Soren heads back into the bar and asks the bartender where everyone went, as it seems he missed their conversation prior to arriving at the inn, and it seems little Umbriere had slipped out when he wasn't looking. Bartender: "Well, they were all talking about the hobgoblins, and I think at least one of them was going to go see the girl who escaped the hobgoblins a few months ago. Her name was Sarah, and she stays at the small cottage across the street. The one with the brick wall with the vines on it." he notes. "You might try looking for her there; though I can scarcely imagine why such a sick little girl would be trudging through the streets to see her on a day like today."
Meanwhile, at Sarah's house...
Umbriere seems to be making a fine impression on Sarah, perhaps due to her determination despite her physical shortcomings. Sarah nods to her and seems to try and relate a bit, revealing more about herself.
Sarah: "I wasn't a warrior either, but you'll get there eventually. I was taken into the Irongfang hobgoblin clan almost fifteen years ago. I was far from a warrior then. Just a pitiful human girl with no sense of strength. Living with hobgoblins is a hard experience for a human, especially a girl of my age. All the lessons in manners and civility, and upbringing to not get my clothes dirty did nothing for me there. I was put to work. A slave and, eventually, a member of their clan. I was given to a soldier named Gel'zek, and had three children before I was sixteen. They clothed me, fed me, and raised me. Taught me how to fight, how to live, how to kill, and how to die. Early last year, Gel'zek died in skirmish with a dwarven patrol up north, and so I decided to return home.
I arrived a few months ago, but I question if I'm really home. It's good to see my mother, but my father seems too scared to look at me. I guess he doesn't know where his little girl went, hidden somewhere inside. When I was first taken by the hobgoblins, I wanted nothing more than to get away, to run, to cry. Now, I feel like I don't fit in out here. I guess I'll probably go back to the Ironfangs before the winter comes. They'll need an extra hand when the snows set in." she says chewing on some pecans.
"I guess I'm rambling now, but, the point is that you can be so much more than you are now, girl. You may feel weak, and frail, and helpless, but life has a way of slapping a sword in your hand and saying stand the hell up and fight for your right to live, and fight for your right to die well. It's not the strength of your body that makes you a warrior, but your desire to fight. Our own weakness is the greatest enemy of all." she adds, glancing out of the window at the rain as she does.
"Anyway, do you guys have any more shit you wanted to ask me?" she says abruptly, ending what would have otherwise been a very respectable bit of encouragement with a rather moment-killing comment.
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Gremy replies brusquely: "That's been quite enough talk for one day, and we got what we came for. I say we head out to those ruins while the rain is still providing us with some concealment." He looks at Sigfried, who has been silent awhile. "We might need some more help if we're to succeed at this. That fellow in the tavern said he was a cousin of Umbriere's, right?"
Soren will head to this house...
Soren will head to this house...
<BUMP>
errm...
Nevermind :P