As soon as the shout is heard, Slidell takes a pause, which puts him exactly one step behind Ehlissa. It could have been the instinct of a caster to always put an armored individual between himself and danger, but the small smile that Slidell gave Vesh behind her back made Vesh realize that he had put her in front on purpose, unofficially putting her in charge of the first contact with the Father and his obviously distressed acolyte.
"Desna has brought you back, has She, my son."
At this Slidell raises an eyebrow, but makes no comment. Though if Ehlissa is observant, she may have noticed that he may have been biting his tongue to hold back the questions.
Ehlissa smiles in a tired manner, "Slidell is indeed very talented; but it seems that his bubbles are alchemical," she says by way of explanation, to forestall the lengthy tract on the pipe that the young wizrd would inevitably come out with.
Slidell opened his mouth, then shut it again as Ehlissa gave her hasty reply. He smirked wryly, apparently in approval of Her handling of the situation, if not her abbreviated explanation.
"Sorry if we looked suspicious, but yes, we were trying to find clues to the disappearance; I'm afraid we have a meeting now, but it was lovely to meet you again, Father." Ehlissa beams more warmly.
"Yes, thank you very much for YOUR help the other day Father, you did a splendid job taking care of everyone and organizing their defense in the church. Thank you." Slidell says smiling as he steps forward to shake the Priests hand. He starts to turn to follow Ehlissa.
"Oh. I did have two quick questions, if it's not too much trouble sir?" He adds as if an afterthought, turning back to the Priest."Using the Thunderstone to attract the crowds attention was brilliant." Slidell smiled with his usual youthful enthusiasm. "Is that something that's commonly done here for large gatherings in Sandpoint, or was that something new?"
"Also, and forgive me for prying, but I'm curious. Father Tobyn's tombstone had two names on it, but only one body. I was wondering why?"
After asking his questions, Slidell stands there, unusually still and patient, with an open, earnest expression on his face, and waits for the Father to reply.
...The guards appear as shadowy silhouettes moving in and out of the hazy fog. Looking straight down on the far side of the wall you see that the brush has been trampled and there are signs of movement and activity. To the side of the trampled area, an large object catches your eye, but it is too far away and partially obscured for you to identify it.
Before leaving with Ehlissa and Slidell, I relay the information above to Corran, Naelah, and Malcolm. "It's large," says Vesh, "but I could not make it out clearly from the top of the wall." He turns and follows Ehlissa and Slidell.
There is a gleam in his eye as he looks at Vesh. "Desna has brought you back, has She, my son."
"Yes, Father," he says, "she has my attention and doesn't seem to be done with me yet."
"Sorry if we looked suspicious, but yes, we were trying to find clues to the disappearance; I'm afraid we have a meeting now, but it was lovely to meet you again, Father."
How do you know there was only one body, if indeed there was one?"
Vesh replies, "Unless Father Tobyn and Nualia were buried together, there only seems to be enough dirt displaced to uncover one grave. Perhaps it would be wise to have your acolytes dig around the grave opening--or, indeed, make the hole deeper--to make sure that Nualia's body remains undisturbed. Otherwise, both bodies have been taken, or there was only one body buried to begin with."
"It's not *common*, but I think it was common knowledge that that is how I was going to announce the start of the dedication. The Mayor even had the guardsmen go door to door a week ago to give advance notice."
Slidell nods and smiles at the information. "Ah, I see. A good idea, Wouldn't want to scare the younglings." One can almost see the wheels turning in his head.
"I arrived in town six months after the fire. By that time the bodies were buried and the remnants of the old chapel demolished. How do you know there was only one body, if indeed there was?"
Vesh replies, "Unless Father Tobyn and Nualia were buried together, there only seems to be enough dirt displaced to uncover one grave. Perhaps it would be wise to have your acolytes dig around the grave opening--or, indeed, make the hole deeper--to make sure that Nualia's body remains undisturbed. Otherwise, both bodies have been taken, or there was only one body buried to begin with."
Slidell nods emphatically at Vesh's explanation. "Yes! Precisely! Unless they were buried on top of each other, a common enough practice in family tombs and crypts, but unusual in an open cemetery, it would seem there was only one body in the grave!"
Slidell looks at everybody, smiling. Then, glancing around again, suddenly pulls back his beaming smile to a dim glow. "Sorry," he says in a much more subdued voice to the Father, "Occupational hazard of a researcher. Sorry." He then steps back so that Ehlissa is in front again. But both Vesh and Ehlissa have no trouble seeing that his smile has not left his eyes.
Ehlissa "ahems" and says to the priest, "Yes, Father, Slidell is remarkably deft, and keen to get to the bottom of things, as are we all. You'll have to excuse all our questions; we are after all strangers in town, so we just need to clear up any vagueness."
Father Zantus gives you directions to Hannah's . It is about as far south as you can be in Sandpoint without going in the water.
"Thank you, Father," says Vesh with a slight bow. If the Slidell and Ehlissa have no further questions, he follows both of them as we leave the Cathedral area.
"I think we should catch up with the others and share what we've learned," says Vesh. "We can walk together to the meeting and, perhaps, stop for something warm to drink along the way if it's too early yet. What do you say?"
[
"Thank you, Father," says Vesh with a slight bow. If the Slidell and Ehlissa have no further questions, he follows both of them as we leave the Cathedral area.
After waiting for a cue from Ehlissa that they are indeed done speaking with the Father, Slidell again thanks the Father for his time, enthusiastically pumping the Priests' arm by way of goodbye. As they leave the Father and his two befuddled acolytes, Slidell is fairly bouncing on his toes with excitement.
"I think we should catch up with the others and share what we've learned," says Vesh. "We can walk together to the meeting and, perhaps, stop for something warm to drink along the way if it's too early yet. What do you say?"
Slidell claps his hands and rubs them together briskly. "Excellent, Excellent!" He mutters to no one in particular. "That was MOST informative!" Taking the silent looks from the others as an invitation to continue, he does so.
"Don't you see? It was common knowledge that the good father would use a Thunderstone to signal the start of the dedication ceremony! So everyone in town knew about it. Another indicator that that someone from the town was involved! At least in the planning.""We've ALSO learned that it is not common knowledge that Father Tobyn was buried alone, in a grave that is clearly marked for two!" He smiled like the canary that had swallowed the cat. "I'd call that VERY informative!"
Slidell blinks as Vesh's proposal finally sinks in. "Yes, the others. Yes! lets do that!" He then looks at the sun now barely visible through the heavy fog. "I wonder, if we run, do we have enough time to go see this 'Hannah' and still make the meeting by noon?" He mused. "I have three questions still burning a hole in my brain, and this "Hannah" seems like the perfect person to ask. Namely, Why was Father Tobyn buried alone, but the tombstone marked for two? Who knew that Father Tobyn was buried alone? AND, Who had a large enough grudge against him that would make someone go to all this trouble just to steal his body?"
Slidell looks at the others, "The number of names on those two lists, that match, can't be very long. We are this close to our first suspect!" He exclaimed, holding up a piece of candy between his thumb and forefinger. Popping the candy into his mouth, he mumbles around it,... "Well, what are we waiting for, let's go see what the others have found!"
With a lopsided grin, Slidell spins and heads for the nearby gate. The fog swirling in his wake giving him a very mysterious appearance. Almost as if the fog were reaching out for him,...
I look at the lettering, which I presume to be initials, and try to remember what 'KGW' might stand for. Drawing a blank, I turn to the otehrs and ask "Anybody know what 'KGW' might stand for?"
Corran made the survival/tracking check, and shares it with his companions.
"KGW... I think... no, its familiar, but I can't place it." Failed knowledge:local 6
"We should take this as evidence when we meet with Hemlock later on today. He might know what KGW stands for"
Not I. (I forgot to post it, but with a search modifier of zero.... I didn't roll a natural twenty)
I nod and pick up the ladder, saying "You're right he might know what it is and if not someone probably will."
Vesh enters the cottage last and bows to Hannah; he defers to Ehlissa (or someone else) to take the lead and make introductions. When it is time to be seated, Vesh takes a spot on the floor and listens intently to the conversation that takes place.
"Hello to you, apologies for all of us disrupting you like this. My name is Ehlissa, and these are Corran, Vesh, Slidell, Malcolm and Naelah. We are very pleased to meet you, and it is we who should be humbled to be here. Your bravery on the night of the attack should be more widely recognised; "He who does not fight, but aids the fallen, he also shall be amongst the blessed"." says Ehlissa.
Slidell accepts Hannah's invitation to enter with a grin, and greets her effusively. He pish-poshes at being called a hero, and indicates that the others, (ladies first!) should take the chairs, but declines to force his scarecrow-like frame to the floor, instead reclining lightly against one of the sideboards with an bust of Desna on it. His raven sits, unusually well-behaved, on his shoulder, eying the bust warily.
"Hello to you, apologies for all of us disrupting you like this. My name is Ehlissa, and these are Corran, Vesh, Slidell, Malcolm and Naelah. We are very pleased to meet you, and it is we who should be humbled to be here. Your bravery on the night of the attack should be more widely recognised; "He who does not fight, but aids the fallen, he also shall be amongst the blessed"." says Ehlissa.
Slidell nods emphatically, after pausing for a moment to file the quotation away for future reference, and targeted Hannah in the spotlight of his beaming smile.
"Thank you for seeing us on no notice. I promise we won't take up too much of your time. Yes, your leadership in taking charge of the wounded, and organizing everything as you did on the fly, was very impressive. In fact, that's sort of what we came to see you about."
"Since the other day, we've come across some,... interesting and unusual circumstances surrounding the attack. Some of them seem to be tied in to previous unfortunate events that happened in Sandpoint. The Father was telling us that you had taken charge of most of the secular operations of the church until he arrived, and apparently had done a marvelous job,..."
He glances at the others. It is obvious to those who have spent most of the last two days with Slidell that he is restraining himself, and trying to phrase things as delicately as possible. It is also painfully obvious that he wants to know the answers to his questions!
"I'm sorry to bring back memories of what must have been a trying time, but there are a few questions about Father Tobyn I would like to ask." He smiles warmly, and continues gently.
"As I'm sure you've probably heard by now, though it may not be common knowledge yet, Father Tobyn's remains were stolen during the attack. What I was wondering is,... Why was Father Tobyn buried alone, but the headstone marked for both him and his adopted daughter?
It seems that it was not common knowledge that he was buried alone, if that is true, who did know about it?
And last, and this may seem silly to ask about a priest, but did Father Tobyn have any,... enemies?"
Slidell laughs self-consciously, "I know it sounds silly, but so is a goblin digging up a priest who has been resting peacefully these past 5 years! As the person who was by all accounts running the church after the fire, you just seem like the best person to ask."
Slidell smiles warmly again, to put her at ease, and let her know that his comments were meant honestly.
I smile charmingly at Hannah as I enter but remain quite as I sit in one of the chairs, letting Slidell and Ehlissa do most of the talking.
..."He who does not fight, but aids the fallen, he also shall be amongst the blessed"." says Ehlissa.
** spoiler omitted **
Corran nods in agreement
Hannah nods quietly as she sips her tea. She seems to be listening intently but somehow remaining aloof. Physically she is engaged in the conversation, but mentally - you're not so sure.
Slidell makes a mental note of Hannah's manner. Having unusual personality traits himself, he isn't one to judge, but merely files it all away for future reference.
As the person who was by all accounts running the church after the fire, you just seem like the best person to ask.
At this remark, she chuckles quietly.
"Running the church, you say. I don't know about that. But you are right - I did step in and perform Father Tobyn's last rites."
"Not many in town know this, but he did survive the fire - briefly. When I was called to the church he was unconcious and barely breathing. He passed away within the hour. It was the smoke that killed him, not the flames."
"Nualia, on the other hand..."
Hannah pauses, sipping again at her tea and looking at the floor as she finishes.
"...there was nothing left of her but bone and ashes. The fire must have started in her room..."
Her voice trails off and she looks intently at the bottom of her tea cup for an uncomfortably long moment before putting it gently aside. Swallowing hard, she looks straight at Slidell - or more accurately at the wall behind him.
"Fact is, there was one body in the grave because there was only one body left."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not one to talk about the dead. I know, I know, healer and all, but it still ... pains me."
"If you don't mind, I have work to do now."
She collects your cups, absently stacking them on a table in a clumsy pile.
"Yes, Of course." Slidell agrees quickly, "we've taken up enough of your time. Sorry to have bothered you with such an unpleasant topic. Thank you so much for seeing us. And the help the other day. And the tea! Wonderful blend!" He quickly drains the last dregs of his tea before adding the cup, perfectly balanced, to the top of the precarious pile.
"But if I can help you further ... potions, ointments ... please just ask."
"Thank you! I'll do that." Slidell smiles warmly, and maybe a little sadly. "If the goblins have decided to increase their activities, I'm afraid your services will be needed sooner rather than later." He takes her hand between his, and bows over it. "May the light of the Illuminating One watch over you, and the Fields of Faellonen await those whose lives you have touched" he says, (badly) paraphrasing a scripture if Iomedea.
As you exit Hannah's you note that the fog is beginning to lift and the sun is faintly visible in the sky overhead. It is nearly noon and time for your meeting at the Town Hall.
Slidell lifts his head to the sky and tilts his hat back, letting the sun hit his face. "Is it just me,..." He says very softly to no one in particular, "But it seemed that it wasn't Father Tobyn she had trouble talking about, but she really didn't want to talk about Nualia. Terrible way to go, but still,..."
He continues letting the sun hit his face, and continues mumbling with his eyes closed. "Bones and ashes,... fire started in her room,... I know more than the average person about fires, both Mundane and Mystical, and it would take a fire greater than I can conjure to completely incinerate a body. A regular fire could do it over enough time, but if father Tobyn was killed by smoke, it couldn't have been that long,..."
He looks at the others, "I don't think she was lying, But I do think she might know more than she wants to tell. About what,...?" He shrugs his shoulders.
He sighs. "I think I'm getting hungry, is it lunchtime already? Lunch,... Noon,... Meeting!"
He spins to the others, once again his usual energetic, animated self.
"Well, come along "heroes' It's time to go hob-nob with the big-wigs!" He says with a grin. Aaaaaaaaand he's off,...
Ehlissa's eyebrows raise at Slidell quoting (if badly) scripture but she nods in appreciation.
Vesh stands next to Slidell as he says:
Bones and ashes,... fire started in her room,... I know more than the average person about fires, both Mundane and Mystical, and it would take a fire greater than I can conjure to completely incinerate a body. A regular fire could do it over enough time, but if father Tobyn was killed by smoke, it couldn't have been that long,..."
Vesh--again with a frown fixed on his face--replies, "I'm not fire expert, Slidell, but it seems to me that a fire that could incinerate a church, could incinerate a body. The point is, no one knows, or will know, if the remains they found were the girl's or not. Hannah guesses that the fire started in the girl's room. Either the girl was the target of foul play," Vesh says, "or the cause."
Ehlissa looks shocked, "Vesh... do you really think the girl could have done it? Goodness me... how awful if you're right."
Slidell raises an eyebrow at Vesh's statement, and Ehlissa's startled response.
"Yeeeessssssss,..." He drawls out until it is almost a hiss. "It IS terrible."
He grins at both Ehlissa and Vesh. "It's also Brilliant! Very Good Vesh. Very good indeed! I hadn't considered that, Why didn't I think of that?!?,..."
He waves his hands back and forth as if clearing the air. "Think about it, We,... OK, I'VE been asking overly complicated questions. It's just the way my mind works. BUT, the correct answer to almost ANY question is USUALLY the easiest!"
He began to stroke a non-existent goatee as they walked back into town.
"I've been looking for a reason for the fire, among other things, but the SIMPLEST reason for the fire to have started in Nualia's room would be for HER to have started it there! Why? Don't know. Was she so unhappy that she wanted to die? There are far more pleasant ways to go. Was she trying for another goal and the fire got out of control before she could control it? Or,... As you said Vesh, there is no way, currently, to ascertain whether what little remains they found were even those of Nualia. It may have been someone ELSE from the church who was trying to rescue her from her burning room. (We never asked if anyone ELSE went missing from the fire!) Did she set the fire deliberately, and escape as she planned? But why?"
"There were no parents listed on her certificate at Town Hall, yet the tombstone was for Father Tobyn and his 'daughter'." He muttered, "Harrumph! Every answer brings MORE questions!!!"
He smiled at the others, "I love questions, and answers! You just have to keep whittling away. Once you have removed the impossible, whatever's left, however IMprobable, MUST be the right answer!"
Ehlissa places a hand on the wizard's arm to 'ground' him, "Slidell, remember what you just said: sometimes the simplest answer is the easiest one. I... can imagine a situation in which a daughter is so unhappy she wishes to leave home."
She takes her hand away and says, "But goodness, so unhappy as to start a fire? I've heard of cries for help, but that takes the biscuit."
Looking at Vesh, she says "I think you're onto something. She was rather evasive, wasn't she? It may even be that Nualia started the fire by mistake and it got out of hand, and in shame she ran away or was hidden away... I know some people with magical talent can cause accidents if they're not careful as youngsters."
Looking at Slidell, she says playfully, seeming more like her age than usual, "Of course, we don't know anyone like that, do we?" and grins.
Ehlissa looks shocked, "Vesh... do you really think the girl could have done it? Goodness me... how awful if you're right."
Slidell raises an eyebrow at Vesh's statement, and Ehlissa's startled response.
"Yeeeessssssss,..." He drawls out until it is almost a hiss. "It IS terrible."
He grins at both Ehlissa and Vesh. "It's also Brilliant! Very Good Vesh. Very good indeed!
Vesh is startled himself at their reactions, and a little embarrassed. "I was just," he says reddening,"thinking out loud."
"It is terrible to think that she may have had a hand in her own father's doom. But, we just don't know! She may have been taken and the fire set--and another body placed--to make it look like she died. She may have, as you said, Ehlissa, set the fire accidentally. Perhaps Father Tobyn set it, not realizing his daughter was in the church. Or, perhaps he was trying to kill her. Who knows? If there is anything I learned from my time in Riddleport, it's that evil comes in more flavors than your rock candies, Slidell."
"Of course, we don't know anyone like that, do we?" and grins.
Vesh laughs at Ehlissa's joke, happy to see her warming to the eccentric mage.
"I like the idea that the simplest answer is the right one. Nualia must have survived. How could her body be destroyed and not the Father's? We can examine motivation, reasons, and whatnot later. Now we need to see if we can get some idea what could have happened to her. It could even be like one of those plays where the heroine is sent away and doesn't remember her awful childhood." she says excitedly.
"Maybe she isn't connected to the theft but we can't afford not to look into something so suspicious!"
"Lissy! Lissy!" her grandfather said shortly. "What?!" replied the young woman brushing her hair from out of her eyes in annoyance. The old man sighed, "Sheath your sword, my girl." he did likewise. "What was going on there?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" came the sullen reply.
"You were slashing like a mad thing, there were a half dozen times I might have cut a tendon and brought you crashing down. Not like you at all." he said more gently.
"It... it's mother.. she keeps talking to me about "the future" and whatnot,"
"Ah.. I see. Well, my daughter always was a far-sighted one. I swear she takes after her mother in that regard."
"I don't want to be stuck in some cloister with books all day!"
"I know.. I know. You'll find your path one day, I'm sure of it. Now... calmly, plant your feet. En garde!"
I watch the conversation with Hannah with narrowed eyes. I've lived amongst (and been) rogues and knaves of all sorts long enough to know when someone is avoiding an uncomfortable topic.
Once outside the shop I listen to the theories before commenting "I've heard of people, hell I've seen people, who are so fed up with their situation that they do things that no one would think them capable of. I think that we should ask around and see what else we can find out about Father Tobyn and his 'daughter'."
"I know some people with magical talent can cause accidents if they're not careful as youngsters."
Looking at Slidell, she says playfully, seeming more like her age than usual, "Of course, we don't know anyone like that, do we?" and grins.
Slidell mutters, 'almost' to himself, "It wasn't Exactly an accident, Dudley deserved a good scare. And it's not like the snake actually hurt him or anything,..."
"Maybe she isn't connected to the theft but we can't afford not to look into something so suspicious!"
Slidell looks at Ehlissa with wide eyes,... then throws his head back and laughs!
"'More than meets the eyes', Indeed! I knew I liked you!"I think that we should ask around and see what else we can find out about Father Tobyn and his 'daughter'."
"Capitol Idea Sir Malcolm! Capitol!" He sweeps all of the others with his piercing gaze, making sure to include the ever quiet but always reliable Nealah. "And what better place to start than at the top? Lunch meeting anyone?!?"
"Thanks. After our lunch with the big-wigs of Sandpoint I'll make a few discreet inquiries among the dregs of society; I've made a few friends and contacts amongst the seedier elements of this town. Off to lunch then?" I say with a somewhat rakish smile.
Ehlissa looks astonished and then says to the Mayor, "Thank you. We shall try to uphold their memories."
I admire the darkweave clothes and to a lesser extent the dragonscale breastplate. "These are gifts of excellant quality and they shall be appreciated as such. I Thank you." I turn to the rest of the group "The darkweave is appealing to me, and as no one has any objections I shall take that."
Slidell's fingers gently run along the length of the bound, aging papers. He picks them up carefully and turns them over in his hands, mouth slightly agape as he contemplates what he holds.
"Well, now we know how to shut him up." Someone says Sotto Voice from behind him. But when Slidell spins around to glare at the blasphemer, all of his companions wear the same shocked, innocent expression. With a smirk and a shake of his head he turns back to the mayor and others.
"Smartypants is right, there isn't much that puts me at a loss for words, but these are princely gifts indeed. Not just in their intrinsic value," he nods to Titus, "but they obviously hold no small personal meaning as well." He glances at the mayor, who has managed to recompose herself. "And I'm obviously grateful, but I am curious. Why us?!?"
"You have many people here who surely fought just as bravely as any of us. The good Father and his acolytes, Hannah's quick organization of the injured, the good Sheriff and his men obviously accounted themselves well and brought everything back under control in short order, and these are all natives of Sandpoint. The only common thread I see in our group, aside from putting down a few goblins, is that we are all outsiders. Yet on the way here I swear I heard someone refer to us as the 'Heroes of Sandpoint'. What's going on your honor?"
I look slightly surprised at the talking bird on Slidell's shoulder but make no comment. I've seen stranger after all.
Vesh, wordlessly picks up the butterfly medallion. "This is Desna's symbol," he says to no one in particular. Vesh is unabashedly awestruck by the item.
Turning to the Mayor and other officials, Vesh says, "Thank you. This is very generous." He bows to all of them before hanging the medallion around his neck.
"Like my companion," he nods to indicate Slidell, " I am curious as to why this meeting was assembled in haste instead of being held in a few days as originally planned. What has happened, and how may we be of service to Sandpoint?" Vesh asks and adds, "again."