"Sounds right Joaanna, Sergyn. Whatever might be behind these things, going to the glassworks is the first thing to do."
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Marbyn certainly listens to Bethana, it's a juicy, if rather sad, story as it turns out. One thing about it leaps out at her to ask Bethana about. "So, Lonjiku the father and Tsuto are on very bad terms. Ameiko looked for Tsuto and was never able to find him. The last time they were all together was 5 years ago at Atsuii's, Ameiko's mother's, funeral. Tsuto left Sandpoint at that time and hasn't been back since?" "Am I right thinking that if Tsuto came back recently it would be really hard for him to go unnoticed? I mean, if he had contacted Ameiko she would have told you right? And the letter makes it sound like Ameiko and Tsuto haven't seen each other for a long while." "It doesn't seem likely, but if Tsuto and Lonjiku buried the hatchet at some point somehow, and Tsuto was staying with Lonjiku, either or both Tsuto and Lonjiku would have let Ameiko know? Does that make sense?" "So if what I've said so far sounds right, how could Tsuto blow back into town at just the right time, somehow knowing that a person he hasn't spoken with for 5 years has a new big secret?"
Marbyn reads the note, but it doesn't mean much to her. She doesn't know Ameiko well enough to have ever discussed Ameiko's family with her. "Okay. She has a brother, and he wants to talk to her about their father because he might be mixed up with the goblin attack..." "That tracks well with what I've been thinking about a resident of town being behind it. But, why meet at the glassworks? Ameiko has a whole inn where they could meet easily enough if the idea is privacy." "Do we go to the glassworks to look for her?"
Marbyn rolls on up to see what is going on with Bethana along with everyone else. She doesn't ask what's bothering her because that being done once already is enough.
Still here!
Still around as well, and starting to get back to posting after the site shutdown.
I may be slow to post for the next week or so. I work for the Oregon Department of Human Services and we're right on the edge of a catastrophe if SNAP benefits aren't issued for November. We've been all hands on deck and overtime trying to figure out contingencies to cover the potential losses however we can. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does there are some very rough days coming.
Marbyn pauses long enough for a reply to Joanna. "Oh, it won't help anyone if we start telling people this. Everyone will lose their heads and start thinking, saying, and doing all manner of crazy stuff. It would also put whoever we might be looking for on notice and make them harder to find. I'm saying we keep our eyes and ears open to clues closer to home." Marbyn scurries away before Sergyn starts doing what she's said they should not be doing.
Marbyn enjoys herself well enough during the evening. Because she is enjoying herself, Marbyn delays mentioning anything about the itchiness in the back of her brain. It's a collection of thoughts that she can't put to rest. As she ruminates on them more here and there through the evening, she becomes convinced. But, she's really bored of the round and round of the who's and why's of the attack and the goblins, which they've thankfully put to rest for a while. At the very end of the evening, as the very last thing she does before she makes for the door of the tavern, Marbyn lays out the flaw she sees in what they seem to have settled on the the time being. "You know, I don't think it's the bugbear who's organized the goblins. Maybe he could organize them, but I don't think he could plan the attack. Partially I don't think so because he doesn't seem the type to be on top." "He might force himself into controlling one tribe, but he can only be in one place at a time. Intimidation wouldn't be enough to stitch all the tribes together. To get them all aligned and keep them that way would take clever talk and manipulation. That doesn't seem to fit what we know of bugbears." "But that's not even the big problem. Whoever planned the attack not only united the goblins, they planned an attack that requires good knowledge of the town. What would be happening when on just the right day for it. Where exactly things are. Distances in town, where to enter unseen, and how to get out unseen with the very old corpse of a priest who couldn't have mattered an iota to goblins and bugbears." "We're looking for someone, or maybe more than one person, of a race that can move about freely in Sandpoint and get to know it at the very least. More likely I think, we're looking for someone who lives in town." "Anyway, good night and see you tomorrow."
After eating plenty Marbyn feels content and drowsy. Maybe it's just the desire to snooze, but she can't think of any truly useful ways of chasing clues. After all, whoever or whatever is directing the goblins would almost certainly be outside of town rather than in town. But everyone seems eager so she makes up a suggestion. "Well, we know the goblins can into town from more than one point of entry. Timing that sort of thing isn't easy. We could go check around the places where they came in. Might be something there to find."
Marbyn decides she rather likes Shalelu. First, the elf certainly doesn't put on airs. Second her weirdness is kind of sweet and endearing. Third, this conversation seems more useful than any of the others that have happened before. "So... five goblin tribes around here and there. About six leaders... which tribe has two leaders? Anyway, how do we know they're all involved? Like, were there goblins from all five tribes in Sandpoint? How do you, or we, tell them apart? Are all the tribes all in on cooperating, or are some still sort of sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how things are going before getting more than their toes wet?" "And there's the really weird thing about the missing priest's body. Why would goblins want a long dead human? And do goblins use magic? There was that robe we found. Who would have been using that?" "And has there ever been a goblin leader so great and clever that they would actually plan to use the attack as a diversion to steal a body from the boneyard? Everything else about goblins makes it sound like no, they would just go fully in on an attack, or forget the sneaky body snatching once they started to attack until after it's too late to use the attack as cover."
Marbyn might not know Ameiko all that well, but she's not going to let the opportunity for a nice big hug pass her by. She stands atop the table's bench so she can get up to really get in their for a tight hug with Amieko, whether or not that's what Ameiko had in mind. She orders whatever on the menu is most like pie, savory or sweet doesn't matter. When her meal is brought out and placed in front of her, Matbyn happily tucks in, letting the others chatter away while she concentrates on eating. The way Marbyn sees it, and she will say so if specifically asked, is things will play out with the goblins and the making people feel safe and such as it will and worrying about it won't make a difference. Plans and intentions have a way of colliding with the future in such a way that the future also rolls right over plans and intentions. Better to keep an eye for what's really coming than to do a bunch of chin stroking over what to if bad guess #1 happens or if bad guess #2 happens instead. As for the gossip, Marbyn keeps a ear bent to take it in, but she doesn't know the players involved. They seem mostly local so she has nothing to add.
Marbyn listens to Shalelu and the Sheriff, mostly, sort of. But her mind is occupied by other things. She surreptitiously watches the pair of elves in the room. Marbyn has seen elves before of course, but always in a 'passing on the street' sort of way. Given extra time for observation, she find them kind of fascinating, but draws no conclusions or speculations regarding them. She selects a small butterfly pin to wear. Everyone seems really pleased with the idea of wearing the pins, like it's a great idea. Marbyn can't make the reasoning behind the pins line up though. If the idea is for us to be around, out and about to be seen because that will keep people calm (for some reason), there's a presupposition there that people will be calm because they know who we are. The won't explain who we are if someone happens to not know. Now, the letter or note idea made sense because it could explain who we are and what we can do and have an official seal or a signature or whatever on it. Nobody would need to know anything at all beforehand to understand the letter. A butterfly pin doesn't tell anyone either of those things. We still have to explain we're wearing butterfly pins because we are well known(!!!). And the wearing the means we can do certain special things they can't, like deputies or rich people. So, the pin needs to be explained to work, and the explanation is therefore believable because we have the pin we just explained. Seems like it doesn't work unless we're talking to very gullible people. In fact, maybe I'll test this. On the first day I'll wear the butterfly pin. The day after I'll pin a leafy stalk on celery on. I'll tell people the celery means the same thing as the butterfly pin and see what happens... Marbyn doesn't want to rain on anyone's parade, so she doesn't say anything about the glaring problems with the pins as a meaningful symbol of anything in particular. Maybe she's missing some key piece of knowledge about small towns that would clear of her confusion if she knew it. Or maybe people in small towns are more interested in being agreeable with each other than having good ideas? Thinking about the pins eventually morphs into considering rustic people in general. Everyone in Sandpoint seems quite happy, despite a certain lack of many interesting things to do. They also seem to all know each other. Knowing bunches of people like that appeals to Marbyn. On the other hand, it would be easy to run out of new people to get to know pretty quickly. Then things would get boring again. Especially if one considers that people probably only genuinely like only about 20% (optimistically) of the people they know. Without far more people to meet than a small town could supply, she'd be stuck not actually liking many people forever. It's possible rustic people a able to like more people overall than other people, but she doesn't really buy the notion. Marbyn figures she'd probably not be good at being a rustic person. "Hey, are we supposed to be start wandering around and making people feel safe right this minute, or should we go get something to eat before we listen to Shalelu again?"
I'm dreadfully sorry for disappearing without word for so long. We went to Mexico City on vacation. I didn't figure I needed to mention it because we were staying at an Airbnb with WiFi. The place did have WiFi, but the WiFi did not work. Just flat couldn't connect to it. I didn't try posting with my phone because it was on data and we were burning through so much already we kept having to purchase more at a price that was highway robbery. That hiccup aside though, Mexico City was lovely and fantastic. I can't recommend visiting it enough.
Marbyn bends down, it isn't too far, to pet the cat some. But her mind is elsewhere, on Sergyn. If what Sergyn said was some sort of response to Marbyn, the connection is completely lost on her. She walks over to him while digging into the pouch on her belt. She brings out a shiny, pearly button and presses it into his hand. "I'm sorry your mother died. Take this button. It' a lucky button."
Marbyn is too busy checking out Bulvarius's armor to notice much about Joanna. There's something about the armor that seems a little familiar but she can't put her finger on it.
By the time Sheriff Hemlock arrives with the rest of the crew in tow, Marbyn has had time for quite a lot of ear-bending. The other two with her, named Esgean and Sergyn, have heard a great deal about her past in Magnimar. Marbyn has almost eagerly told them she is in Sandpoint because she owed quite a bit of money after a run of poor luck with dice and cards, so she needed to leave the city for a while until things there blew over. From there Marbyn moves right on into a meticulous account of all the things she did during the goblin attack, which could be summed up by a more laconic teller as 'I did what I could to help out here and there where I found trouble'. All the chattering Marbyn is inflicting is surprisingly less annoying than one might assume. Mainly this is because of the lack of self-aggrandizement in the story. Instead, Marbyn comes across as extremely thrilled to have been part of something so dramatic and exciting. Her affect is so cheery and familiar one might think she's catching up with friends she hasn't seen in a while about the best day of her life. When the sheriff arrives with the others, Marbyn cuts off and marches over to greet them. She is halfling short and and small, with quite long brownish blonde or blondish brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her face, featuring large, friendly hazel green eyes is very pretty. Marbyn's attractiveness is wholesome in a way that doesn't mesh well with the biography she's recounted. It's far easier to picture her baking bread or milking goats than it is to see her at a card table. Marbyn approaches each of the newcomers, shakes their hand, and introduces herself as Marbyn Dapper. "I'm very pleased to shortly be listening to a report from Shalelu with you all. Now, who is Shalelu again?"
Marbyn is deep into a game of dice at the Hagfish when she's found. In aggregate she's winning, which would typically mean she would angle for some way out of going, because winning! But, she's also been doing a fair amount of boasting about her role in thwarting the goblin attack, as well as having earned the regard of the sheriff. There have been doubts among the listeners, after all Marbyn doesn't look at all dangerous or impressive in the ways that earn respect from large men with weapons. Sometimes an intangible win can be more delicious than a tangible one. Marbyn is content to trade the possibility of a little more silver to see the doubters eat crow. Without looking up at the man, Marbyn asks "so I'm not under arrest?" When the guardsman affirms she isn't under arrest, she picks up her coins and begins to stand. She stumbles slightly though, bumping against the man beside her. "Pardon me old salt", she says to the sailor, "too much liquor too early I suppose." She gives the man a pat on the shoulder and joins the guardsman. "All right mister soldier lead on. I'm very anxious to hear what Shalelu has to report to me." When they're outside and on their way up the street, Marbyn opens her hand to take a good look at the button she plucked from the sailor's vest when she bumped him. It's a nice one, off-white in color with a pearly sheen. Probably made from oyster shell. "Who's Shalelu?" Marbyn asks the guardsman as she moves the button around to see how it catches the light at different angles.
@GM Spazmodeus: There are two changes to Marbyn since you last saw her. 1. I forgot to add the Deft Maneuvers feat. Since EitR rules make the 1st level Finesse Training of a U-Rogue obsolete, the standard remedy is adding Deft Maneuvers as a replacement. 2. I forgot to switch out Halfling Luck for Adaptable Luck. All good?
Don't worry that big brain of yours about any shady stuff handsome. Leave it to someone with more quick and subtle digits, like me. :)
Good luck everyone!
I do have to ask: when does recruitment close? May 9th, this Friday I believe. From the Recruitment Info: --Recruitment ends at 09.05.2025 The date uses the format common outside the U.S. with day before month. At least I'm fairly certain the deadline isn't going to stretch out to September. :p
14. Marbyn Dapper Halfling Cleric (Divine Paragon) / Swashbuckler (Inspired Blade). ---- Dapper and charming, she has a flower in her hair and at least half a deck up her sleeve.. <Blush> "You're a very nice person you silver-tongued devil. But don't you be giving my secrets away."
Here's my submission. Marbyn is a Halfling Cleric (Divine Paragon) - Swashbuckler (Inspired Blade) of Chaldira Zuzaristan. Domains will be Luck and either War or Trickery (spells only for the second due to the archetype). She's originally from Augustana in Andoran. She did sort of lose a bet, which is what has brought her to Mendev. But I'm still working on backstory so that tale isn't fully told yet. I also still have a bit equipment buying to do before I'm completely finished.
I'm done with everything for Mavis except a bit more to add to her background. As I was finishing up I did an edit and caught a few mistakes that I've now fixed. I should be able to finish what's left to do tomorrow morning.
@GM Harrow: Well, the Trickery domain spells are about 50% or a little better Illusions. They tend to fall into a couple of specific niches though, personal like Disguise Self and the Invisibility ones, or anti-scrying or detection. Maybe there's too much overlap, hard for me to say. But, now that I've looked at all the spells more closely, I'm not sure how useful they would be. Several of them seem nice to have for that one time you need it, but daily you're always choosing the Luck domain spells. Chaldira is kind of like Desna with domains. It's not a matter of finding two decent ones like with lots of deities. It's trying to figure out what great things you leave on the table. Aside from Luck and the Fate subdomain, there's Good and the Friendship subdomain, Trickery, War and the Tactics subdomain. If I'm taking Fate, it will be the Devoted Domain for it's domain powers. Divine Paragon trades away the domain powers of the second domain, only getting the spells. All the spell lists are good, so I'm not too set on any particular one. War or Good are both nice choices since I expect to spend time in melee.
Oops, well it turns out the build I initially posted doesn't work like I thought it would. I've dropped Evangelist, it's out of the picture. Now Mavis is Cleric 5 and Swashbuckler 1 with no further multi-classing planned.
I'm still working on some details, but here's the character I'm submitting. All the basics are finished and I need to complete gear purchases and background. Mavis is a Halfling Divine Paragon archetype Cleric of Chaldira Zuzaristan. Halfling isn't one of the better platforms for Cleric, but I think Mavis has turned out pretty well, and would be great fun to play. Her class progression is specifically Swashbuckler 1 -> Cleric 4 -> Evangelist prestige class 1. Cleric will be the Evangelist aligned class. She'll be 2 levels behind in Cleric, but she wasn't going to be much of an offensive caster anyway. She'll be sticking to buffs and support, and can help out in combat as well. One question before things are finalized. I've taken the Fate subdomain of Luck and Trickery as domains. But Chaldira has access to the Tactics subdomain of War. I didn't choose it because it's extremely powerful. However, if the current party and GM either don't mind or want Tactics, I'm quite happy to trade out Trickery for it. |