an attempt to break its neck before letting it go ... hoping that's enough to take it down.
Taking a shot to the face, Jalros's head snaps to the side before he turns it back toward the undead, looking none too pleased - although it can be said, he always looks that way - as a tiny bit of blood appears to leak out of the corner of his mouth.
Overlooking the field of battle and seeing Gubble fall, "There's too many," he mutters to himself. Without another thought though, Jalros goes wide and comes in straight toward the undead attacking the wolf.
As he approaches the undead abomination, Joran nearly trips over a loose rock as he swings, having to work just to keep his balance which causes him to miss wide with his attack.
Jalros steps closer and unloads on the undead.
With a curious look as Guthlag goes running past, "What is it, Guthlag?" Jalros quickly follows. When he makes it outside and sees the walking dead, he continues right past the half-orc and straight towards the nearest ones with his typical sense of determination.
"I'll go with Guthlag. Best we do not go too far alone." Jalros follows after the half-orc. Once they reach the barn, Jalros takes his time and looks around the place for anything other than animals.
Following Hamish and Jalros into the bedroom, Naomi shakes her head and begins to unload the crossbow. Moving to the chest, thinking about her grandparents in Fairhill and how she and her family would want to know if something happened to them. Slinging the crossbow over her shoulder, she gestures towards the chest. "Gubble's right, we should learn who they are and find out if they have any kin to notify." Nodding, "Good idea, Naomi." Jalros moves over to the window and stares out into the backyard, noticing Elgrin searching for something. "I wonder if Elgrin has found anything," he says to no one in particular before stepping away from the window and looking pensive. "It appears we may have a difficult time locating these murderers," he confesses, his outward appearance one of dissatisfaction at that prospect. "No matter. If I've learned anything, people like that always find a way to get themselves found. It's just a matter of time."
Nodding in response to Gubble's question as his focus remains upon the house, "Yes, sir. And nothing more." Turning his attention to those that are with him, "I'm going to see where that door leads. More than likely to the back." Jalros proceeds to check it.
"Food?" Jalros follows after the swashbuckler, unconcerned with being quiet, especially after Hamish's foot buries itself within some rotted wood. Looking down at the man's foot before cutting his attention back to his face, Jalros quickly turns his focus to the door and makes his way to it, turning the handle and walking in, keeping a sharp eye out as he does.
Jalros quickly moves toward the chicken and scares it away in an effort to keep it from pecking at the dead girl. Looking down at the deceased child, Jalros's jaw clenches in anger as his eyes move from one deceased family member to another. Returning to the others, "We need to learn what happened here. Somebody murdered this family and I'm going to find out who it was," he vows, sounding more determined and a little more passionate than typical for him.
Pondering the man's words a moment, Jalros looks back over to him, and says, "No, Hamish, you do not. And for your sake, I hope it avoids you all of your days." Returning his focus back into the night, "And I think settling for the 'occasional sleepless night' is wise indeed. It would truly be a boon." He tears another piece of jerky off with his teeth, chewing while he tends to his thoughts.
Taking a deep breath as he watches the trees dance to the lead of the wind, Jalros finally looks over at the swashbuckler and answers in a candid manner with, "I'm always at peace, Hamish, because I've nothing to lose," before turning his gaze back to the scenery. "You will discover it, Hamish. In time."
Listening intently to the man, Jalros cuts his eyes over at Guthlag when he asks his question before turning them back to Hamish. "With your talk of surviving the various 'scraps', it is obvious this sergeant of yours has taught you well. And the sleeping part is not that difficult. You simply have to close your eyes, find what it is that brings you peace, and ruminate on it." He explains plainly, looking back out into the landscape while keeping an ear open to see if the swashbuckler responds to the half-orc's question.
Taking another bite of his jerky, Jalros angles his attention toward the Swashbuckler. "Who is this 'Rook' you speak of, Hamish? A mentor?"
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