"Really? For me? That's so generous!"
Fern does not open the purse to count the coins, instead taking whatever amount he has given with gratitude.
Kyran takes his pouch and humbly says "I shall endeavor to see that whatever this pouch contains is well-spent. You humble me with your generosity, sir." Like Fern, he doesn't count it immediately, but smiles and graciously accepts the gift.
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Umlo does have Know: arcana and spell craft, he has not made the rolls yet but can we work on solutions so Umlo can overcome his prejudice, and ignorance, maybe it takes a level or 2 but that's the beauty of Role playing. Again I want to stress this is a ROLEplay thing not an attack on the Player of Fern, I love the character and the posts he has shown. I just have to stay true to my concept and right now Fern and Umlo have done nothing to mend their relationship, not that Fern should because she is not in the wrong, Umlo is...Again let me know if I am offensive
Korpi grabs one of the pouchs, briefly peering inside to examine the coins. Looking up, he flashes a toothy grin at Foxglove "Guess your life not totally worthless, longshank. Now I is glad we saved you."
Devrin takes one of the pouches as well. "Thank you very much kind sir. As my companions have already indicated, it is too much. We will put this to good use making sure that Sandpoint remains safe."
"Thank you good sir Foxglove, this will be put to an honorable use, we may need to get resupplied after we venture out to thistletop"
Fern loudly slurps her juice, and smacks her lips, setting the glass down again. "So Aldern...You really don't know anything about the 'Longshanks' that have been helping the goblins? If all this activity is coming from the Thistletop tribe...isn't there anyone else who could have noticed? I'm sure that Sandpoint has patrol all the time; they must have scouts in some capacity who have seen movements, of some kind. I know goblins can be sneaky, but they're probably not always focused enough to hide their tracks. Do you know where we could start asking around? Who runs the patrols around here?" She gradually shifts her questioning from being focused specifically on Aldern, to the group at large.
"Devrin, Kyran, you two are the locals, any ideas on the patrols, or who we talk to, in any case maybe they can accompany us on part of our journey, safety in numbers, Korpi how far to the thistletop tribe?
Aldern shrugs helplessly, "I'm sorry, but I'm just not up to date with such things. As for anyone deranged enough to aid the creatures, well, if I knew of any such person, you may rest assured that I would notify the authorities post haste."
"Not far. Only a few hours by worg."
Kyran, satisfied with these new nuggets of information, will just make pleasant small talk (or break up arguments) until everybody else is finished and Aldern takes his leave.
"The close patrols are handled by members of the local militia, and outlying residents like myself keeping our eyes open. Longer-range? Beats me. We should talk to Sheriff Hemlock again."
"sounds like we have a place to start"
Though Aldern looks somewhat regretful at doing so, he bids the group a fond farewell, reminding them to look him up if they're ever in Magnimar. It's a short walk to the sheriff's office, with no waiting time to see him.
"Another delegation, I see," Hemlock says as he waves the group into his office, "What can I do for you?" Regardless of his feelings about delegations in general, he seems willing enough to give this particular group a few moments of his time.
"Sheriff Hemlock, as Kyran has probably already mentioned, we are following up on the goblin raids yesterday. The grave robbery you mentioned seems connected but we lost the trail of the robbers somewhere east of town. Have you received any reports on the direction that these goblins may have come from, or the specific tribe that was involved?" asks Devrin for starters.
"Little enough, I'm afraid," Hemlock says, "Judging from the direction they ran, they came from the northeast. Truth be told, I've got most of my people fortifying the town against another possible assault, rather than trying to track the goblins. We saw off this attack, but if there is somebody directing the goblins, we can expect others."
Hemlock considers for a moment more, "There is one person who keeps an eye on the local goblin tribes for us. She's tends to swing back and check in every few months though, so I can't say how long until we'd next expect to see her."
"Do you know where she resides, otherwise? Where could we find her, if we needed to?"
"I know many of the rangers who come and go in these parts, who is it that brings you information on the goblin movements?" asks Devrin.
Aye lad I even passed a few of the good Rangers as I came to town, what is the lass's name.
"Her name is Shalelu Andosana," Hemlock says, "I'm afraid she doesn't really have a fixed abode; she moves around a lot."
"Sha-lay-loo..." Fern plays with the name on her tongue. "Is there anyone else who would know where we could find her?"
"Do you know anyone around town with whom she always visits or who keeps some tabs on her? I'd like to find out if she's in town or scheduled to be? Perhaps a location she stays when she comes?" asks Devrin.
Kyran looks thoughtful. "That name sounds familiar. I'm thinking maybe one of my older brothers knew her..."
Kyran looks thoughtful. "That name sounds familiar. I'm thinking maybe one of my older brothers knew her..."
"Shalelu doesn't really keep to schedules. She stays at the Rusty Dragon when she's in town, but she was just through recently, so it's unlikely she'll be back any time soon unless she runs across something serious. If she has found signs of the goblins' latest mischief, it's a good bet she'll be back within the next couple of days."
"Thars enough evidence its the thistles who raided Sandpoint, I say we go seek justice! Umlo looks confident in handling the goblin's their due.
Kyran looks over at Umlo and nods. "I'm inclined to agree with you, Umlo."
Umlo bashes his axe against his sheild and growls "Then lets be off with it, tha more time we waste here, the more time those grave robbing necromancers have to complete their plans, Grond , Kyran, Devrin, Korpi, Fern what have you? Umlo looks to each one waiting for a response as he respects each member more and more each day and in his stubborn mind they all deserve and equal vote in the group's decision.
"Shalelu doesn't really keep to schedules. She stays at the Rusty Dragon when she's in town, but she was just through recently, so it's unlikely she'll be back any time soon unless she runs across something serious. If she has found signs of the goblins' latest mischief, it's a good bet she'll be back within the next couple of days."
"I seem to remember my older brother Thomas liked her, but she always shot him down."
Umlo bashes his axe against his sheild and growls "Then lets be off with it, tha more time we waste here, the more time those grave robbing necromancers have to complete their plans, Grond , Kyran, Devrin, Korpi, Fern what have you? Umlo looks to each one waiting for a response as he respects each member more and more each day and in his stubborn mind they all deserve and equal vote in the group's decision.
Kyran draws his sword, holds it aloft and barks out a warriors growl. "For SANDPOINT." With that, he drives the blade back into the scabbard with a meaty *CHUNK* noise.
"Then off to Thistletop, if we run into Kyran's brother we can see if he knows where this woodswoman is, otherwise we make haste!"
"I'll need to get some things first. I'm no stranger to travelling the wilds, but I do need to prepare. Shall we leave tonight? Or wait for dawn?"
"I am ready to go. For Sandpoint!" replies Devrin.
"Then off to Thistletop, if we run into Kyran's brother we can see if he knows where this woodswoman is, otherwise we make haste!"
Kyran smiles "Thomas lives somewhere in Andoran these days. I seriously doubt we'll be seeing him."
"I'll need to get some things first. I'm no stranger to travelling the wilds, but I do need to prepare. Shall we leave tonight? Or wait for dawn?"
"Can you be ready at dawn's first light? We want to hit them in the daylight; it seems like we humans have the worst night vision of any intelligent race out there, and there are two of us in this group. We'll be more useful if we can see."
"I can absolutely be ready. Would you like to meet at the edge of town?"
"that souns like a good plan, lets make it one hour before dawn to ensure the longshanks have light when we arrive.
Kyran playfully elbows Umlo "Don't YOU start with the 'longshanks' business, too!"
"Got room in your barn again tonight, Kyran?" asks Devrin hoping to take advantage of his friend's hospitality again.
Umlo looks up at Kyran with a glint "Well ye do have long legs lad, seriously, even long for a human...If its alright I could use another rest at your farm as well..the generosity would be very appreciated.
Kyran gladly extends his offer of hospitality to the other party members again, and (assuming nobody needs anything else out of him today) offers to meet everyone at the edge of town just before dawn. He then leaves the group temporarily to talk to some friends in town about tending the animals if he's away for more than a single day. In the morning, he rises before the others, puts together a hearty (if somewhat more basic than the previous) breakfast, and is fed, armored, and ready to go about an hour before sunrise, lantern in hand.
Fern intends to seek out and purchase some scrolls; she racks her brain (and her coinpurse) for some items that may help her and the group while scouting out Thistletop.
Since a good part of the day still remains, Devrin intends to see if he can find Shalelu Andosana or failing that, other rumors around town regarding the recent attackes.
Umlo heads back to Kyran's farm and enjoys playing with the friendly tom cat, he rises soon after Kyran, enjoys the breakfast and is ready to go at Kyran's side.
Devrin's inquiries don't net him a great deal of information. Word has it that the Sandpoint Devil has been heard howling on Ashen Moor recently, with all the usual foreboding such an event entails. Alas, goblin-related leads are far more difficult to come by. Unless one counts rumours about Korpi. Devrin encounters one middle-aged woman who's certain he ate her cat ('Sooty' by name), and who enjoins him to keep an eye on the vicious little creature. Alas, no word at all on Shalelu.
Fern, meanwhile, runs across the local sage during her search for scrolls. Brodert Quink regards her as a fresh set of ears to hear his outlandish theories about the Old Light originally having been a fire-shooting weapon of some kind. The ancient Thassilonians, Quink would have her believe, were clearly a very warlike people. Thankfully, the ear-bending is not in vain; he does convey her to a suitable store for purchasing her scrolls, and suggests she drop in if she's ever in need of a historical perspective.
The following day dawns, seeing everyone assembled bright and early at the north gate. They have a big day ahead of them, and it would be a foolish person indeed who believed it would be without mayhem. They are, after all, hunting goblins. But for now at least, it's off to a good start.