Kitchel moves around the tables to join Tif near the goblins, her rapier out, ready to counter any attack that might be made.
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Kitchel, seeing the goblins playing with the bodies, skitters in closer, low to the ground and as quietly as she can.
I'm going to toss another it's certainly been enjoyable so far onto the pile! If anyone's going to apologize for derailing things it should probably be me. Kitchel is interested in lots of things (which is why she'll be going for investigator next level,) and the combination of shifting attentions as well as lack of understanding of social situations for humans does seem to be dragging things in directions that might not be intended. I can also scale that back if anyone wants me to as it's just some RP. The source of the letter for example I expect not to go anywhere (why would the halfling telling us about it know anything?) but it's the sort of thing that Kitchel would ask about. I certainly wasn't looking to add new things for us to do so much as RPing it up. I'm pretty happy with how Trig is being played so far, so from my perspective there's no offense to be worried about.
Addressing the crowd beginning to surround them, Kitchel steps forward and uses her most projecting voice. "We heard reports that something was amiss here at the Glassworks. I'll ask everyone to stay back as we're not sure what we're going to find in here and we'd like to keep everyone safe. After the goblin attacks we can't take anything for granted and we need everyone's cooperation!"
"No, no, I agree that getting to the Glassworks quickly is important in case something needs to be done there. If there's not an immediate answer to the genuine author that Bethana knows then we should probably all go together, and I can examine this mystery later. If there's something dangerous out there we're probably better off if we encounter it together."
Kitchel thinks momentarily before nodding. "OK, if there's anything you can tell us now that you might know about how authentic that letter is we'd like to hear it. If you can think of anything that might take time to investigate we'd like to do so later." Turning to Trig she smiles. "But I'd expect you to want to know what we're getting into. If we know that it's not Tsuto, and that happens to point to someone else in particular for some reason we could be better prepared. The more we know about enemies we might be approaching the safer we'll be, yes? Valerica I expect to call for action," and she looks up at Valerica nodding to indicate that's a good thing, "But you I expect to call for caution when possible. I suppose I've got you less figured out than I thought, so that's another mystery to keep working on!"
Kitchel listens as Bethana translates the letter and then nods as she makes the request to visit the Glassworks. "We're happy to investigate for you. It'd be a shame if anything happened to Ameiko, especially after the recent attack. I wonder though if there's anything that you see in this which might confirm that it was Tsuto who wrote it. It's in Minkaiian which is some evidence, but there are others who know the language. If he hasn't been seen recently then it is an odd time for a reappearance. You don't happen to have any other samples of his handwriting or the like we could compare it to? Or anything else, like a seal that only he would have or the use of language or something that I'm not thinking of that would confirm the authorship? I realize of course that Ameiko would be a better person to ask all this, but with her missing just now you seem the next best option!
Questions for Shalelu:
Kitchel will try to get general directions to the lairs of nearby tribes. Good enough to get to the general area and what landmarks to watch for which would indicate that we're close. Ostensibly this is in case we happen to head in any of those directions so that we know to be more vigilant than normal. The Seven Tooth and Thistletop tribes are of the most interest, and Shalelu would probably pick up on the idea that Kitchel is still interested in poking around them for information.
Glancing around to Kitchel tries to determine if anyone in the bar is paying more attention to Bethana's behavior and Tif and Trig heading towards the kitchen than would be expected.
Assuming no one seems overly interested, Kitchel will follow as well.
Kitchel grins at Trig as she raises her not unexpected objections. "It's good that you're with us Trig. You help remind us of our mortality. Oh, and that thing that we're not talking so much about, but which you do that's mighty helpful! Now, who else has entirely reasonable objections to raise before we throw ourselves into danger?"
Kitchels ears twitch slightly as she listens, soaking in the information, and then she nods. "The goblins claimed that they didn't need to sneak in and just came in the main gate, so someone on the inside working with them makes sense. So if we want answers our best options are probably to make our way to the camp of one of those three tribes and do some snooping around or to dig around town and see if we can't sniff out any connections here. Sandpoint's a big enough town that we'd get noticed quickly if we're asking around and the goblin's contact could probably go to ground before we got to them, so the more direct, if not necessarily safer, approach is probably to try to start with the goblins." Kitchel looks around at the group, her small eyes bright with excitement but apparently none of the worry for danger that should be present. "So who here fancies a raid on a goblin encampment?"
Kitchel gnaws at her meat as Shalelu speaks, waiting until she's done to pipe up. "I don't know if the sheriff would have mentioned it or not given how much else there was to go over just from the attacks and the tribes and all, but we did find evidence that the goblins seemed to target the boneyard, and Father Tobyn's remains in particular. They were missing when we arrived and there were some signs of necromancy, either from an item or a necromancer them self, as well as a larger humanoid, probably around human sized, who seemed to be working with the goblins on that particular task. I don't suppose those would lead to any obvious connections that you might know of given your familiarity with both the goblins tribes and the region in general which we lack? We found it fascinating, but not so informative at the time."
Kitchel nods as she is introduced, busily working on the replacement chunk of boar meat she's found to replace the one that was passed to Valerica.
Kitchel's attention to the other conversations in the room dwindles as the argument increases in intensity. When Valerica stands and moves to confront Lord Kaijitsu, Kitchel moves quickly to her side and is there to help catch her as she stumbles. "Friend Valerica, Ameiko is demonstrating to her sire that she doesn't need the help of others. I know that you mean well here, but she's already shown that she can bite back when someone nips her. If you humans are anything like my people, this is a matter of pride for her and we should let her claim her territory and power from the generation before without help. We'll just make her look weak if we do the work for her." The ratfolk them sticks out the shank of meat she's been gnawing on to Valerica to give her something else to do should she need a way to transition in a gesture which in no way translates to human culture.
"Oh dear, do you think my question were troublesome to him? I learned so much and I know that often expressing interest in someone's hobby can be something they appreciate. Not this time though? Ah well, I'll try to make it up to him the next time we interact! And we did get this lovely feast out of it." When Ameiko and her father start their confrontation Kitchel listens to Wayland's explanation and shrugs. There's enough else to pay attention to that she's not bothered by a family argument for now. She savors her meal and takes in as many simultaneous nearby conversations that she can understand as possible.
Kitchel watches the hunt with some interest, and when the end comes she's glad, if only for the end of the boars misery. "Ah, I see, so boar hunting is sort of more like butchery from this end. Yes, of course you won't want to use a sword for that, something much more precise like that knife makes far more sense. Thank you for the lesson! Now I'll have a much better idea what to expect the next time I'm invited along a hunt. I wonder if I should ask Trig to borrow her spear to participate in the other parts of it though. They look like they take a fair amount of skill as well. Now, do you typically just hunt the one, or was that warmup for something bigger that we'll tackle next? It seems like we've got the forces assembled here to do much more!"
Hearing the noble talk to Trig even Kitchel takes not of the tone and pays a bit more attention. Seeing the glances back to Valerica, who the ratfolk decides must have fallen behind to get some space, Kitchel lets her pony go where it will for a bit. "Oh that's excellent! Because you have your sword with you today, right? That means that we'll get a demonstration of some expert use of it, if we find a boar, I suppose! Mind you, I'm not sure how we're planning on finding a boar, never having been on a boar hunt before. Do we need to spend much effort tracking one down or is there a place you know where they like to gather that we'll be heading to to find them? I wonder if the Tickwood boars are exceptional in some way that makes them worth hunting. Are they particularly tasty? Or do they have tusks that make particularly good trophies? It's a good thing we've got an expert here with us to make this experience so much more informative than it would have been otherwise!" The ratfolk doesn't look back at Valeria or over at Trig as she prattles on, but hopes that her friends might appreciate the nobles attention elsewhere.
I was about to say that surely we've gotten enough loot to buy a single first level scroll, but then I looked at the loot sheet. It is enough, but not by a lot. Is there any reason not to have sold the mundane gear that we've gathered for half price during the second half of the day yesterday? Which I guess might just be the small studded leather armor. But it's something. With that and (especially) the reward from Foxglove earlier, we could afford that feather fall scroll. Trig might object to using party funds for that now, but Kitchel wouldn't mind at all.
"Oh, I see, we're going to be hunting while mounted? I've never actually been on a horse before, but I suppose I've seen it done plenty of times. How hard can it be? Thank you for the opportunity to try something new!" Kitchel walks around the pony a couple times, deciding on the best way to get on top of it. In the end she scrambles up the side, using the grabbing the stirrups with her hands and pulling herself up. She nearly topples over the other side, but after a solid minute of positioning while the pony steps back and forth nervously, Kitchel is more or less mounted in a standard position and ready to go. "OK, now, how do you convince it to go where you want it to go? As the hunt begins and the party rides towards the forest Kitchel hears Lord Foxgloves questions, but is spending enough time and effort trying to control her mount that she lets other do the answering for once.
There are potential things to do in town, but nothing that couldn't wait till after the boar hunt from Kitchel's end. Exploring a tower would have been quick-ish, the cave system not so much, so knowing it's there if we need it for later is fine with me.
Kitchel peers down into the darkness below, listening to the conversation. When she looks up her ears are drooping slightly, but she shrugs it off quickly. "Exploring a tower would have been one thing, but a flooded cave system is probably too big a task just now, especially without a particular reason to explore it. Ah well, I suppose that there's plenty to discover back in town for now and we do have that boar hunt to look forward to tomorrow!"
Kitchel looks at the tower, her whiskers twitching with anticipation. "So as we're here already and there are potential mysteries, I vote for checking it out. I've got some rope, though if the 100 foot estimate was right we'd need more I suppose, if that cavern that the farmer was describing is really there, and who knows what me might find! Maybe it's the lair of the Sandpoint Devil!"
Kitchel comes back from peering intently at the dead cow and hears the farmers offer. She looks to Trig for approval. "That sounds reasonable, right? As far as I know we're not in a hurry here and verifying that the killings have stopped seems an entirely sensible position to take. As long everyone should be about for a while at least. I know that we've got that boar hunt that we're apparently going on tomorrow and this area seems just chock full of interesting things to explore!" Turning back to the farmer the ratfolk continues, "Speaking of interesting things to explore, I wonder if you happen to know anything about that tower that we passed on the way here from Sandpoint? Your ranchhand earlier seemed to think that it had always been there, but clearly that's not true. Someone must have built it for some reason and I'd think that those who've invested in the lands around here enough to make a living out of them would make sure that they knew about any potential threats in the area. Does anyone or anything make it's home there or is it just abandoned at this point?"
While Trig and Tif make appeals to the farmer's better judgement, Kitchel goes back to examine what's left of the corpse. She gazes intently at the wounds as if trying to find something new.
Kitchel nods at Valeric'a suggestion. "We should get back to town and see if anyone there might be able to make something of these samples we've collected. Mind you, we should stop by the farm on the way. We can try to convince them with these, and point them in the direction of this barn where it's clear that the creature was nesting. Perhaps we'll be persuasive enough that they'll give us the reward, but worst case scenario we've still eliminated a menace to the local farmers and we've uncovered another mystery! The case of the dissolving hideous almost wolf creature with an unnatural mouth! Or something snappier. I haven't come up with the right name for it yet."
As Tif joins the search, Kitchel makes sure to find a time to place her paw on her friends arm. Speaking far most softly than normal, she checks in to see how Tif is doing. "You seemed fully in control there. You're doing so much better than you used to! How are you feeling after the transformation this time? Any loss of identity I should know about?"
Kitchel watches the corpse with fascination as it begins to dissolve and it's not until she sees Wayland trying to use a wineskin to collect some of the slime that she shakes herself out of it. "Hmm, I wonder if a glass vial would do a better job. I should have a spare one in my kit, let me check." The ratfolk pulls off her backpack and rummages around in her alchemist's kit to try to find a bottle that's not being used for anything too rare or expensive. She'll use that to try to gather a sample in addition to the one that Wayland has procured. As she works she whistles, and when the bottle is capped, she tries to keep it out of the light in case that makes a difference. "I don't recognize whatever that was, but, regardless of whether we're believed for the bounty, though hopefully our status as heroes from last night might help back our story up, at least if word of the attack and our part in thwarting it has spread to the countryside already, we should take this sample to town and check with the local apothecary or alchemist or other experts on such things. Now, shall we search the barn to see if there's anything else here that might be interesting?" Kitchel starts to move into the barn and poke around some even as she's finishing her thoughts.
Kitchel watches as her companions surround the beast and stab at it from different sides. Eventually she spots her opening and attempts to drive another thrust home while its back is turned.
Acting on instict, Kitchel jabs once more as the creature staggers to it's feet and snaps at Ponok.
At the creatures lunge Kitchel's eyes light up. "Now here's a monster worth finishing! I'm glad it was going to for cows instead of villagers earlier. I'll keep it busy!" She looks for an appropriate soft spot and makes a precise jab with her rapier.
Kitchel nods at the ranger. "Sounds good, let's see if we can get close enough to take a peek in. If anything sees us or comes at us we signal for help, but hopefully we'll be in and out with no attention."
As the party nears the barn, Kitchel glances around and then signals for the others to stop. In a much quieter, calmer voice than normal she asks, "Shall I go take a quick look in the barn to see what's there. If I go on my own I'm fairly light on my feet and might not draw attention like we all would together. I'll also be able to see in the dark better than most of the rest of you. A quick scout to know what we're dealing with here should help us better prepare for confronting it."
"It's got claws and teeth anyhow, so something at least natural adjacent. And we've found a trail! That's a lucky start. Well, for us anyhow, not so lucky for the cow here." Kitchel moves from the carcass to peer at the trail tracks that Valerica has found, looking closely to try to learn what to look for in the future, but being careful not to disturb them.
Kitchel nods as Tif handles the greeting before piping up herself. "Thanks for the warning! Something certainly did a number on this cow, didn't it? Is this what the ones from before looked like as well? Oh, and just out of curiosity, what was that tower standing alone out in the fields on the way here from town? It didn't look like anyone was in it, but someone took a lot of effort to build it there at some point." Kitchel carefully makes her way to the parts of the eviscerated animal, looking for claw or tooth marks to try to tell what might have done this.
Kitchel nods. "Right, to the farm it is, via the Goblin Squash stables. I wonder if they have anything more interesting than horses in the stables. Maybe we'll find a riding yak! That would be something I've never seen. And maybe the the thing killing the livestock is the Sandpoint Devil, but that'd almost be disappointing; I'd think that it would make more interesting attacks. It could be wolf or a bear or a big cat. We'll probably need to see what it's been doing to the livestock and check for tracks and what not. The good news is that we're well equipped to do that!"
Kitchel's whisker's twitch as she glances around, taking in bits and pieces of everything while the conversation happens. When Aldern gives the final part of his invitation, she nods. "Assuming we don't have something more pressing, a hunt should be interesting. I wonder how clever the boars in these woods are; I can't think of any that I've seen here or anywhere up close, so that should be worth something. Of course, hunting boars when we've got goblins lurking about town might not be the wisest course of action, but who knows what we'll know tomorrow morning that we don't know! It's all part of the fun in discovery!" As Kitchel's attention turns to the rest of the group, she smiles. "Speaking of discovery, shall we attempt to discover what's been killing the livestock nearby? I imagine that it's something that might live in the woods. Perhaps if we don't find it today, the hunt tomorrow might even help with that should we have time for it! I've been thinking about the bounty on the goblin ears, and you know, I bet that we can sort that out if we find any more ears that we might want to turn in. Unless anyone has a pressing errand to run in town, and there's nothing wrong with that if anyone does, so do speak up, shall we head to the farm?"
"Hmm, well in that case we wish you a quiet and uneventful day! I think that you, all of Sandpoint really, could use one now." Kitchel waves as the Sheriff leaves, and then turns to the others. "Right, assuming we're interested in working together for at least a bit longer, and from what I can tell, our various skills seem to complement each other nicely, so that strikes me as a wise plan, we need to figure out what happens next. We could go investigate the farm, which was already brought up and something that we seem to want to do. We could track down Aldern Foxglove at the Rusty Dragon, he's likely to be up by now I'd think, and should be happy to see us, especially you, Valerica, if I read his offer correctly. There's a lot more about the town that we probably want to learn if we'll be here for long, like what is the bounty for goblin ears at the Goblin Squash Stables, but is there anything else pressing that we'd be likely to want to do first?"
Kitchel nods as the sheriff speaks. "The rain would be inconvenient for tracking, wouldn't it. And some non-goblin commander fits the profile we'd been coming up with so that's not too surprising. I wonder what a 'longshanks' might be. Anyone happen to know the term offhand? Something taller than a goblin I'd assume, but, despite our current company, that's not too surprising a condition for creatures to have." Kitchel pauses in thought for just a couple seconds, her nose twitching as she glances around. She then turns her head sharply to the Sherrif and cocks it slightly to the side. "This seems to be an unusual situation, and you seem understaffed right now. Is there anything in particular that you think you might like help with? I can't speak for everyone here, but I know that the safety of the townfolk worries me right now. As a guest of the city I can't help but feel like I should be doing something to make sure that last night's goblins and today's skeletons are all that need to deal with now. If there's something you don't have the resources to poke into then I'm game for poking, but you'd know the leads better than I do."
Kitchel accepts the coin with a serious nod. "Thank you. If you happen to notice anything else unusual that might be connected to this you should come let us know. There are too many loose ends that don't seem to make sense yet, but hopefully we can start to take care of them. Tif in particular doesn't like loose ends, what with her tailoring, unless they're there for decorative purposes. I don't think that these skeletons would count as decorations though. Hopefully we won't need any sort of healing, but if we do down the road we'll certainly keep your kind offer in mind. Even if we don't get down the road and stay in town actually." As the group starts to set out Kitchel continues banter continues on some without seeming to touch on important things for the moment, but her eyes continue to take in the surrounding, looking for any clues that might have been missed previously.
I'm fine with not dwelling on shopping in thread as well.
"Well then, we've got a mystery! What happened to Father Tobyn, and why? I guess we should rule out some implausible things. Given that we've just encountered skeletons, are we sure that the coffin there was opened from the outside rather than the inside? We should take a look. If it was opened from the outside and his body isn't here now it's been taken somewhere (I know, not too startling a revelation,) but if it was goblins I imagine they'd just drag it around both because they're not so strong and because they wouldn't care much about how they carried such a thing. That assumes that it was in some sort of clothing that was easy to drag. If the remains were just a skeleton that would make it harder to find evidence of dragging. Of course, if there wasn't clothing to drag a skeleton with and they needed something like that they could have used this robe here to carry things in, but it's been left here. Now let's see what we can find out about it!" As she speaks Kitchel darts about around the room, trying not to disturb any fresh tracks, but also get a good look at the coffin (in particular the inside,) and the robe. She doesn't touch either, but learns what she can from eyes and nose.
"Oh my, this is much more exciting than goblins! But we weren't really looking for excitment here, so I guess that's a bad thing. On the plus side, if there were goblins before these two might have already taken care of them. Though that'll make it, at the very least, harder to talk with them than it would be if they were alive." As she speaks, Kitchel dashes up next to Tif and takes a stab at a skeleton.
Sorry for the pause on my end! RL got busy as it does from time to time, but things have settled and I'm back.
Kitchel seems much refreshed from the sleep as joins the group in the common room in the morning. With friendly chatter to the others as they come she goes through a whole host of topics to whoever will listen (and sometimes almost to herself as if talking out loud helps her think.) She speculates about the notice from the farmers and whether it might be a wolf or something more dangerous, notes how the rain last night might have washed away some tracks and whether there will be more, wonders where Aldern Foxglove might be and what he might have in mind for a reward, puzzles over the gate being left open and whether someone in Sandpoint might be organizing a plot against the city. By the time the man in the yellow robes arrives Kitchel is ready to be out, looking for answers to, well, something. "The boneyard? That's a delightfully spooky name. I assume that's the local cemetery? It'd be a pretty literal description I suppose. I think that seeing what's going on there could be exciting. If it's a goblin that could be helpful if we could ask a question or two, though that one from earlier really was so rude. Even so, information from the horse's mouth, well, goblin's mouth, is nothing to sneeze at. And if it's something more sinister that would need checking out too! Can't have the town which just went through a goblin attack need to deal with the dead wandering around willy-nilly or something like that. The name's Kitchel! What should I call you?" Kitchel sticks her paw out for the human to shake, nose twitching a bit as she watches his reaction to her greeting.
Well, out of game logic agrees, but in game, I'd imagine there'd be a market for shortbows and small armor regardless of where it's from as long as it's in usable shape. We can probably scout around for general stores or arms and armor merchants tomorrow among the other things we might do. Checking to see if they're buying probably wouldn't hurt.
Kitchel stifles a yawn as she watches and listens. Her ears have lost a little of their perk and the adrenaline that she seems to run on most of the time seems to be running a bit low. She sips her drink and nibbles at the food as she watches Tif go check out the board and then report what she's found. "I hate to be the first to crash for the night, and it was lovely working with all of you, fighters, archers, healers and all! Such an unexpectedly skilled group that came together for a common goal! I'm feeling the day catching up with me now though. The festival and the goblins and then more goblins! The investigating and everything. It's been a very stimulating day and I think the same will be true tomorrow. "I'm going to head off to bed, but what say we agree to meet here for breakfast tomorrow and make a plan! We can talk to Aldern Foxglove and the Sheriff and see what they have to say about the goblins. Even if they aren't worth chasing I think that beast attacking the farm could be interesting." She pauses again, and this time her yawn escapes unstifled. "In any case, I'm going to do us all much more good after I get some sleep."
That loot sheet looks great! I'm all for others taking the potions at this point (Kitchel doesn't want to be in the business of carrying too much.) Selling the non-horsechopper gear from the goblins seems like a good goal to me!
Kitchel pokes around in the places that the others do, making her way from the gate to the bodies to the square, always in motion. When Tif speaks she nods in agreement and when given the chance she introduces herself to her fellow defenders of Sandpoint. At one point, when she sees that the gnome is off a bit by herself and not being watched by anyone in particular, Kitchel wanders over and starts talking. "I didn't want to draw attention to it in case you don't like others to notice, but did you know that when you were healing Ponok back in that battle you started to glow with some sort of light? I suspect it was a connection to some sort of supernatural force, but I was wondering if you could tell me more? What does it feel like? Do you do it often? Or, wait, is this something that you'd rather not talk about? I'd hate to be as rude as a goblin. Speaking of which, it's handy that you can speak their language as well! Maybe if we keep working together we can use it pass information to each other if we need to keep others from knowing our plans! I do like making plans!" After arriving at the Rusty Dragon, Kitchel takes in the scene, while listening to the conversation. When Edamm asks about the Sandpoint Devil Kitchel speaks up seemingly without even paying much attention as her eyes dart around the new location. "The Sandpoint Devil. It's a local folk story as Ameiko here says, but folk stories and rumors are sometimes grounded in some truth. Given that we live in a world where aberrations and abominations do run loose on occasion, Tif and I made our way here to see if we could poke around and find any leads that might lead to one of them here. We know that it's probably a wild goose chase, but in case it isn't, think of the good we could do by tracking it down!" Turning her head to look at Ameiko Kitchel pauses briefly and looks thoughtful. "If the Sandpoint Devil is just a folk tale then what are the dangerous things about here? Like Wayland says, something's almost certainly driving those goblins to act like this and I'm expecting that we'll have a part in getting to the bottom of that. Is there anything more tangible in your experience that we should be wary of than stories told to frighten children at night?"
Kitchel is of course happy to share what she knows. "Well, they didn't say why they were here, but they did say that they came through the gates. Which was a surprise. I'd expected that they had sneaked in somehow because I thought the gates would be covered. But if the guards weren't at the gates then that would explain it. Oh, and did you know that the ones I talked to were very rude! I guess it shouldn't be surprising, but if I hadn't been busy killing them I probably would have mentioned it to them as something to try to improve for the future." Turning to Wayland when he makes his suggestion, Kitchel nods. "There's a mystery here that could use some poking into. I'd be happy to help track them down and figure it out. They didn't seem to be well organized and I'd be a bit surprised if they were able to plan a coordinated attack at the exact time of the ceremony in the festival on their own. If they got help it'd be good to figure out who it was. And then stop them!"
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