CH. 4: False Gods

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra walks along with the girl, not really minding, at this point and time that she was just kind of leading her along. "Don't think it is the best idea to get shit faced on my wedding day," she says. "But it would be amusing."

[Haahque]

Haahqae glances towards gregeddin to see if he suffered any injuries in the past battles that haven't healed yet, but not finding any he instead addresses the crowd. "Do any of you happen to have a knife? I'm well willing to withstand a little pain for the pursuit of knowledge."

[djhyland]

Darga stands and looks uncomfortably towards the door. "I kin come an' check on ya an' yer uncle, if'n ya want. An' I kin get ya stuff if'n ya tell me what ya need. But I think I've taken enough o' yer time fer today." With a nod towards Raetmal, he adds, "I hope he gets better soon. I reckon yer doin' all ya can, an' he will." He then gathers himself and quickly steps back out into the cold day's air, closing the door behind him.

(If Tulbas gives him a list of things to buy, Darga will agree to do so, although he'll insist on the list being given to him verbally. Otherwise, he'll go down to the Steel Tankard and see if he can find Cassandra.)

[mgbevan]

Gregeddin slips a knife out from his breeches, holding out the handle towards Haahqae. He shoots him a quizzical look with an eyebrow raised, "Maybe there is a refugee who is already hurt?" He asks quietly.

[JadedDM]

Kendra Synclair (Common Room, Grinning Goat Tavern)
"Wedding day? Oh, this is going to be good," Crystal says.

The two enter the Grinning Goat Tavern, a textbook definition of a dive. It's dark, it's dank and it smells awful. The tables have graffiti carved on them, one of the windows has been broken and boarded up, and every now and again a cockroach or rat skirts across the common room.

There aren't many people about. A couple of passed out drunks and some very shady looking people at a table in the corner. Crystal lets go of Kendra and boldly walks up to the bar, leaning on it casually. "Barkeep, two whiskeys here," she says, as if she comes here every day. She sits down on a nearby stool and gestures for Kendra to join her.

The bartender, a rough looking man with a patch over one eye, fills two small glasses with a brown liquid and sets them on the bar.

Gregeddin and Haahqae (Cult Hideout, Harbor District)
Kelryn sighs with annoyance. "I am the Master's prophet, sent to bring peace and prosperity to this city, and eventually the world; not a circus performer," he complains. "Very well, if you will cease interrupting then." He draws his own knife and holds up his left hand to the crowd, demonstrating it was fine. He then cuts across the hand, drawing blood. It drips from the wound, onto the ground at his feet. He holds the bleeding hand up and then with his other hand, takes hold of the bloodstone amulet around his neck. "Master, I pray to you, heal this injury with your divine power!" Instantly, the wound begins to seal up, until it's completely gone. The hand, although still stained in blood, is now fully healed again.

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra takes the drink as she sits down, and downs it faster than she probably normally would have. "So, yeah, wedding," she says. "It is everything my parents have ever wanted. I should have become a thief, that way I could have just stole all the money that the family needed."

[BishGada]

Tulbas continues reading about Herbalism and Healing methods, also exploring his uncle inventory trying to find information or Magical Items related to healing of the body and the spirit.

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(OOC: Tulbas asks darga to buy vegetables, spices, tea, herbs, little fresh meat and fish and some dired meat and fish. He gives him 5 steels (assuming this should be more than enough) and 2 steels as payment. He would insist on Darga taking them.

I wish Tulbas were at Darewind performance, since he is immune to 1st level illusions...
)

[mgbevan]

It was hard not to be impressed by Darewinds feat, it certainly captivated the crowd there. But still, Gregeddin knew from speaking with the others he needed to dig a little too try and expose him.

"And what of using your power to help others Darewind?" the bard taunts, "Rumour has it that it's never been done. Are you really as selfish as those rotten Seekers sat in their corrupt council?"
Gregeddin takes a quick look around to assess the vibe of the packed warehouse.

[djhyland]

After leaving Tulbas's house, Darga tucks the coins into his pack and pulls his cloak tightly about him and heads towards the markets, intent on buying the items instructed. He makes sure to keep a wary eye out for any guardsmen, and does his best to unobtrusively steer clear of any he sees.

[JadedDM]

Kendra Synclair (Common Room, Grinning Goat Tavern)
Kendra downs the whiskey in one go. It burns all the way down, but leaves her feeling warm inside. When she sets the glass down, Crystal motions to the barkeeper, and he refills it.

After listening to Kendra, Crystal throws back her own glass then slams it on the bar, making a funny face. The bartender refills her glass, as well. "You totally should," she says, her voice a little raspy after the drink. "Necolai would love to have a Holy Guard on the payroll and we can always use more muscle. In a week, you could probably earn more coin than you would as a Holy Guard in three months. Say the word, and I can schedule a meeting tonight."

She coughs a bit. "But I don't get it. If it's everything your parents want, why is the wedding getting you down? Is the groom some kind of fat slob or something? I'm picturing three chins...covered in boils and warts and a misshapen penis covered with gross spots."

Tulbas Erogund (253 Herbalist Street, Erogundali Mageware Shop)
After Darga departs, Tulbas tries to study up on ways to speed up the healing process. The most expedient way, of course, is through divine healing. The old texts say, before the Cataclysm the true priests could heal any wound or disease, even bring back the dead, in a matter of seconds with a touch and a prayer. How accurate those reports are is difficult to discern. It is rather hard to believe that such miracles were not only possible, but so commonplace once upon a time.

Gregeddin and Haahqae (Cult Hideout, Harbor District)
Gregeddin suddenly feels the eyes of everyone in the warehouse upon him. All of the attention and hostility directed toward Haahqae is now redirected at him and intensified by a factor of ten. The bard hears a number of people muttering angrily (he distinctly hears someone say something about getting a noose) and sees more than a few clench their fists. Were looks alone capable of wounding, Gregeddin would be little more than a pulpy stain on the ground by this point.

Kelryn, however, appears almost amused. He crosses his arms smugly, and looks down at the bard from the dais. "I've never helped others?" he asks, loudly enough for all to hear. "All of the people here who I have fed, clothed and sheltered may wish to argue with that. They came to this city fleeing war, only to be tossed out onto the streets to freeze to death in the upcoming winter--if they were allowed entry at all." He begins addressing the crowd now, instead of Gregeddin specifically. "That was their plan the whole time, you know! They never intended to help any of you. They left you to your own devices, certain that when the snows melted at winter's end, you would have all died. Then they could toss your corpses into the river and be done with it! That--THAT is the so called compassion and mercy of the Seekers!"

The crowd is quickly whipped up into a frenzy, cursing the Seekers and their new gods. "But they did not expect a true god to appear in their city!" Kelryn continues. "That his prophet would walk among you, help you, save you, take back the city for you!" Roaring cheers fill the warehouse. "They sit in their little temple, feasting on the stockpiled food and drink that they refuse to share with the rest of you. But when the time is right, we will oust them from their roosts. They will be the ones freezing this winter on the streets! So sayeth the Master!"

The cheers are nearly deafening. When they quiet down, Kelryn turns his attention back to the bard and points down at him. "I have done more for these people and will do more for them, then the Seekers ever did. Or yourself, for that matter. Think on that, next time you listen to baseless propaganda from the Seekers that I am somehow not helping people."

Darga (Grand Market, Market District)
Darga heads to the market square, where he can find all of the supplies Tulbas asked for in the same area. There are plenty of vendor stalls that sell food, herbs and spices and plenty of selection, too.

There is a single Holy Guard patrolling the entire market square alone, but it is ridiculously easy to avoid them. The bright red and white they wear makes it easy to spot them from a distance.

It's drizzling slightly, but Darga's cloak helps keep most of the chill and wetness away. This is good, because his stab wound aches in the cold. Most of the other people in the market square also wear heavy cloaks. They quietly go about their day, a thick tension in the air.

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Tulbas gives Darga 7 steel pieces.

[HorizonsDream]

"No, he is a good looking guy that is nice for the most part, and he worships the ground that I walk on," Kendra admits. "And this makes me sound like a horrible person," she adds thoughtfully. She then wrinkles her nose as she knows how awful she sounds. "I just don't...feel anything with him."

[djhyland]

Darga wastes no time in making his purchases, spending no more time than necessary in such a crowded and public area as the market. Once finished, he carefully packs Tulbas's requests and the remainder of the coin into his pack, but he doesn't return immediately to the mageware shop. Instead, he wanders down to the Steel Tankard, hoping to find either Cassandra or the pregnant woman evicted on Haahqae's behalf.

(OOC: If Darga can't find either, he won't stay around. Instead, he'll return to the mageware shop to deliver Tulbas's purchases to him.)

[Haahque]

Apparently unawares of the animosity being thrown around Haahqae makes his response to Kelryn's speech. "Well that is a jolly good miracle if I ever saw one, I've only seen that performed once before, 'cept the other time the person who did it was unconscious at the time, before the healing. Never the less quite impressive and I'd love to learn how to do such myself. Does it come with a certain level of believing or some such?"

"As for the seekers, they seek a true god, and that's all good and noble, but if ya ask me, non-o-them would be able to tell if a true god were to walk in the city gates, and from what I hear they're not all that kind about welcoming more enlightened prophets. That's not to say that they're all bad, but rather quite misguided."

"I'd say screw them, with a true god on your side, you can easily build a new city without having to stoop to the level of those misguided cowards, perhaps it's not practical to do so before the winter, but if your god is as powerful as I think he is, a pitiful falling apart city like Haven is nothing compared to what he could build, much less with an army of devoted followers behind him."

"Now I don't know much about this man here, but I do know that he was part of an effort to build a better future. He, with a team of devoted heroes cleared out a mine near here, allowing iron to once again flow into the city. Iron that is much needed for tools and shelter for the likes of many of these fine refugees here. This is just one example of how someone can help many without having to deal with the seekers at all. One more example is myself, who am organizing a group of willing volunteers to confront a giant who preys on the weak outside the gates daily. It may be a dangerous task, but it's for the good of the people, so I volunteered to help."

He finishes with a challenge to all who happen to still be listening.

"Are there any others here brave enough to put the greater good above their own safety?"

[BishGada]

Tulbas starts to fenzily think of those divine powers and looks for any clue of the prayers used for healing and the gods that gave their blessings for such healing.

[mgbevan]

OOC: I guess the bard's charisma only goes so far :p

Gregeddin was unsurprised to see so many people glaring at him, but the degree of hostility they were displaying was not something he entirely expected. But now was not the time to shy away with the entire room watching.

"Concurring with this man here, I hold nt doubt that we are all men here to help the city, Darewind. I ask these questions of of you power because it has only been witnessed acting upon yourself, and how are we to know otherwise if you are able to help us in vanquishing this Giant foe that still slaughters and terrorises those still outside Haven's gates?" The bard boldly asks