Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on May 16, 2019 23:21:01 GMT
Echo hummed and tapped a foot. Missing people, others acting ‘out of sorts’, and churches…that sounded like trouble! A lot of trouble. And trouble was, like, the one thing she was trying to avoid with this whole caravan gig. Echo met Warden’s look, shrugged, and stayed quiet, her foot tapping even harder now. It was all weird, though. Was this Lady A’s or the gnoll’s or one of their assorted goons’ doing maybe? The tabaxi bit her lower lip. The thought was iffy, but – probably not. The whole bit sounded pretty different from their usual style, which involved more, uh…choking people and stabbing them in the back with pointy stuff. Those kinds of things! Bad things that were all upfront. Not so much hidden things like kidnapping or drunk mobs or a really poor game of hide and seek or…whatever this was. Echo’s ear twitched as she heard Miri try to nudge some more information out of the priest from behind them. She then looked at their employer, then at Warden, and then craned her neck back up toward the sky. She watched as another shadowed bird fluttered by.
Echo sighed. Would she want to help?
Normally…sure, why not! She thought bad things were bad. But, now? Right then? Echo was…less sure, honestly. She had a reason to keep on going to Daggerford, after all – a personal reason beyond just the caravan itself, (and, this time, ‘personal’ was more, like, the her life maybe depended on it kind of personal) – and do so without drawing any attention to herself. Helping priests report to churches about missing out of sorts people or whatever sounded, uh, very attention grabbing. Unfortunately. Still…it was all weird. And that meant she was curious. Echo closed her eyes. She clicked her tongue, dug her foot into the dirt, and swished her tail. She sighed again. Cat Lord, damnit.
She was curious!
An itch that would never go away. If Lady A or the gnoll or one of their assorted goons did not get her in the end, well…that sure would. Not unless she did something about it. Echo opened her eyes and looked at the priest. Well! Okay. That was a decision made, though. Maybe not one she had much of a real choice in making, but, at the very least, it was made. Now she could do something about it! The tabaxi crossed her arms.
“Yeah! Okay. But you want us to help? Like…really help? You gotta, like, spill the good stuff! Give us the lowdown. Spread some dirt. Talk the talk. Uh…serve up that rabbit and pork! Y’know?”
Echo scratched her neck and shuffled her feet. Huh. There sure were, uh, a lot of weird and different phrases that she picked up for gossip in Baldur’s Gate! But the point still stood. Duty? Dumb. Duty would get you killed or make you a boring stick in the mud or both. Awful, really. But information…that was good! The best. Information would help them get to the bottom of this and, with luck, get her to Daggerford just that bit sooner.
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Post by moralhazard on May 16, 2019 23:50:29 GMT
Things strange for months, and the first disappearance nearly half a year ago. Miri raised an eyebrow. Now, that was interesting. Her gaze followed the priest’s back to Mr. Finch, looking at the darkness on his face. Miri’s mouth twitched, faintly. And that was interesting too.
Crucible spoke up, the warforged – characteristically – even more rigid than the paladin. Miri grinned, even white teeth flashing in the sunlight. Predictably, the tiefling agreed, at least in principle. Miri glanced over at Echo, wondering if she would – yes, the tabaxi also wanted in. Miri wondered why.
Miri was the last to agree. “Of course,” she said, eyes as wide and innocent as if she had never, even for a second, contemplated any other response. “I’m sure we can do something about it.” It hardly seemed worth it to argue with three others, and it did sound as if it would be less boring than caravan work. Better yet, from the sound of things, Mr. Finch was rapidly becoming interested in the problem. She only hoped that Crucible's, ah, zeal, wouldn't prevent Mr. Finch from thinking about whether they might need more resources - in pursuit of this new task, naturally.
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Post by Kai Wren on May 18, 2019 8:05:55 GMT
The priest looked a little confused, and held up his hands.
“I, ap-ap-appreciate that you all w-want to help.” He said, “B-but, that’s r-really all I kn-know. They’re not f-friendly, so I l-left. And, I’m, n-not going back, so if you’ll ex-excuse me.”
He began to walk through the group, not intending on sticking around; he didn’t really appreciate the implication that he’d been holding out! Truthfully, he was regretting that he’d even brought it up to begin with, but if they were intent on getting into the business of the small community, that was entirely their business.
The merchant, meanwhile, sucked his teeth.
“I’m not intending on staying for a long time.” He said, “I just need to check on my investment, collect the earnings, and be on my way. I suppose we’ll have to see what the state of the place is. If I need to stay longer to set things right…”
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 18, 2019 14:16:01 GMT
Warden watched the priest depart for a moment, then turned to the merchant and shrugged.
"One thing at a time, I know. But it's better to set this right now, if we can, than wait for it to create more problems later. Some issues don't solve themselves, they just keep rippling outward. Better to root it out, while we can."
She was a strong believer of that in general, and didn't see any reason why they shouldn't take a firm stance against whatever was causing this chaos. Sure, everyone had expected this would be relatively easy and peaceful, but if the hardships of Warden's youth and subsequent training had taught her anything, it was to anticipate any situation turning dangerous and adapt accordingly. Enemies wouldn't go easier on you just because you were caught by surprise, after all. She glanced over at the others, knowing little about them but hoping they were capable enough.
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Post by moralhazard on May 18, 2019 15:49:11 GMT
Miri watched as the priest left; she even moved to the side slightly to make space for him, and definitely not to let herself get a better look at Crucible without seeming to do so. The war forged was a bit of a dark horse; he was usually very quiet, and the all of a sudden this moral obligation stuff.
“Perhaps he was mistaken,” Miri said, shrugging. “Someone in a tavern told him a tale and let him think it true,” she had certainly never done such a thing for her own amusement. Never. Not even once. Certainly not in Waterdeep.
“Either way, we’ll know soon enough, and we’ll sort out what to do from there.” Miri nodded to Mr. Finch, making a slight gesture at the waist that could certainly have been a bow.
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Post by 3personal5me on May 18, 2019 18:42:11 GMT
"Only thing to do now is keep moving". Crucible made his way back to the rear, electing climb on to the cart this time. "We can see what happens when we get there. Until then, let's just worry about the trip". Checking his equipment once more, he started to settle in for the ride.
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on May 22, 2019 18:57:15 GMT
Three of th – all four of them had agreed to help the priest (or the town, she supposed) as Miri spoke up behind Echo. The tabaxi peeked over her shoulder and flicked her tail. Their armed-to-the-teeth but not scary anymore companion had taken the longest to agree and, why? Echo had no idea! But she purred all the same. Hopefully, it would make the whole thing go by that much quicker! Maybe make it fun, even. At least…as much fun as helping some priest guy could be.
And as unhelpful as the same priest guy was being! Echo huffed, arms crossing, and narrowed her eyes as the man denied knowing anything else. Uh huh? She did step a little aside to (just) let him slide by, but…he knew something. Something more! Echo was…pretty sure. Unless he really was that oblivious to, like, literally everything and anything around him, but she knew better than to think they had the whole story. That was what had gotten her in trouble in Baldur’s Gate, after all! She frowned. Unfortunately. Her ear then twitched. Or Miri was right – this was all just some big, dumb, farfetched tale from a scaredy priest. Maybe! Real? Fake? A little bit of both? Echo had heard enough back alley tales, tavern rumors, and whispered snippets in the past to know anything was possible. Either way?
They were never going to find out just standing around!
Echo shrugged, pulled up her hood, and then skipped to and jumped back onto the side of the cart. One set of claws latched into the wood as she leaned over. Crucible had also climbed onto the wagon and, with a bit of a pause of his own, their employer agreed to check things out, too. Kinda. The hesitation? Weird! Especially given the, uh, possible damages to his investments there if stuff really was going bad. But Echo pushed her doubts away. Onwards!
“Big metal guy here’s right – we won’t find out anything just standing around like a bunch of dried out jellies! We’ve still got, like, a bit to go, yeah?”
Her tail swishing back and forth, Echo swung back, sat down, and perched herself at the very edge of the cart. She grinned from inside the shadow of her hood.
“Did I tell you guys about that time I got my tail stuck in a minecart? In the middle of, like, a whooooole mine full of slimes?”
She crossed her legs.
“So, I first heard of this job from, uh…I think it was the youngest first cousin of the old owner? Or maybe the second oldest second cousin of the old owner’s wife’s sister? Anyway, so I heard about this really cool job- “
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Post by Kai Wren on May 28, 2019 19:51:05 GMT
Wellholm was not a welcoming place, even before the troubles set in.
There are a few folks tending fields in farmsteads on the way into town; as the group rumbles past on their cart, the peasants do not respond. In fact, the children are ushered indoors, and the adults wait with hard faces until the group has passed on. The merchant seems untroubled by this; “They’re insular folk, that’s true enough, and they don’t like seeing mercenaries and sellswords. Bodes badly.”
It is a little more unusual to find the village in sullen mood, though. It is afternoon by the time the group rolls into town, and normally there would be some people around, going about their business. There is none of that here.
But then, the village is incredibly small; barely half a dozen buildings built up around the river, which trickles through the village as though reluctant to enter and sluggish to leave.
“It does seem quiet.” The merchant grumbles to himself, as much as to the others, “But no matter. I’m sure Stanton has done a good job keeping the wheel turning.”
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Post by Kai Wren on May 28, 2019 19:51:12 GMT
Okay guys! Apologies for the delay here. This is a village map! 1) The Waterwheel. Your employer will be making a straight run for this place since it is what he is here to check up on. 2) The Dire Donkey - a tavern with an enormous stuffed donkey outside caught forever in mid-roar. 3) A decrepit shack. 4) A general store. 5) A home. 6) From a distance it looks like a smithy, though the path to it is overgrown. 7) A burned out hut.
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 28, 2019 20:13:29 GMT
At least they had been prepared for the chilly reception. Warden, watching the villagers' reactions, honestly couldn't tell if those hardened faces had anything to do with whether or not she was a tiefling, or due to recent events. In her experience, a little of both wouldn't be implausible. She nodded to the merchant's explanation, not going to waste time angsting because some people don't like them. If that was the case, she would never get anything done. "I'd be happy to let them be, but at least someone's going to need to answer some questions. Otherwise, we'll get nowhere fast."
At least there wasn't much village to explore; just glancing around reveals all that there was to see, more or less. She tried to imagine what it would be like, to live in such a tiny settlement day in and day out. To the city-born paladin, she couldn't imagine a worse fate. Life in certain wards of Waterdeep could be tough, but at least no one was risking dying of boredom.
As the merchant spoke, her gaze shifted to the others with a raised eyebrow. "Might as well see if we can get some answers from him, right? Or someone who doesn't look as though they're about to throw rotten tomatoes our way."
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Post by moralhazard on May 29, 2019 1:05:05 GMT
As they grew closer to town, Miri shifted her rapier from her hip to the cart, tucking it into her pack. She considered removing her shortswords – but, in all honesty, the priest’s warning had left her a bit worried about what, exactly, they were going to find in town. She was sure the swords wouldn’t win them any friends, but she left them on her back nonetheless; better to be prepared.
It wasn’t really a town so much as a splotch on the road, Miri thought, looking around, and a particularly miserable looking one at that. It was afternoon, and not such a hot day that Miri would have expected the town to be – well – quite so empty. The tavern looked interesting at least; Miri grinned at the stuffed donkey outside, thinking longingly of a drink or two.
Then again, she doubted there was much to be found in the way of company outside of their party – and Warden, at least, seemed to be interested in heading to the waterwheel. Perhaps Echo might be more interested in a drink...? Then again... Miri pursed her lips, thinking it over. Yes; better to be on hand if something had gone wrong, and the merchant decided he was, ah, invested in their little quest of discovery.
“Agreed,” Miri grinned at Warden. “If you don’t mind, Master Finch?" she turned a smile to the merchant. "I’m sure it would be instructive for all of us to meet your Stanton, and, of course, to see the waterwheel we’ve heard so much about.”
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Post by 3personal5me on Jun 2, 2019 12:05:49 GMT
To be honest, Crucible expected something bigger. Not that he was expecting a bustling city, but this was a handful of buildings at best. He watched as children were ushered inside, and remembered his days in the army. Seemed parents didn't want their children to see soldiers marching to war. Regardless, he didn't let it get to him. People were finicky, and there wasn't much he could do to change that. He clambered to his feet in the back of the wagon, looking around as the others spoke. "I agree, this Stanton sounds like a good person to talk to. Afterwards we should secure lodging".
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Kestrel
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Post by Kestrel on Jun 3, 2019 5:22:24 GMT
“-at that point the, like, ‘King Slime’ or whatever was totally trapped in the furnace thing, everything else was on fire, my tail was still stuck to my face, and a whooooole mine full of slimes were after me. So! Guess what I did? With just a broken bolt, half a flask of oil, and the last charge on that grumpy old man’s fireball stick?”
Echo grinned, her feet kicking back and forth against the side of the cart, as she popped her arms out in front of her. Her throat rumbled.
“Boooooooooom!”
She giggled.
“I got out of there faster than, uh…well? Faster than a tabaxi with her tail on fire! Now that the tunnel was caved in and most everything else was burned down, there was, like, no way those slimes were getting out of that mine anytime soon!”
Echo sighed. Fun memories! Really fun memories. Well…mostly. She then rubbed the back of her neck.
“I, uh, didn’t get paid for that job.”
Like it was even her fault! At least mostly! The tabaxi hummed, pulled back her hood, and then looked around. If her employer had wanted to reopen the mine so bad, she should have, like, made sure everything there was not so dang flammable! The opposite of flammable, really. Echo flicked her tail.
Nonflammable!
By now the caravan had rumbled and rolled into what Echo supposed was the village of Wellholm. And it was…quaint? Simple? Those sure were words she could use here! Empty, lonesome, dreary, and kind of depressing also came to mind. Like…what did people even do out here? Echo shielded her eyes and squinted. Long fields of billowing grains and flowers and stuff, rickety rundown shacks, and a bunch of random people staring at th – well, okay, that last one was pretty normal. But! There was not even a big tall tower to climb or an apple stall anywhere. No performers or musicians. No pickpockets. Nothing!
Village life was kind of lame.
Echo’s ears swiveled. Their employer and the rest of her companions were discussing where to go next, and the treasure hunter tapped a claw against wood as she listened. Meet someone named Stone Town? Okay! That sounded fine to her, as long as…an old woman shushed away a pair of children close to their cart and slammed the door behind them. Echo frowned. As long as he was nicer than the rest of this lot. She had to wonder where he was, though. Maybe…oh! Whoa! Maybe at the cool donkey place! Echo’s grin widened along with her eyes as the huge and round and funny looking stuffed donkey came into view. He had to be there! It looked like a tavern of sorts, at least as close to a tavern as a little place like this could probably get, and there was no better place than a tavern to-
Wait. What did Miri just say?
“W-w-waterwheel?”
Echo’s claw stopped tapping, its tip now impaled into the cart, and she whined softly. She pulled her scarf tighter. Mr. Finch man had never mentioned there would be…that kind of thing! A ‘W’ kind of thing! A bad thing!
“Do we, uh…have to? Go to this wheel, I mean! No chance there’s, like, another wheel that could work instead? A dirtwheel? A windwheel? A wheel made of cute flowers that drops apples and stuff everywhere?”
Those sure sounded like nice wheels! Better wheels! Sooooo much better. Echo glanced around, fidgeted at her scarf again, and then sighed. She pulled her claw out with a small tug. Well! She signed up for this dang job, right? Maybe if she was lucky it was…a small wheel. Tiny. Invisible, even.
Cat Lord, she could hope.
“Let’s just…make it quick. Super quick.”
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Post by Kai Wren on Jun 3, 2019 18:59:53 GMT
Mr. Finch looked askance at Echo as she continued to talk.
And talk.
And talk.
None of it good.
Still, he was pleased that the four seemed content to stick with him rather than immediately scattering now that they’d found their way to civilisation, or what passed to it far away from the heady heights of Waterdeep. Certainly, it was hard to imagine a place more different to the bustling metropolis that they all called home.
“This is the reason we’re here.” Finch clarified, “So… yes, we need to go there.”
The watermill itself wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of engineering. The building seemed as though it had seemed better days. The paint was peeling, and though the wheel turned, it had an unpleasant creak to it. That seemed to make Finch’s jaw clench. His investment, it seemed, wasn’t going quite as well as he had anticipated it might.
“STANTON.”
The merchant’s bellowed shout was, unseemly, in the relative quiet of the village. When there was no immediate sign of life from within the decrepit building, he roared again.
”STANTON!”
And this time, there was the muffled sound of banging and thudding from within.
Soon enough, a young man – perhaps sixteen years old – opened up the door of the mill.
“Oh, Mister Finch.” He said, “I didn’t think you’d be coming for another week yet, but, it’s good to see you Sir.”
He looked, somewhat more apprehensively, at the rest of the gathered strangers.
“Gosh, you’ve brought a motley collection with you this time, Sir, and no mistake. Are the roads really that bad? Come in, I’ll get the kettle on, we’ll have a nice cup of tea.”
He opened the door wide, into a large space filled with the rattle and clank of the mill’s workings. The wheel turned, stones ground grain, it all seemed functional – if a bit basic and in poor repair. There was a table, and three chairs, along with numerous sacks of grain and flour.
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
Posts: 706
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Post by Jarovbees on Jun 3, 2019 20:39:01 GMT
Warden had tuned out Echo's talk herself; it didn't bother her, but she wanted to keep her mind on the issue at hand. Missing people, and people behaving oddly. So far, she hadn't seen anything that would count as odd (tieflings were always scorned, and small towns were often suspicious of outsiders) but they had just begun to scratch the surface, so the tiefling would do her best to remain alert. There was always a chance that the heart of the issue was in plain sight, even if it wasn't realized at the time. And if it wasn't, then any clue might help them.
Following their employer, she took note of the peeling paint and creaking sound. Someone wasn't doing his part to maintain the place, that much was sure. When the young man appeared, Warden hung back; he already seemed on edge without a tall tiefling woman in his face. While she could get by on a little charm if absolutely need be, it wasn't really her style and there were better people suited to that.
Entering the area upon invitation, she noted the state of things with a critical eye and went back to silently assessing the young man instead. She remained standing, gesturing for others to sit instead. While they did so, she would lean against the wall and cross her arms.
Insight check, on the young man?: oI5Fvg7o1d20+21d20+2
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