In her workshop,
Finishing the body, her next project is the head. She needs to pull the image from her mind, and shape it with her hands, before it's gone (and indeed, in order to get rid of it).
Turning from one workspace, to another of sorts, she begins grinding up her Nerrarack root, into a find powder. Feeling drowsy from today's affairs, she works quickly to avoid falling asleep. Once it is fine enough, Fern inhales as much as she can.
As a stimulant, the root's powder will prevent her from sleeping tonight. However, she won't be fully present, either. Truly entering a kind of trance now, she moves back to her work.
Through creative use of her sorcerous powers, she is able to break and reform the clay in unique and twisted patterns. She sets in to mold the image that is most pressing in her mind tonight; that of a desperate goblin, his face impossibly twisted in fear, pain, and desperation as he lunges out, trying to bring Fern down into a shared flaming demise.
Kyran realizes as he's talking to Umlo that he never actually found out where Fern lives . With a sigh and a look of pure embarrassment, he looks over at Umlo. "I don't know where she lives. [A look of equal parts fatigue, frustration, and disbelief] Hells, I don't even know her last name. I've been so focused tonight that I didn't even take into account the limits of my own knowledge. Why don't we just head back to the farm, drink some tea, and see if we can't start getting the details of this evening put together in a way that makes some sense?" Putting some caffeine into the paladin might be a good idea. He got up very early this morning, did his usual farm chores, attended the festival (helping out with a number of physical tasks) and then fought to keep the town safe, had a very tense moment with a goblin in a closet, and, as a chaser, topped it all off with an animated argument. "Dog tired" would not be an unfair or inaccurate description of Kyran's current state.
"See if you'd have just relaxed and let it all work out..." Devrin chides his good friend. In defense of Fern he adds, "She helped protect Sandpoint. In my books that makes her a good person." though he has no idea where she lives either.
Grond lets the goblin go when Umlo lets the fight go out of him, in truth he is tired of fighting himself as can be seen in the heavy look of his eyes. He gives Korpi a nasty glare saying, "Bah, yer not worth the bother." Then he leans in close and speaks so only the goblin can hear.
For Korpi
Grabing his gear he heads to the door following Umlo and Kyran outside with out looking back. He catches up to them stating, "You have made my dwarven brother a kind offer and I be findin' myself a stranger with out a place to be restin' my head. I be preferin' ale to tea, but might I be join' ya? Figurin' out this goblin menace has me planin' on hangin' about these parts." He acts as if nothing just happend back at the inn.
Grond lets the goblin go when Umlo lets the fight go out of him, in truth he is tired of fighting himself as can be seen in the heavy look of his eyes. He gives Korpi a nasty glare saying, "Bah, yer not worth the bother." Then he leans in close and speaks so only the goblin can hear.
For Korpi
** spoiler omitted **Grabing his gear he heads to the door following Umlo and Kyran outside with out looking back. He catches up to them stating, "You have made my dwarven brother a kind offer and I be findin' myself a stranger with out a place to be restin' my head. I be preferin' ale to tea, but might I be join' ya? Figurin' out this goblin menace has me planin' on hangin' about these parts." He acts as if nothing just happend back at the inn.
Kyran nods and rubs his tired eyes again. "You know, I think I may just skip the tea and go straight to bed. The farm's this way. There are a couple of extra rooms in the house; at one point there were ten of us living there, but my brothers have all moved away and my parents have passed on. At any rate, make yourselves comfortable. Tomorrow morning I can make some breakfast for us and we can discuss matters on clearer heads.[A yawn]Or at least fully-awake ones..."
Grond smiles with gratitude, "Lead on Kyran." The dwarf follows the farmer back to his homestead takes the room that is offered and takes his rest.
Korpi shoots a nasty glare at Grond and sticks his tonge out at the dwarf.
After the other heroes of Sandpoint have left, he briefly considers returning to his table to continue his own celebrations. A look from the barkeep convinces him that he's pushed his luck far enough tonight, and he retreats to his hut.
Gradually, Sandpoint's lights blink out as the various inhabitants seek their beds. The night passes uneventfully, and a new day dawns, bright and clear. By the morning light, townsfolk set about repairing the remaining damage to the town, and anybody encountering the local guards will note that they seem especially vigilant.
It is a day full of possibilities. Especially for people whose reputations are even now spreading through town by word of mouth. It seems certain that the goblins will not return so soon after their defeat, and people could be forgiven for resting on their laurels a bit. Not that some will, of course.
As the sun creeps up past the horizon Grond will begin his meditaions for they day. Striping down to his bare skin he finds the dusty patch of earth to lie upon while internally communing with the earth and offering up prayers in song to Torag. Once he is done he will dress and seek out Kyran and breakfast.
Devrin too prepares for the day ahead and the return to Sandpoint.
As the sun creeps up past the horizon Grond will begin his meditaions for they day. Striping down to his bare skin he finds the dusty patch of earth to lie upon while internally communing with the earth and offering up prayers in song to Torag. Once he is done he will dress and seek out Kyran and breakfast.
Kyran's rooster jars him out of a sound slumber just like every other morning. He drags himself out of bed, gets dressed and walks out the door to feed the chickens and pigs and milk Celia, the cow. Once he finishes with this, he takes some of the fresh milk and some eggs and goes inside to get started on breakfast. By the time the others are ready, a hearty breakfast of eggs, biscuits, and pork, plus strong tea and a few wedges of fresh cheese will be on the table, seasoned with fresh herbs from the garden. Kyran has never been one who considered cooking unmasculine, and he prides himself on his skill at it. The homespun fare is simple, but very tasty. As the party eats, one of the more adventurous farm cats, a big, fluffy orange and gray beast named Randolf, will stroll around, purring at people and rubbing up against legs before he spots a small furry critter of some sort and goes bounding off after it.
Umlo enjoys the spread of food on the table eating more than his fair share. Even more Umlo enjoys the company of the Tom Cat . The Humorous scene of a stout and cumbersome dwarf being so fond of a cat is odd and a bit ridiculous. "Aye Kitty yer a good boy, strong flanks and a good mouser too, good qualities in a feline" Umlo turns his attention to his companions as the cat exits to chase a mouse, his expression hardens "So lads who do ye think is responsible for the goblin raid, what foul practice is a foot in Sandpoint?"
Eager for some fresh air, after a long night of sculpting, Fern opts to travel Sandpoint in the early morning. She veers in and out of the streets, eventually stopping at the morning market, to pick up a couple of things to snack on.
She is intent on studying people today; facial expressions are what she's focused on all night long, and she sees a sneering goblin face in every laughing child, or tired merchant.
She'll not venture too far, and will be easy enough to find, should she be needed.
Umlo enjoys the spread of food on the table eating more than his fair share. Even more Umlo enjoys the company of the Tom Cat . The Humorous scene of a stout and cumbersome dwarf being so fond of a cat is odd and a bit ridiculous. "Aye Kitty yer a good boy, strong flanks and a good mouser too, good qualities in a feline" Umlo turns his attention to his companions as the cat exits to chase a mouse, his expression hardens "So lads who do ye think is responsible for the goblin raid, what foul practice is a foot in Sandpoint?"
Kyran smiles as Umlo pets the purring cat. "He just wandered onto the farm a few years back. He loves people and has a bit of an adventurous streak to him."[A chuckle as the big kitty goes up on his hind legs and rests his front paws on the dwarf's lap to get more petting]"I think he likes you, Umlo."Kyran takes another bite off of the piece of pork he's eating and chews thoughtfully for a moment. When the cat runs off and Umlo brings up the topic that's weighing on everybody's mind, he's more than willing to discuss it. "Well, as much as Korpi would love to argue this, goblins are generally too stupid and lazy to pull a stunt like we saw last night unless they're starving. Badly. That makes me think that either a) goblin food stores have been especially lean lately or b) some outside force is involved. Assuming b) for a moment, what we need to ask ourselves is who has an axe to grind with Sandpoint, and what's important here that an attack could cover up the performance or acquisition of?"[He takes a bite of cheese and indicates Devrin, the swallows before continuing.]"Anything ringing any bells? You spend more time in town than I do."
Korpi feels terrible. As much as goblins love their alcohol, it doesn' take much to get a goblin drunk, and Korpi had more than a bit. He spends the morning and most of the afternoon holed up in his hovel, sleeping it off.
Kyran drums his fingers on the table for a few moments and then snaps his fingers. "Sheriff Hemlock mentioned something about the graveyard. Maybe we should see if anything's out of place?"
Grond's focus has been on the food, making a pig of himself he eats more than his fair share. Once he is done he sits back and shakes the table as his belly erupts a tremendous belch. "That bein' a harty good meal Kyran, I am in yer debt." As the conversation shifts to last nights attack he says, "I agree on chekin' out the graveyard. As to whose bein' the instagator I think ya need to be questionin' that greenskin tha town be thinkin' harmless. I'd be bettin' he knows somethin'."
Grond's focus has been on the food, making a pig of himself he eats more than his fair share. Once he is done he sits back and shakes the table as his belly erupts a tremendous belch. "That bein' a harty good meal Kyran, I am in yer debt."
Kyran looks genuinely pleased. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I never married, but that's no reason to subsist on bland food for the rest of my life."
As the conversation shifts to last nights attack he says, "I agree on chekin' out the graveyard. As to whose bein' the instagator I think ya need to be questionin' that greenskin tha town be thinkin' harmless. I'd be bettin' he knows somethin'."
Kyran gives Grond a bemused look at this last statement. "I don't think korpi was involved in this, but not for the reason you probably think. The little menace is far too lazy and stupid, and on way too poor of terms with the rest of the goblins in the area, to have done this, at least on his own. I'm not saying he's totally trustworthy; last night's events are eroding the benefit of the doubt I've given him in the past, but come on."[Kyran takes a bite of his eggs before continuing; he's a bit slower of an eater than the dwarves.]"Do you really think that little menace is ambitious enough or a leader enough to have orchestrated a major raid? Because I really don't."[Kyran downs a bite of one of his biscuits]"Now what wouldn't surprise me is that he might have been one of the intended targets of the raid, and in the chaos, the little terrors forgot who was on what side. He's been living here for too long for him to have been a plant; goblins have way too short of attention spans for that kind of nuanced strategy. Now if he was, say, a hobgoblin, or an orc or something, that theory might have more weight. I'm not trying to be dismissive of you, Grond, I'm just saying that you discount the profundity of this particular goblin's lack of strategic thinking."
Grond listens to Kyran's outlook on the goblin and then replies, "So you call him Korpi eh? I be agreein' with ya, the greenskin won't be the mastermind of last night, but them gobos are thick as rats. If they'er up ta somethin' I bet we could beat it out o' him."
Grond listens to Kyran's outlook on the goblin and then replies, "So you call him Korpi eh? I be agreein' with ya, the greenskin won't be the mastermind of last night, but them gobos are thick as rats. If they'er up ta somethin' I bet we could beat it out o' him."
"That's just it, he's so unimportant, I really don't think he knows anything, and besides, people will confess to anything if you apply enough pain. Goblins are hardly immune to that. Believe me, I know, I have family from Cheliax who have seen it first hand. I know he's annoying, but if you want catharsis and/or justice, why not exact it from the actual perpetrators than an obnoxious local who really wasn't at fault?"[Kyran stands up and pushes in his chair.]"Besides, I don't want to question anybody until we take a look at that graveyard. At the very least, it'll give us some idea what questions we're going to need to ask, or at least eliminate some possibilities. I'm going to get my armor and weapons and go have a look at that graveyard before the trail gets any colder. Shall we?"
"Aye Kyran, I'm in I'll follow ye to the burial ground, you coming Grond"
While the others finish the last morsels on their plates and wrap up any lingering small talk, Kyran excuses himself and suits up. This time, he wears a simple brown tunic, black pants, and soft brown boots, and leaves the tabard be. It seems as some sort of gear shifts in Kyran's being when he puts on the accoutrement of a warrior. His posture and gait shift, shifting from the casual emblem of a farmer to the upright posture of a fighting man. Instead of the relaxed unawareness of a working stiff, his face takes on the vigilance of a watchman. His shaggy graying hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail to keep it out of his eyes, his clothing is fastened tighter, and there's a seriousness to his countenance.
Fed, watered and armed, the four set out from Kyran's farm, soon arriving back in town. By this time, most of the town is up and about, and the group may well sight Fern on their way to the cathedral. As it is still mid-morning, Korpiklanni won't be stirring for hours yet.
As they proceed, they may notice eyes turning to follow them as those who saw them in action during the raid point them out to others. It seems people have taken note of their heroics.
Umlo feels a sense of pride as he sees the townsfolk admiring the group. Already, this small community is becoming familiar to him.
Umlo feels a sense of pride as he sees the townsfolk admiring the group. Already, this small community is becoming familiar to him.
Kyran feels some pride, but more embarrasment. He didn't consider the acts of last night all that heroic, and some, notably the scene at the tavern, he feels outright ashamed of. His posture retracts a bit.
Umlo notices the embarassment on Kyran's face "Stand tall lad, take pride in what you do, you cannot always be perfect, I understand you hold yer self to high standards, but remember these people look up to you they need a hero, when they adore you be proud, give them the role model they need". Umlo waves to a group of on lookers "Remember we cannot do everything all the time, but this town needs something to feel good about right now, let them have their heros even though we know we are not perfect, it will help to instill confidence into these folks"
"Aye, Umlo has the right of it. Now lets be gettin' to tha boneyard and see what we can be learnin'"
Devrin walks into town with the others, he has been oddly silent all night and continues to be while they walk.
Kyran moves so that he's walking next to Devrin. "What's on your mind? You've scarecly said anything since last night."
Umlo notices the embarassment on Kyran's face "Stand tall lad, take pride in what you do, you cannot always be perfect, I understand you hold yer self to high standards, but remember these people look up to you they need a hero, when they adore you be proud, give them the role model they need". Umlo waves to a group of on lookers "Remember we cannot do everything all the time, but this town needs something to feel good about right now, let them have their heros even though we know we are not perfect, it will help to instill confidence into these folks"
Kyran nods and wills himself into a more confident posture. He nods at a few locals, particularly guards and other he saw fighting last night as the group moves past.
"Thar ya go ladd, now you look like a right hero fer yer people" Umlo's face brightens "Where's this boneyard, I'd hate to have to skulk around a cemetary after dark"
"Thar ya go ladd, now you look like a right hero fer yer people" Umlo's face brightens "Where's this boneyard, I'd hate to have to skulk around a cemetary after dark"
Kyran, glad to have something other than all the attention he's suddenly getting to focus on, motions in the general direction of the graveyard. "It's this way."
Grond plods along with the others, ignoring any locals that might be flattering the group. "I got a question for those of ya from around these parts. What's so special in this towns cemetary that would be drivin' a person to go into league with greenskins to get it?"
Grond plods along with the others, ignoring any locals that might be flattering the group. "I got a question for those of ya from around these parts. What's so special in this towns cemetary that would be drivin' a person to go into league with greenskins to get it?"
"That, Grond, is an excellent question. I honestly don't know." Kyran glances at Devrin again, nudges him and with a look of concern asks: "Hey, what's the matter with you? Are you okay?"
The group's path carries them through the cathedral itself and on to the neatly kept graveyard. The place is, as is fairly typical for graveyards, largely empty, the one exception being the presence of Father Zantus, who is standing beside an open grave, a frown upon his face. He hasn't noticed the arrival of the group, being preoccupied with his own thoughts.
The group's path carries them through the cathedral itself and on to the neatly kept graveyard. The place is, as is fairly typical for graveyards, largely empty, the one exception being the presence of Father Zantus, who is standing beside an open grave, a frown upon his face. He hasn't noticed the arrival of the group, being preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Kyran shoots Devrin another concerned glance and walks over to the priest. "Judging from your facial expression, this grave wasn't open yesterday."
"Sorry, guess I've just been away from town for too long. Not as used to somethings as I used to be. I'm alright, seen worse than a few goblins under the floorboards. I look forward to fighting at your side again Kyran. And the rest of you too. Desna guide us, we'll find the source of things and put a stop to it. Maybe in the graveyard, or somewhere outside of town, but I'm here with you." replies Devrin. Having put words to his contemplative mood he seems to liven up a bit.
Umlo looks into the open grave, then around to the others waiting for someone to state the burning question, it does not come so Umlo asks it."So who used to rest in that hole and why did he get dug up? Why the big distraction, why not just come get him under the cover of darkness". Umlo looks to see if Father Zantus addresses the forming group of adventures.
Zantus gives the group a sharp look for a few moments, then sighs, apparently deciding that there's little use in trying to deny their suspicions at this point, "As to the grave robbers' motives, I cannot speak," he says, "But this grave belonged to my predecessor, Ezakian Tobyn. He and his daughter Nualia perished in the fire which claimed the old church." He shakes his head, "I do not know what purpose they might have with the bones of a priest, but I am certain that it bodes no good."
"Well, diggin' a body up ain't no easy task much less gettin' it away without leavin' a trail. Let's poke about and see what ther be to find." Grond starts to search the grounds working in a circular pattern away from the opened grave looking for a trail or anything that the grave robbers may have left.
"Well, diggin' a body up ain't no easy task much less gettin' it away without leavin' a trail. Let's poke about and see what ther be to find." Grond starts to search the grounds working in a circular pattern away from the opened grave looking for a trail or anything that the grave robbers may have left.
Kyran does the same thing, but much more methodically.
Take 20=21 on perception check.
The pair have little difficulty in spotting numerous scuff marks and prints. These tracks lead to the town wall to the rear of the cemetery, where a couple of slight depressions mark where a ladder must have stood against the wall. Although most of the prints were made by small, bare feet (most likely goblin feet), there are a few scattered prints from larger boots. Alas, there don't seem to be any identifying features about these larger prints.
"I'd appreciate it," Father Zantus is saying, "If you could keep this information quiet. It will only disturb people to learn of this crime at such a trying time."
The pair have little difficulty in spotting numerous scuff marks and prints. These tracks lead to the town wall to the rear of the cemetery, where a couple of slight depressions mark where a ladder must have stood against the wall. Although most of the prints were made by small, bare feet (most likely goblin feet), there are a few scattered prints from larger boots. Alas, there don't seem to be any identifying features about these larger prints.
"I'd appreciate it," Father Zantus is saying, "If you could keep this information quiet. It will only disturb people to learn of this crime at such a trying time."
Kyran nods before adding "There are one or two trustworthy souls who aren't with us at present who may help us investigate this, but otherwise we won't say a thing to anyone. I trust the sheriff already knows about this?"
"Bones of a dead priest, that's a little creepy, sounds like the work of a necromancer"/ Umlo pats the shaft of his axe in anticipation
"Bones of a dead priest, that's a little creepy, sounds like the work of a necromancer"/ Umlo pats the shaft of his axe in anticipation
Kyran nods. "That's certainly a possibility, though I wouldn't be at all surprised that if he was buried with something valuable, the thieves just took the whole shebang initially and dumped the body somewhere along the way."
Zantus nods, "The sheriff knows," he says, "He was here earlier investigating the scene."
Kyran nods. "That's certainly a possibility, though I wouldn't be at all surprised that if he was buried with something valuable, the thieves just took the whole shebang initially and dumped the body somewhere along the way."
"Then let's be followin' thier trail. If they dumped the remains we can be bringin' him back to put to rest. It's the work o' goblins by the looks of these tracks and at least one o' the tall folk so the trail shouldn't be bein' to hard for trackin'."