CH. 4: False Gods

[JadedDM]

Kendra Synclair (2527 Market Street, Greylock's Gorgeous Gems)
Kendra makes her way back to Norris' place. Since both the gem store and the mageware shop are in the same district, it isn't too far of a walk. The store won't open for another hour, so she uses her key to unlock the front door and enter.

In a flash, Norris hurries down the stairs when he hears the door open and close. "Kendra! By the new gods...you've been injured again!" he notes, hurrying over to her. "Damnation! I knew it. Those thugs and vagrants came by here, looking for you. I should never have given them your address. They promised you wouldn't be hurt, but it's clear that was a lie. What in the world happened to you? And where were you all night?"

Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, Room 15)
Haahqae heads back to the Steel Tankard in a hurry. Fortunately, the innkeeper hadn't given his room away again, probably thanks to the steel he gave him earlier. Heading upstairs, he cracks open his spellbook. After twenty minutes of study, he memorizes the two new spells--one that conjures a puddle of grease that proved useful in the battle with Sekla. The other, an illusion to alter his appearance.

Tulbas, Gregeddin, Kynaston and Daxia (Herbalist Street, outside the mageware shop)
Kynaston listens to Tulbas and shrugs, before looking back to Daxia. "What do you say? It's your choice."

Daxia shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but the city is too dangerous for me. That much is certain. But your Silvanesti friend is right. You are wounded. Stay here, and heal. You own me no obligation. And I've managed to survive this long on my own. Remember, I'm an accomplished summoner, after all."

"No...I made a promise to Coroccoco to keep you safe. And you were nearly killed because I left you unattended in my house," Kynaston responds. "If you are that adamant about leaving now, then I will come with you. My mind is made up on that matter."

Daxia smiles. "Alright. We can stop by the market to pick up supplies, then head for the city gate."

The two head off toward the grand market, sticking close to each other.

Darga (Harbor District)
Darga grabs the woman's wrist, pulling her down so she is forced to turn toward him. Once face to face, Darga can clearly see she was the woman he camped with that night--the same dirty blond hair, the same scraggly face. "The Abyss are you--" she demands, but her eyes suddenly widen with recognition once she gets a good look at Darga's face.

"Shit!" she exclaims. "Aaron, run! Hide!" She attempts to yank her wrist out of the dwarf's grasp.

The boy stands there, stunned, a look of surprise on his face.

[djhyland]

Darga keeps his hand clamped around the woman's wrist as tightly as he can, but he lowers his voice to a calmer tone. "I ain't gonna hurt ya, woman, an' I fer sure won't hurt th' boy," he says, with a nod towards Aaron. "But yer gonna give me back what ya stole from me." With a nod towards the guardsmen who had just been discussing the murders he'd been party to, he continues, "If ya don't, I'm gonna drag ya ta those Seekers over there. An' if that don't work, I kin lead them ta that warehouse where you an' yer friends are hidin' out. I'd guess that they'd be findin' lots o' interestin' things there, an' they probably won't be too happy wit' ya stealin' from them an' their followers, eh?"

[mgbevan]

Watching the pair head off towards the marketplace, Gregeddin turns to Tulbas, "Well, that seems rather definitive. Actually I would like to see your uncle upon his return, this wizardry has quite caught my curiosity. But until then there is endless possibility to be found eh? I'm going to drop this stuff off, wouldn't want anyone to recognise it so soon after the event, but after that I'm going to head up the the Masked Dragon Inn, I like the music there. You're welcome to come if you like."

[HorizonsDream]

"Norris, I'm fine," Kendra says, trying to assure him. "I agreed to help them, so I knew the risks. As for where I was all night, I kind of passed out at the mageware shop not far from here. I was too tired and too hurt to really make it home."

[BishGada]

Tulbas is shocked by the events. "Free will is one thing, but this is pure stupidity." he mutters. Then facing Gregeddin he says, "Don't you see? Walking these streets she is as good as dead! You think they will made it past the gates? Why, I'm sure someone already found the bodies and everyone will be questioned at the gates! We risked our lives for nothing!" looking back at the two, fueled by his anger he whispers, "Well, you wanna play it that way? So be it!" and he quickly catches up with them completely ignoring Gregeddin as he is swept by his emotions. "Well, since you decided to leave safety, I feel compelled to follow. Once you are in a safe place, I'll go back home and when my uncle returns I'll know where to find you and help you get to the Tower. Just let's be careful at the gates. They might be questioning people regarding last night events."

[Haahque]

Closing his spell book, Haahqae pulls out all five of his torches from his pack. Two he places on the ground and sits down beside them, where he starts to juggle the other three.

"Now mr Haahqae, what should I do today? We said we'd meet back at the mageware shop in an hour, and this group often seems to find stuff to do. Or maybe I'll be needed for some dark cult ritual business. I'd like to get that business moving so I can finally figure out how Fistandantilus managed to do it. How did he survive the caticalism and more importantly how did he manage to make himself a god? Illusion seemed like the natural choice, as it'll take a lot of showy stuff, but maybe necromancy or conjuration would have been good schools to study as well? Why don't libraries just have books on this stuff? It'd be a lot easier. I guess if it was easy, then everyone would do it."

"I think someone suggested that I skip town to avoid suspicion for the Ergothian. It seems a pity, I've only just got here and already I'm thinking of leaving. I guess I've done good work here, plenty of people will hear about the mine being re opened and benefit from hearing that I helped get the mettle for their new pots and horseshoes. It's a pity that the hobgoblin's spellbook was so useless, but what can you expect from a weak goblin mage like that? Deep dark secrets of long forgotten gods? Secrets to demonic power? Yeah not likely, it's the elves who keep the knowledge hidden away. Or maybe the kobolds. But the point is that I've made my impact on this town and I can totally move on. No wait. The Ergothian thing is supposed to be a secret, so I gues I better stick around a bit to hammer home the fact that I'm just such a nice gnome to as many people as possible."

Without skipping a beat, Haahqae picks up one of the torches lying on the ground and adds it to his juggling routine.

"But you see. The thing is. Woah, can't let a torch drop like that, gotta keep it up in the air, yep that's better. Ok so you see the thing is. I might want to accelerate my show cycle so that I can leave town at some point later without feeling like I didn't give a performance worthy of a wandering gnome. This means I'll have to spend time practicing today. Ok good, keep focusing on the torches, don't let them drop. I could be doing this with flaming torches, to make the practice look better, but it's good without. Flaming torches are much more dangerous. So in terms of today I should do things. Yeah, sounds good. I could use some breakfast about now."

Picking up the fifth torch, Haahqae adds it to his juggling, keeping all five torches in the air for a good minute before catching them and putting them back into his bag. Eagerly he makes the trip down to the common room to fetch a bite to eat.

[JadedDM]

Darga (Harbor District)
The woman looks at Darga fearfully, then her expression turns to anger--even hate--and for a moment he half expects her to attack. Instead, she actually grins, then taking a big breath, screams at the top of her lungs. "RAAAAAAAAPE! This dwarf is trying to rape me, help, help!" she shrieks. Soon, the eyes of everyone in the area on on the two.

Aaron seems to snap out of whatever trance he's in and runs off to hide in an alley, still looking confused on what to do.

The longshoremen, sailors and other people currently on the street start to move toward the pair, more curious than anything else. Darga overhears someone saying something about 'calling the guard.'

Kendra Synclair (2527 Market Street, Greylock's Gorgeous Gems)
"Mageware?" Norris repeats incredulously. "Please don't tell me that you are taking up sorcery in addition to demon slaying now." He sighs and shakes his head. "Well, let's get you upstairs, out of this armor and bandage you up. I still have some bandages and ointments from the last time."

Tulbas, Gregeddin, Kynaston and Daxia (Herbalist Street, outside the mageware shop)
"You want to come with us?" asks Kynaston, clearly confused. "Out to the wilderness?"

Daxia frowns. "I don't really trust you, to be honest," she says to Tulbas. "But I can't stop you, if you're determined. But I'll be keeping an eye on you."

The two head to the market to buy some food and supplies, presumably with Tulbas in tow, thus leaving Gregeddin on his own.

Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, common room)
Having decided on what to do, Haahqae heads downstairs to the common room for some food.

The common area is packed with people, as usual. Actually, it seems even more crowded than normal, probably because it's a rather cold morning. However, all of the body heat of the huddled masses crammed into one room actually makes the place rather sweltering.

The innkeeper and his staff are passing out bowls of gruel for a copper each, but likely Haahqae can get some food of a better quality if he wishes to spend a little more.

[mgbevan]

Gregeddin shrugs as Tulbas chases after the pair, "Each to their own" he says to no-one in particular and so heads back home to drop the newly acquired goods off, only keeping his now empty sack and coins to head over to the Masked Dragon. Hoping to enjoy some polite company on the nicer side of town.

[djhyland]

Darga's hopes that the woman will be reasonable are crushed by her cries. He considers keeping his hold on her and confronting the guards with his own story, but decides against it. While the guards overlooked him before, he knows that they'd pay close attention to him if he stayed to tell his own story, and that his fresh wounds from last night might give away his involvement in the killings. And on top of all of that, he's learned long ago that guardsmen of any stripe usually take a dim view of his kind, even in the best of times.

Before letting her go, he snarls, "I gave ya a chance, an' I ain't gonna give ya another. This ain't over!" Without looking back, he sprints away, heading neither towards Kynaston's house or the mageware shop. As soon as he finds a likely place, he'll attempt to hide until the guards give up the search.

(OOC: Darga's attempt to hide in shadows is 35, under his score of 45%.)

[JadedDM]

Gregeddin (Masked Dragon Inn, Courtyard)
It takes about half an hour for Gregeddin to walk home. Once there, he finds his parents are already gone for the day, off to work. He empties out his large sack, leaving the signet ring, great helm, cloak and horseman's pick at home. He then backtracks all the way to the mageware shop and beyond, to reach the Masked Dragon on the southern side of town.

A pair of bouncers stand guard at the entrance to the inn's courtyard, but they allow Gregeddin to pass after he flashes them some coin to show he's not a penniless refugee.

The courtyard is walled off and within it are a number of tables and chairs where people can eat and drink outside, if they like. As it's a dismally grey day and fairly cold out, nobody is currently out here. But Gregeddin can hear the music wafting from inside.

Masked Dragon Inn.png (446.76 KiB) Viewed 8125 times

The Masked Dragon is one of the largest inns in Haven. Some would also call it the nicest, although others would argue the Ivy Inn holds that prestigious honor. In any case, both inns are certainly nicer (and more expensive) than the Steel Tankard. However, because of the increased price, fewer refugees can afford to stay. Only the Steel Tankard lets people sleep on the floor in the common area. Despite this all, all of the rooms in the Masked Dragon are currently filled.

The common area is spacious and clean. Breakfast is currently being served and minstrels play music for the few people who are currently here, eating and talking.

Darga (Harbor District)
Darga's reaction seems to be what the woman was waiting for. As soon as he lets her go, she turns on her heel and sprints in the opposite direction.

Darga finds a place to hide in an alley, behind some empty barrels. He sits and waits a moment, then hears footsteps approaching. Darga recognizes their voices as belonging to the guards who passed him earlier.

"Did he come down here?"

"That's what someone said, but he might be long gone by now. This is pointless, anyway."

"Maybe, maybe not. Reports say that among those who killed those Ergothians were a dwarf with a staff and a blonde woman. Sound familiar?"

"Probably just coincidence."

The two move on, completely missing Darga. After awhile, there is nothing but silence as their footsteps fade.

===============

Darga hides in shadows [45] (1d100): 35, pass.

[mgbevan]

After his long mornings walk, Gregeddin was starting to feel quite hungry. He was also quite relieved not to have heard anything about last nights 'work', supposedly being on the south of town away from the squalor of the docks has turned out to be a good strategy for avoiding suspicion.

He crosses the courtyard, following the sound of music and enters into the warmth of the common area. The atmosphere in here made him feel much more relaxed and comfortable than he had been in the past week. This is more like it he thought to himself as he slowly makes his way to the bar to order breakfast and water, Far too early for wine. He looks over to each of the groups that are already there eating, trying to discern whose company he would like to join for breakfast.

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra lets out a small sigh, and follows Norris upstairs while slowly removing her armor. "What if I did have an interest in magic?" she asks curiously. She didn't have an interest in magic, but she couldn't help but wonder if she would be "allowed" to pursue the interest if she did.

[JadedDM]

Gregeddin (Masked Dragon Inn, common room)
Gregeddin is brought a glass of water and informed that today's breakfast special is a plate of fried eggs and ham for a silver piece.

The bard scans the room of the various occupants, already enjoying their own breakfasts. One table holds a pair of men eating and speaking in soft tones. One is human, but the other is elven.

At another table, a human woman sits alone, nursing a cup of tea. She is wearing the red and white vestments of a Seeker priestess.

At a third table sit two humans, a man and a woman, eating in silence and watching the other patrons. They seem to especially keep a close eye on the Seeker priestess, as if they expected her to suddenly jump to her feet and rush their table.

At a fourth table sits three men. Or Gregeddin assumes they are men. They are heavily cloaked and have bandages around their hands, completely covering up their skin. Thus it is difficult to discern their gender or race, but based on the bulkiness of their torsos, one could guess they are human men. The other patrons give them a wide berth. There is at least one empty table between them and any other table.

Finally, the fifth table is occupied by two women--a human and a dwarf. The human seems to be talking to the dwarf, quite animatedly, with hand gestures and everything. The dwarf sits and slurps at her soup, attempting to appear interested, but not doing the best job.

Kendra Synclair (2527 Market Street, Greylock's Gorgeous Gems)
The two walk upstairs and into the bedroom. Norris sets a towel down on the bed, in case any of her wounds reopen. He then directs her to sit on the towel and helps her in shedding her armor, piece by piece.

"If you did, I'd half wonder if you were trying to get yourself killed," he says. He attempts to speak lightly, as if joking, but Kendra can hear the severe worry and concern in his voice, nonetheless. He kneels down and helps her pull off her boots. "I don't understand any of this. When you ran off to that mine, I thought it was for money. You were trying to provide for your family, and were desperate. It terrified me, that you would risk your life doing that, but I understood your motive. Or I thought I did, at any rate."

He helps her remove the leather vest, pulling it over her head. He sighs at the sight of her wounds. "So I thought that once we were married, and your family was provided for, there would be no reason for you to take such dangerous risks anymore. And yet, here we are, a day from the wedding, and you've done it again. What monsters did you fight this time? And why? It can't be money, as I've agreed to provide for you and your family."

=================

(OOC: mgbevan, a Detect Noise check could allow him to eavesdrop on any party from his current position. Or he could move closer, in which case a check won't be needed.

If Gregeddin looks more carefully at any one party, I can describe them in better detail. At the moment, I'm assuming he's just giving them each a passing glance.)

[djhyland]

Darga waits until he's sure that the guards have passed him by, then carefully but quickly flees the area. Although he wants nothing more than to run to Kynaston's home, lock the door, and hide under the bed, he figures that his companions should know that the Seekers are looking for them. Without any better idea, he heads back towards the mageware shop, hoping to find at least some of them still there.

[HorizonsDream]

"We didn't fight monsters this time around. We saved a woman from being taken home just to be killed for...being a woman and a mage," Kendra said. She allowed Norris to tend to her wounds. "And, honestly, I kind of like doing things like this. Yes, it is dangerous and I might die, but at least I feel like I'm doing some good."