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”Some sort of undead horse inside the stable,” Leah answers while her brother keeps a look out ahead. ”It was intangible, almost like it was made of smoke.”
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Boxed in as he is by the strange, undead horse, Marc sees no other option than to continue to try and harm it and wait for help he knows is coming. for
Meanwhile, Leah continues running towards the stable, but as it comes into view she skids to a stop and then, oddly, takes an extra moment to stomp each of her feet against the ground as if to plant them a little more firmly into the dirt. She then holds one hand out to her sides and says, ”Teacht chugam,” in a loud voice. Inside the barn, there is the slightest ripple in the air and Marc is simply gone. Outside, some distance away, a similar silent distortion appears to Leah’s right, looking like heated air above a fire, and then Marc is there by his sister’s side, his hand gripping tightly to hers. The two release each other and Marc takes a step forward to edge out in front of his sister while she turns to inform the others of the situation. ”There’s some kind of spirit or wisp of a dead horse inside the stable. Almost intangible but still able to do harm. We need to be very careful approaching it,” she says to those rushing towards her. ”We think cold hurts it. Perhaps fire would too? It would be easy to set the entire stable on fire...” she suggests, even knowing that such a fire might have the potential to get out of control.
Leah watches with interest as the dwarf fiddles with the lock, but suddenly stiffens out of her relaxed stance. ”Marc...” she says quietly. ”TROUBLE!” she shouts for all to hear a moment later before she whirls around and begins running back towards the stables. —- Marc counterattacks, first with his fists... for
Punches thrown, Marc follows up with a violent, open mouthed bite! for
The Summoner gives the structure a look then holds up her hand and softly speaks her words of Detect Magic.
She furrows her brow. ”Hoepfully, it’s just an alarm spell... but I can’t... Unfamiliar spells written in unfamiliar dialects can sometimes be tricky to suss out,” she explains to Kogril with an unhappy shake of her head. ”I’m gonna wait here with you, just in case.” ”In the meantime, two pieces of good news. And one bad. First, we found another lock in the stables. It would be be great if you could help with that one as well. It’s just... Whatever happened to the people left the horses... It’s pretty nasty in there. That’s the bad news.” ”But the other piece of good news is I found the ledger and quite a bit more in Captain Ashferthe‘s quarters. The ledger. Notes. And even some info about the island’s mines, like which were active and which had been closed. Should save us a good bit of time.” ”I’ll inform our Inquisitor once we’re finished here. He might even be pleased enough to say something beyond ‘Hand zhem over and report your findings.’” Leah says, doing an intentionally poor job of mimicking Zaszy’s tone and manner of speech.
Leah examines the room carefully, quickly sussing out the magic flame. Soon after she locates the ledger, which she seizes with a self-congratulatory shake of her fist. She takes a few minutes to leaf through the various daily reports, gleaning what could be critical information, before she carefully packs the entire thing away. ’Lets see that Lizard dismiss me now...’ she thinks as she heads back towards the kitchen and dining hall. She just makes it outside when Marc finds the remains of the horses, and can’t help but cover her mouth as her stomach churns even though the sensations passing to her through their link are a mere shadow of what her brother is experiencing. For his part, Marc barely reacts to the sights and smells assaulting him. Perhaps his sister could tell his movements are a bit more unsteady than usual, but he presses on with only a brief pause. When he finds the locked door he is only able to examine it for a brief moment. A few dozen feet away, Leah jumps at the clanging that rings out. She draws her knife then heads towards the sound, her brother emerges from the stables soon afterward and hurries to keep up with her. ”What’s wrong?!” Leah calls out, as she rounds the shed and spots Korgil.
With nothing more than a small hum of discontentment, Leah exits the Captain’s Quarters and heads north to the next building. Marc follows after her but instead of going in behind her, he continues up to the long building set along the colony’s northeast wall. Each enters their building, if they are able, and begins to search.
Leah pauses for long moment then nods. ”Yeah... too many cooks and all that...” she says, getting the message. ”We’ll head east. Finish up over there.”
”Yes. A month. Or more. Now: What happened here?” Guessing at the woman’s behavior, Leah adds a little more softly, ”No one is going to arrest you. We just need to know what happened.”
Without so much as a word, the Oakfounders go their separate ways. Marc, now seemingly in control of himself again, proceeds out the south door and begins a counterclockwise patrol of the building... until he comes upon Names Mean Little along the north face of the building. For half a beat, Marc pauses his patrol, but he then continues, intending to pass north of the armored construct. Inside, Leah joins the others in the kitchen area. ”Nice shot...” she says to Tyran, the smile in her voice mimicking her words to him back on the ship. But then she turns to Delbina and her smile fades. ”The only way you have only been here one day is if you only arrived yesterday. I highly doubt that is the case. A rotation of guards came here before us several days ago. And you were here, weren’t you? How is it that they did not find you? Why didn’t you go to them for help?” Leah questions the woman.
”Thank you. From both of us,” Leah says. Her brother manages to perform a slight bow in Zaszy’s direction. Unaware as of yet that the others have found a survivor, Leah lets out a sigh of relief then moves to make a closer inspection of the Girallon. It’s glowing eyes do not bother her so much, she’s seen stranger and more frightening things, but the fungus attached to the creature’s head does draw her interest. ”Nochtann draíocht...” Leah whispers once more as she attempts to determine if the fungal growth is merely some outlandish freak of nature or if it has some sorts of magical properties.
”Most of my brother is trapped in another world, another plane, so he senses things... differently...” Leah answers. ”Pain to him is mostly just another feeling of force or pressure without the debilitating shock. But me? I feel everything he can. Everything he should. And strong sensations like pain flow over our link very easily.” Leah rubs one of her arms with her hand, wincing as she does so. ”I can feel the bruise on his arm...” she pulls her hand away then rubs her thumb and fingers together, saying, ”...and even feel the slickness of his blood if I concentrate. It would hurt quite a bit but for the bark I chewed on earlier. It dulls my senses slightly, but has a dramatic effect on the pain that flows between us.” She looks to the Lizardfolk directly now and asks, ”Would it change your mind to learn he cannot heal on his own as you or I can? That he will stay in this state and that I will retain the ghost of his pain until something is done? Because that is the truth of it.”
Leah relaxes slightly as the giant ape falls, but her brother does not. Marc ignores the dwarf’s question pivots to follow the Girallon and swings at it once more...
...and is about to do so again, but is stopped when Leah rushes forward and grabs his drawn back arm. Her wince as her bare hand touches her brother’s steamingly cold skin is enough to snap Marc out of his single minded attack. The steam rising off his fist dissipates and he drops his arms to his side with a look somewhere between shock and regret visible on his face. ”The first few hours of being back in our world are hard for him... for us both...” Leah explains to those standing before her and her brother. She walks round him to inspect the wounds Kogril mentioned. Blood, and some stranger blue colored fluid flow from Marc’s injuries and drip on the ground at his feet. ”Inquisitor, is there anything you can do for him or should I fetch a potion and some bandages?
With a final gesture, Leah’s second summoning spell of the morning comes to completion and a small viper emerges from the debris behind the Girallon. It immediately strikes at the creature’s heel. for Viper:
…Viper 16 AC, 5 Hp, Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +1. Attacks: Bite: +7 for 1d2 + poison Poison: 9 Fort DC, Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds, Effect 1d2 Con, Cure 1 save As the snake attempts to bite the monster, Leah’s summoned small earth elemental attacks as well. for Leah’s brother suffers each punch in silence. The Eidolon does not make so much as a grunt as the powerful claws tear into it. Instead, it steps forward and counter attacks, first with two return strikes of its own...
...and then, shockingly, Marc lunges for the gorilla-like creature with beared teeth! He latches on to one of the creature’s arms and violently, viciously tears at it with little regard for anything else.
Those that look closely spot a trickle of a sickly green unnatural fluid dribbling out of the male twin’s mouth. Sensing that there is no more room for summoned allies, Leah draws her knife and moves forward. A quick flick of her hand sees her family dagger fly towards the enraged creature before somehow appearing back in the Summoner’s throwing hand. for
Marc hurries after the creature and manages to catch up to it before it reaches the kitchen. He reaches out to punch at the creature with one arm then another. Each time he swings, reality itself distorts slightly as his punches somehow travel a good bit further then it looks as if they should. Each of the Eidolon’s punches also chills the nearby area so completely that thin sheets of ice drop straight out of the air and ice crystals form on the nearby walls and floor of the eating area. for
At the same time, Leah finishes her summons and a Small Earth Elemental burrows up through the floor of the kitchen. The rocky creature gives chase after the creature that Marc and Leah saw. It moves past Leah’s brother and attempts a slam of its own. for Once her spell is complete, Leah too moves forward and begins another summoning incantation. Small Earth Elemental Stats: 17 AC, 15 HP, Fort +6, Ref -1, Will +3.
Move: 20ft, Burrow 20ft Attacks: Slam: +8 for 1d6+6 Earth Mastery: +1 to attack and damage against creatures on the ground, -4 to creatures on water or in the air.
Seeing the large, violent looking creature, Marc and Leah spare no hesitation. Marc retreats back through the doorway then turns and prepares to engage the creature should it give chase. Meanwhile, outside, Leah releases her strengthened mental bond and takes a few steps back to give herself room and begins to cast a summoning spell.
Unsure of where the others are, Marc and then Leah arrive at the open door. They look to one another as the sounds of chaos inside continue unabated. With the slightest nod from Leah, Marc pushes past the door and enters the building. With his hand still glowing from Leah’s earlier spell and the dark vision that comes from his slightly otherworldly form, Marc looks to see what is causing such a commotion.
Leah remains just outside the door with her eyes closed, concentrating. By focusing on the link between herself and her brother, the Summoner is able to share his senses and can see everything he sees.
Leah and Marc rush back outside just in time to see Tyran before he disappears close to the building. They move to catch up to him.
Leah turns around in a slow circle, sure she has missed something. Having served its purpose, she lets the mushy, used up piece of willow bark fall from her mouth, then stretches her hand out in front of her like she did upon meeting the golem. ”Nochtann draíocht...” she says once again as she sweeps the room for any lingering magic.
I’ll head left,” Leah informs the others. Marc begins moving that way even as she finishes her sentence, ”if there’s anywhere people would fall back to it’s where they sleep.”
Leah approaches the prisoners’ quarters (A8?) first. A soft word and a touch sees Marc’s hand glow as he leads the way.
”Someones and somethings have been coming or going through and in some cases over the gate. We did not like the claw marks we found in the wood,” Leah reports. Marc backs her up with a small sigh and a subtle shake of his head. Though his movements and expressions are smaller and more subdued, both of the... twins?... brighten in unison at Tyran’s suggestion of using his hook to scale the wall.
”They didn’t happen to give one of you a key?” Leah asks as she and the summoned creature that looks very much like her, aside from a few major differences, split up and search along both sides of the gate. The observant might notice that both Leah and her Eidolon pause simultaneously as they begin to move apart, and then Marc turns to follow her from then on out.
”It is a sign that shows he is linked and bound to me. His name is Marc. And my name is Leah,” Leah answers the armored figure as it circles her. When it is done, she turns and heads back to her ruined circle in order to pick up and return each of her summoning crystals to her small bag. Marc, however, remains stationary, his gazed fixed on the golem before him. Leah quickly locates each of her intact crystals, but it takes her a few moments to find the final crystal, the one that unexpected exploded. When she finally does locate it, she sees that it had split into three charred pieces once it reached the end of its life, but she likewise takes a knee and retrieves each of the shards as well. Leah winces again and even wobbles a little and is forced to place a hand on the ground to steady herself as she fails in her attempts to rise. A few feet away, Marc whirls around to look at her with question and concern, but she waves him off with a determined expression on her face. ”You know this happens every time we are apart for too long. I’ll be fine,” she tells him. But before she attempts to rise again, Leah fishes a dark leather pouch from her pack. It is maybe twice the size of the velvet bag containing her crystals and is just ever so slightly damp. Inside are several still fresh strips of willow bark preserved for who knows how long by the letter pouch and the subtle magic of her handy haversack. Leah pulls out one of the strips then tears width wise down its center. One half she places back in it bag, the other she doubles over then places in her mouth where she begins to chew on it. Leah finds one of her brother’s hands offered down to her by the time she has her pack back in order. She takes it and allows him to help her back to her feat. ”We should return to the others. I expect the Inquisitor will have orders for the both of us,” Leah says to the armored golem as she passes it on her way back to the dock. ”By the way, what should we call you?” she ask, glancing back to the golem.
Up close, it is remarkable just how similar Leah and the creature she summoned look. Aside from Marc’s obvious crystallized injuries, his face, height, and build are almost identical to that of Leah’s. If not for their different genders and Leah’s shoulder length hair, one might even be able be able to mistake them for the same person! Marc tilts his head slightly at the question but remains silent leaving Leah to be the one to respond. After a momentary wince at some lingering unseen pain, Leah indeed steps forward, all but shielding Marc from the golem standing before them. Marc resists at first, but a stern look from Leah sees him take a single step back. ”I am a Summoner, and this is my Eidolon,” Leah replies in slowly, as if talking to a child. ”His job is much like yours: To protect me and others.” Leah studies the large... war machine? body guard?... for a long moment then raises her hand gently into the air and whispers ”Nochtann draíocht...” as her curiosity gets the better of her. Elven: ”Reveal magic...”
Upon hearing the distant crash, Leah staggers forward out of her ruined summoning circle to stand by the creature she just summoned. Breathing heavily, she holds a hand to the side of her head as if suffering from a terrible headache. Looking down at the dock, it’s clear something happened to break some of the boards and perhaps something heavy fell through into the water, but her gaze arrived to late to see the full happening.
The creature beside her, however, watched the entire situation unfold. It takes a step forward to stand partially in front of its Summoner and watches the shoreline for any sign of the thing that emerged from the large box.
Leah glances at the figure beside her in confusion but then gasps as something unseen and unspoken passes between her and the summoned creature. ”...wait...” she says weakly, but she seems unable to do much more than that.
Leah to descends down to the dock after checking for threats. But instead of sticking with the others, she makes her way onto the island travels east a good ways down the beach. She glances back to the ship as if to check that she if far enough away then she pulls a small velvet bag out of her pack. After a short search of the ground she extracts a small polished yellow crystal from her bag and places in on the ground near the shoreline. ”Dod yma,” her voice rings out with power easily heard back at the Magrat. Moving slowly she traces some unseen line, or path, or distance along the ground before she places a second crystal while saying: ”Fy llais a chysur mewn bywyd.” Then a third.”Fy symbyliad a chryfder yn y farwolaeth.” It is now obvious that she is evenly placing her crystals in something as close to a large ten foot circle as the terrain allows. Then a fourth. ”Fy baich ac mae fy amddiffynnydd tan ein diwedd.” She has come most of the way around now and is perhaps one crystal shy of completing the circuit. Finally a fifth. ”Fy brodyr a chwiorydd fy dau wely yr wyf yn colli.” With the circle now complete, Leah walks to its center and kneels down on her knees, eyes closed, hands resting lightly beside her on the ground. ”Marc Oakfounder! Fy mrawd! Rwy'n eich ffonio'n ôl oddi wrth y gwagle!” As her final words echo, the air enclosed by the large loose circle of crystals begins to refract ever so slightly, almost as if the young woman inside somehow surrounded herself with a nearly imperceptible wall of the clearest glass. For a long moment nothing seems to come of the summoner’s elaborate spell. Then, in the blink of an eye, the subtle distortion in the air around Leah vanishes without a sound and in the same instant a monster appears standing before her! At first glance, the monster resembles nothing more than a young teenager boy wearing clothing eerily to that worn by the summoner it looks down on. But, there is something very wrong with this boy. Pieces of his clothing are torn away in gashes that cover his forearms and torso, as well as his back and his legs. Beneath those tears where there should be patches of skin or perhaps grievous wounds, there are instead odd growths of dark crystal that provide unnerving glimpses of muscle and bone beneath. Likewise, there is a large smooth growth of the same dark crystal where the boy’s right eye and face should be. If the crystals about his body are indeed replacing the boy’s wounds, his head wound must have been nothing less than fatal! For a moment nothing happens. Leah doesn’t so much as flinch. From all appearances, she may not even be aware that the monster has appeared before her. But then a single loud crack splits the air as the crystal nearest the others on the ship and dock shatters in a brief flash of light. Both Leah and the monster glance over to the blown crystal in surprise, but the monster’s gaze continues upward as it takes in the Magrat… and its crew… and its departing passengers. Some fifty feet away down the island’s narrow beach, the monster turns towards the dock and lets out a loud otherworldly shriek as Leah struggles shakily to her feet behind it. Elven: ”Come here,” ”My voice and comfort in life.” ”My motivation and strength in death.” ”My burden and my protector until our end.” ”My sibling, my twin whom I lost.” ”Marc Oakfounder! My brother! I call you back from the void!”
”Thank you,” Leah says to Zazzy. ”I... I always wished I could do that,” she says with a smile. ”If there’s nothing else, Captain, I will go in search of some rags then head to my room to treat my remaining wounds and get this blood off of me...” ”Oh, and Tyran? Nice shot.” she adds before ducking away from the Magrat’s top deck.
Breathing heavily, with adrenaline still pumping through her veins, Leah leans against the front of the ship for a moment as she tries to catch her bearings and breath. The two glowing archons return to the ship and with a glance from Leah, they begin a slow patrol of the surrounding waters. ”Don’t worry, they only want to help. They will depart once they are sure we are safe,” she tells those looking at the strange lights. She goes to wipe her brow only for her hand come away soaked in blood flowing from a small gash above her eye. Wincing as she further inspects her other minor and not so minor injuries, Leah pushes herself fully to her feat and limps her way towards the passage that leads to the lower deck. ”Would you mind terribly if I took over our room for a few?” she asks Kogril. ”I’m going to need some time to clean and patch myself up...”
This time Leah is not so fortunate and is sucked up into the vortex.
Far too jarred to even attempt to cast a spell, she does the only thing she can do and lashes out at the air around her.
Her two Lantern Archons pursue and unleash another volley of divine, damage reduction overcoming phaser fire. for
for
Leah scrambles away from the whirl of shap and heavy objects and plants herself near the ship’s bow. There, she looks to the others and and concentrates.
As she does so, the two cheerful orbs of light that just appeared distance themselves from the ship then focus beam after beam of focused light on the giant vortex.The sky above the ship lights up brilliantly with each beam as sharp shadows briefly etch the sleeves across the ship over and over. for
for
Leah is taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of the large whirlwind that ...
...very nearly lifts her into the air! She is only able to remain on the deck by quickly reaching down and wedging her fingers between two boards and...
...loses her summons in the process.
Leah tracks the final air elemental as it rushes in straight twoards her. It attempts to push her back, but somehow her feet hold giving her the perfect opportunity to lash out with her dagger. for Scrambling back, Leah begins to concentrate. Even with the storm and commotion whipping all around her, she is able to reach out with well practiced ease and locate Lantern Archons willing to help protect the ship and its crew. Leah grimaces in pain as the shackle and short chain attached to her wrist glows and steams briefly red hot along with her movements. Summons:
Lantern Archons 15 AC (17 vs Evil), 17 HP, Fort +6, Ref + 3, Will +0, +4 vs Poison, +2 vs Evil. DR 10/evil, Immune: electricity, petrification. Move: 60ft fly (perfect) Attacks: 2x Light Ray +3, 30ft ranged touch for 1d6. Overcomes all damage resistance. Let’s place them at F10 & K10 when they appear. 5/6 uses of Leah’s innate summoning powers remaining. Summons last 16 minutes due to Leah’s innate summoning powers + her summoning shackle. 4/5 uses of shackle remaining.
Leah squints into the wind and rain at the approaching shapes. They seem familiar but they are upon her before she can identify them. When one slams into her, well it doesn’t so much matter. The things with their unnatural speed need to stopped.
She tries to track the windsprite that attacked her as it whips past, but only just manages a clumsy lunge at it as it flies back out over the water. Coughing and sputtering, Leah manages to right herself. She catches sight of the cloudy wisps turning for another attack and smiles. They are still a little too far for what she has planned, but that problem should solve itself within the span of a few short moments. “ní chomh...” Leah’s voice echoes out, somehow rising even above the howl of the storm. She tenses and holds off on the last word of her spell until the creatures are near the ship. Astonishingly, the rain around those on the ship all but stops in midair! For a brief moment, those near the Summoner can track individual drops of rain streaking towards them, and can feel each droplet as it strikes their faces... Readied Spell: ”...tapaidh!” Leah says when the windsprites are close enough. The storm around the ship snaps back normal as she releases her spell, leaving those aboard to wonder at what just happened!
”Heh. My own initiative?” Leah asks with a laugh that clearly says the situation is anything but funny. ”In truth, I would not be here if it were not for Marc, my twin brother. He would always push me to go out and interact and live. And I could when he’d come with me... But then, well, some very bad things happened and now it’s up to me to live for the both of us. I’m doing a pretty good job of it, and I know he’s proud of me, but I wish all of you could meet him as he was...” she says. There’s something in her voice though. Something that she knows but isn’t yet saying. ”But the sinmarrow crystals? Yes, they are for summoning,” Leah says answering Kogril’s question. ”After a bit of preparation and polish, small sinmarrow crystals the size I can hold in my hand make for an excellent focus for more difficult summons just by tossing a few of them on the ground. Unfortunately, they get used up over time. The magic that passes through them burns them from the inside as I use them. Eventually they crack or shatter. After that, I can grind one up into a fine dust that does the same job surprisingly well, but the dust only works once more. And that is why I am here, I was looking to move on from this area, uprisings and cerfews aren’t really my thing,” Leah confides, ”but when I went to stock up I found that the supply of sinmarrow crystals had vanished. I followed the supply line back to Kintargo and here I am.”
”Nor should you have, really,” Leah replies. ”Gilren is a long way from here and while it’s had its share of happenings, only one might have been interesting enough to the outside world for news of it to spread very far.” ...And that was was almost a decade ago, now,” she adds. There’s some russeling as she retrieves some thread and a needle from her pack and beings skillfully repairing a damaged stitch along the edge of one of her gloves. ”No, I grew up in the heart of the woods far enough from the sea that I didn’t see anything larger than a lake raft until, well, about ten years ago. More recently, I studied in Ava’s Head, our main port city, so I saw plenty of ships but didn’t have much need to go aboard one. I have been on one long voyage,” Leah notes. ”Was on a fine Elven ship a good bit larger than this one for three weeks and I was miserable most of the way. Been on a bunch of boats and the occasional ship since then without any trouble, but spend two and a half weeks not sure which meals you’ll be able hold down and it’s tough not to be just a little warry.” ”So... you’re member of the Emberforge family and some kind of... investigator? Trouble ender?” Leah asks, probing a bit.
”Huh, good luck...” Leah says mostly to herself as she reaches up to trace her fingers over the pot mark stars abover her. ”Having to fight on deck in the middle of a storm?I don’t like the sound of that... Here I was hoping to just lay here and try and not get sea sick...” Leah comments after Captain Molron departs. ”How are you with ships?” she asks her roommate.
No Looking:
Leah, too, says her thanks to the captain then joins Kogril in the 2nd room. She climbs up to the top most bunk, claiming it as her own.
Leah reluctantly leaves her viewing spot and gathers with the others. Though not overly familiar with the impromptu ceremony, she takes the small cup as it is passed to her and ably fulfills her small part of the ritual before handing it on. ”Two and two, then?” she asks the others after Molron shows them their quarters.
Leah makes her way up the gangplank but heads forward rather than aft. She threads her way past what workers are on deck until she reaches the ship's bow where she takes a long, expectant look out towards the water.
"No sir, your Inquisitor would be a lizard-folk, green and scaly about yay high. I did just come from a planning meeting with Palamer, those two, and a half elf named Tyran before coming directly here, though. I suspect the others will turn up shortly," Leah replies. "My name is Leah Oakfounder, originally from Gilren. You might say I'm an interested third party who has been given permission to tag along," she says by way of introduction.
Leah flinches slightly when the dog bears its teeth at her, and she gives the guard a dirty look as he looks her over, but she continues on her way without saying a word. Better to just be thankful that nothing came of the incident. When she reaches Pier 7, Leah takes a moment to admire the ship docked there before she approaches its gangplank though she stops a couple steps away from actually boarding. "I'm looking for Captain Molron," she calls out to those aboard.
Leah, too indicates her understanding to Palamer then heads out. Strolling down the street she moves with the flow of people coming and going, careful to keep a little distance between herself and everyone around her. Another mission and another mystery... She can't help but wonder how this one will compare. 'Probably won't', she decides. Still, despite the abundance of guards and the occasional sign of wariness she catches from the populace, Kintargo does still have its small bits of familiarity. The woman from Gilren turns one final corner and catches first glimpse of the docks stretched out the hill below. Something about the sight brings a slight smile to Leah's face, and she closes her eyes and and draws a deep breath in through her nose. It smells a little of the pungent aroma of fish and other sea creatures being chopped and served to waiting buyers of all stripes. Also in the air, though harder to detect, is the smoke of the fires and furnaces burning away to heat and shape the metal needed by the docks and the ships it serves. But mostly, she smells the sea air. That heavy, wet, yet somehow fresh scent blowning in from the waters in the distance that remindes her of her daily walk from the upper district of Ava' Head down to its seaside temple. Perhaps not the happiest of times, but... The sound of a group of workers threading their way around her pulls Leah back to the present and she continues down towards the water, looking for pier number seven and anything else that may be of interest.
"Just one. Which pier is out boat at?" Leah asks, as she casually shoves her ration satchel into her pack. "I'll head that way and maybe take a look at this guldottari of yours if tehre's time."
"How many prisoners are we looking for?" Leah asks. "Do you have a roll sheet or list of names? Were any of them especially dangerous? Did they possess any magic or special abilities?"
"So these were not your people giving the report? If you found obvious corruption at the top it is only right to suspect it in the lower ranks as well..." Leah says. It's not quite an apology, so much as an acknowledgement that perhaps the previous situation was beyond the lieutenant's control. Whether the current tension in the city is his doing or not is most certainly a conversation that should be held another time, if it is to be held at all. ”Your objectives are simple and clear,” Leah continues, appreciatively. ”Try and determine what happened to the colony. Find the ledger. If possible, investigate the state of the mines. My only questions now are practical and logistical ones: First: This will be a multi-day mission, for sure. Presumably, you will provide a ship to take us to the island? What about basic supplies? Will you provide those as well, or are we to bring our own provisions? Second: How long will that ship stay at the island? I would hate for us to come across hostile forces from another house, as you suspect, only to retreat and find nothing but an empty dock waiting for us. Third: Will it be just us four on this investigation, or will you also be sending a force assist us? Or to restaff the colony? And Fourth:” Leah says while eyeing large Sinmarrow crystal, ”I came here because the shortage of summoning supplies in the region and while to some of you that crystal may look pretty and to others it may look like profit to be made, to me it looks almost… comforting. Lieutenant Palamer," she says, turning back to the halfling, "I don’t suppose Kintargo has a reserve of reagents? I am not out, but my supplies have dwindled, and being able to go into this unknown situation fully stocked would be appreciated.”
Leah all but bites her tongue to keep herself from commenting on Palamer's description of Kintargo's guard forces. What he described happening to lone guards in his city would have been absolutely unthinkable in the last city she had truly called home. In Ava's Head, the guards were so well trained and helpful that the people of the port city looked after them very nearly as much as the guards looked after the city and its people! 'If only Tezio could see this place, even Alinya would struggle to contain his anger,' Leah thinks to herself. The Summoner's frustration grows as the halfling before her talks about how little he trusts his guards. So much so that she is forced to take a deep breath in order to answer his question in a calm, sensible manner. "Also, what information will be sufficient?" Leah asks, after Tyran has his say. "Perhaps we will uncover a terrible crime or tragedy, but if all we are able to find is an abandoned colony swarmed by dangerous creatures, as your guards already reported, is that enough to earn the reward?" she continues, doing her best to keep her opinions to herself.
Leah, too, shows her respects to the officer. "My being here with these others is more fortunate chance," she replies honestly. "I have been directed from town to town for the better part of three weeks while trying to find out why certain supplies were no longer available to me. Everntually I was pointed here and only this morning learned of the trouble at Deepmar." "My name is Leah Oakfounder, I am a Amháin Cé Glaonna, a Summoner in the common tongue, originally hailing from the very distant kingdom of Gilren. And I am at your service," Leah concludes, offering the halfling her own respectful bow. Elven: Amháin Cé Glaonna: Literally, One Who Calls.
Leah too heads back up to her room. When she returns, she looks somewhat more the adventurer now that she has pulled on a snug fitting set of letter armor and slung a mid sized pack across her back. "Tamara," Leah says more instructingly than comfortingly, "we will find you father, but until we do, I want you to stay away from drink and keep yourself busy. Wallowing in sorrow only brings about more sorrow. Trust me, I know." With that, Leah follows the others outside.
"Wait," Leah says, standing herself. "Lieutenant, me and my friend here," she nods toward Tyran, "heard about the reward for investigating what has happened to Deepmar and that we were to report to Durotas Plamer to join the mission. Might we accompany you to him?"
"Ah. Of course," Leah says, getting Tyran's hint to keep her government related opinions to herself. "That's all I meant. And, as I was already on the trail to this mystery and had a vested interest in resolving it, I will gladly pitch in. No babysitting required, I assure you." She looks over to the distraught daughter and adds, "That we might help reunite a father and daughter is another unexpected bonus. Tamara," Leah asks softly, "do you know where we might go to sign up for this mission to Deepmar?"
"Wait... could it..." Leah whisper to herself. She mentally recounts or runs through something in her head, holding up and counting her fingers as she does so. "That's got to be it!" Excitedly pushing her plate aside, Leah pulls her chair closer to the others and says: "For half a month, I have been tracing the shipments, or rather the lack of shipments of certain crystal components I make use of. A shop owner in a village a few days from here who had failed to receive his usual shipment pointed me to a warehouse in a closer town. They also had stopped receiving their expected deliveries but didn't know why and pointed me here to Kintargo." "I'd feared there'd been some kind of blockade, or worse, that the Cheliax had decided to hoard these supplies entirely for themselves. I never imagined there would be a reward!" she explains.
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