Gander, who was eagerly eying the roast lamb looks at the others with astonishment. "You cannot be serious." Seeing that the others were, in fact, serious in their intentions the halfling shakes his head in disgust.
"Suit yourself. She's probably just lost or distracted by some bleeping lamb, won't take us long - but I'd rather sort it out now than shed tears about it later."
Hale prepares herself, getting a bit of a wash and something to eat at camp; then meets up with Erevale and Romo to head-out and find traces of Khismia.
Hale lets Erevale and Romo flank out to either side, allowing them to find their natural tracking rhythm. "I think if we cover about 150ft abreast, each of us combing some 50ft in a broad zig-zag pattern, then maybe we'll run into some sign of her - or at least something," she suggests. They're slow search pattern progresses back towards the temple undulating like a seasick caterpillar.
"I don't question your decisions, Lady Hale, but learning belly-dancing does seem to have more appeal than this right now. I would suggest that if we find no trace by the time Lady Almah arrives that we continue with more pressing matters."
Gander enjoys the roast lamb immensely, eating until his small belly is bulging and drinking whatever ale or wine he can get his hands on until he's drunk enough to dance to the drums as the stars wheel by overhead.
Erevale stands in the middle of the desert, seemingly enjoying the near-silent sound of the desert around him.
"Look. The girl might be naive and young, but she can hold her own in combat. I think she's got what she came for and left. If she gets lost or thirsty on her way back, she will probably try to find the old campsite, but the deep tracks from there, will lead her here."
"So either way I propose we drop the search, unless we have new reason to suspect foul play."
"Foul play? You mean other than the fact that we cannot find a trace of her - but we do find traces of him?" Hale motions to Erevale. "As best we can guess from the tracks, Khismia hasn't left the temple yet - which is odd in its own right. Maybe she found a hidden room or tunnel that we didn't-- wait! Be quiet for a minute." Hale suddenly shifts her head to the side, cocking it as if to hear something at the edge of her hearing, she softly repeats what she hears, "Listen to the wind, it carries the sounds of every battle fought, and those yet to be fought. Vanquishing the gnolls will take you nearer to the goal of defeating Jhavhul - did any of you hear that? Who is Jhavhul?" She quietens down again, trying to hear the wind, motioning strongly with her hand in a dampening motion when other Romo or Erevale try to break the silence.
Erevale raises an eyebrow while looking at Lady Hale. Then he turns to Romo.
"I think it is getting a bit late and some of us might need a bit of sleep (or maybe a cleric). Lets set up camp in the Monastery and wait for Lady Almah to arrive. Perhaps by then we will all be thinking clearly again."
Hale picks the courtyard at the temple, close to where she found the dagger. For this night at least, she thinks.
Addressing Erevale,"Yes, we should settle. Who knows, we might even hear Khismia if we are quiet enough. The wind has certainly died down."
"I shall take first watch. I shall wake Romo for second. I believe Lady Hale might need a bit of rest."
Hale looks to Erevale, oblivious to his subtext, sincerely she says: "Thank you. I appreciate it."
Erevale sighs to himself "No rest for the wicked.". He then shakes Romo and Lady Hale awake whispering "We have company in the courtyard." Readying his bow, Erevale creeps closer to have a better look at the courtyard.
Erevale thinks as he waits for the others to arrive (Is it a bird? Is it a ... I will look like a fool if it's a harmless owl of some kind. Too big for an owl. Owlbear? Not big enough. Baby flying owlbear ... ... ... When are the others getting here?)
Hale creeps up next to Erevale. "What is it?" She whispers, "A bird? I didn't notice a nest or hatch in the courtyard earlier."
Erevale whispers "Can't make out what it is from here. Need a closer look." and starts to creep forward slowly and carefully.
Erevale makes soothing noises at the vulture as he slowly backs away.
Hale listens to Erevale coo. "Making new friends already?" she whispers. Nonetheless she moves over to Romo and gives him a proper shake-up. "Wake up fool!" she manages in the loudest whisper she dares.
In one motion Romo sits up and gasps for air as his snoring reaches a climax."Wha?...Not yet.", he says, as he fails to notice that it is Hale that is awake next to him, not Erevale.
And with that he turns on his other shoulder and closes his eyes.
"Well it appears it was a false alarm. Though if Romo doesn't stop looking like carrion, he might become vulture food."
Erevale returns to his watch, thinking about fried eggs.
"Okay, keep the bird away, we'll be sleeping then," Hale tucks back into her roll. She clutches to the dagger she found in this courtyard, wondering what it means.
Romo wakes.
"What a weird dream."
He gets up and pokes Erevale. "Your turn's done, you can go sleep now if you wish."
With that he sees out his watch. Hopefully without any nasty surprises or any dreaming.
Erevale takes his turn of rest, pondering what came first: the vulture or its egg?
Gander groans as the noise of the camp's chaos wakes him. Looking around at all the fools rushing about at such an ungodsly hour, he reluctantly gets up, packs up his equipment and goes out in search of breakfast and some hair of the dog.
Hale wakes up as a little rustle goes through the courtyard. She practically is propelled onto her two feet by the sheer adrenalin of her dream. She pants, but in a clearly pleasant way: chest heaving, a red flush on her cheeks, her hair lightly tussled in an attractive way. She finds the dagger in her hand, almost unbidden - not sure if it was there all along, or whether she drew it as she jumped up. She breathes in again. And smiles.
Erevale gives a luxurious stretch and starts preparing breakfast, remembering to leave a bit of meat for the vulture in the thicket. Then he settles down to wait for what is to come.
Hale notices the commotion early, as it approaches the monastery. She smiles inwardly, just no way for a caravan to be stealthy. She keeps her eyes open for Khismia, who might have rejoined the camp in their absence, but otherwise awaits the arrival of Lady Almah. "Sarenrae's blessings upon you Lady Almah. The building is still secure, as far as we can tell; though the clearing out and renovation process will take several days, or weeks even. Please, allow me to guide you through this sacred site." If not otherwise instructed, Hale will start with the main body of the monastry, emphasizing the various remnants of artistic symbolism, before moving on to the more mundane parts of the building.
Gander walks up, eying the temple with a twist of his mouth. "I'd hoped the reality would be better than my memory. It's still a vile looking place after all the years of desecrations." He spat in the dust.
Romo sits in the shade with his back to a monastary wall. When he hears Lady Almah approach he starts to stand up, but realizes Hale is already up to the task.
Afterwards he sits down again, hoping nobody has seen him. No point in unloading other people's luggage.
Erevale leans against a wall, waiting for Hale to complete her guided tour.
The dormitory seems a fine a place as any. Seen worse. Seen better.
Erevale gladly accepts some wine, sipping it thoughtfully as he watches the antics of the more rowdy celebrants. Of particular interest is how much the halfling can consume, maybe he is still growing?
At some point during the celebrations, Erevale locates Romo. "We have not spoken much, Romo. Any thoughts on the combat tomorrow?"
Romo indulges his new friend, if only to escape boredom,"We will probably be fighting Gnoll tomorrow. They are largely predictable in combat, resorting to tactics used by most men. I say largely, because I can't say that I have fought as many as I would have liked. We could possibly be facing spellcasters or other types of well trained warriors. All these are in addition to the natural hazards we will face in our journey to Kelmerane."
"So to answer your question: No, I don't really know much of anything about what we will be facing or how combat will be. I guess we should just prepare for the worst"
"I'll drink to that."
Erevale finishes his wine and gets another bottle.
"Like some?"
Erevale continues to have a bottle or two of wine during the night, sharing it with all who would care to have some. The wine seems to loosen his tongue somewhat as he tells of his youth some decades ago: Exploring Kyonin, the lay of the land and the plants and animals that frequent it. He rumbles on until he finally falls asleep.