CH. 10: Hard Choices

[TristenC]

A rooftop would be rather conspicuous... even if they didn't see us, someone else would be sure to. It would be difficult to explain being on random buildings. You don't have any... special tricks... he asks with inflection, you could track them with, do you? Otherwise I could try to follow them without being noticed since they have no reason to recognize me...

[djhyland]

"Then I will find you soon at the Seven Centaurs; it seems that we still have a task to accomplish somehow. If you need to find me first, I'll likely be either home or at the shop." Arulia hesitates--she's only met William this morning!--but remembering how good the human contact of Kendra's embrace made her feel, she hugs him tightly. "Thank you for all that you've done for me today. I know that you didn't have to follow me around all day and that you have business of your own, but I am grateful for the company."

After seeing William on his way, Arulia hurries back to her home. She knows that she doesn't bring good news, but at least she can tell her family that her father is still alive.

[JadedDM]

Kendra Greylock (2723 Crooked Road, Synclair residence)
"Well, we'd love to hear all about your day," Garnet says. The family sits down together to eat.

Tulbas and Gobax (300 Market Street, Gregeddin's House)
Tulbas guesses there are somewhere between 10-12 baaz in the house, including the two outside, based on the noise they were making.

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
William seems surprised by the hug, but he does return it. He wishes her good luck, then leaves to return to the inn.

Arulia doesn't have far to go. She's literally standing right outside her house. Stepping inside, she finds Vera, Niniva, Cassilda and Camilla have all returned home for the day. Vera is setting the table for dinner while the others sit at the table, talking about their father. All eyes turn to Arulia as she enters. "Did you find out anything?" asks Vera hopefully.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima (Haven North Sewers)
While the ooze is defeated, Shima remains paralyzed. Felran and Ne-Chanz have a choice now. They can continue without the dwarf, they can sit and wait for the paralysis to wear off (which may be in minutes, hours, or it may even be permanent; they have no idea), or they can carry him back up to the surface and call it a day.

They would estimate they've only been down here around 4 hours or so, but they are all wounded, even if the paralysis wears off. On the other hand, they have not yet finished their task. Putting it off means waiting to find the women, and waiting to get their coin. It's not an easy choice.

(OOC: Yeah, Felran could have done that, assuming he made his save each round.)

[HorizonsDream]

"Well, I was given the day off, only to return home to see Norris being arrested," Kendra explains. "The trade guild sent a letter with a messenger to the prefect in hopes of getting the new taxes reduced. The messenger decided to take matters into his own hands, and tried to cast a spell on the prefect," she says with a sigh. "So, as a result, the prefect believed it was a plot from the trade guild to overthrow the new government."

[djhyland]

Arulia closes the door and goes to help her mother finish setting the table. "I finally found Kendra," she says. "She told me that Father is being held at the Prefect's house, which is why nobody knew about him at the prison. He's not the only one, either. Kendra says that the Trade Guild hired a representative to speak to the Prefect about lowering the taxes. The man they hired attacked the Prefect when he went to meet him, so the Prefect had everyone who signed the Trade Guild's letter." She finishes putting the last dish on the table and sits down. "Kendra thinks that since the representative acted on his own in attacking the Prefect, he'll release them eventually. She seems to have some favor with the Prefect, and maybe she can convince him to let Father go sooner rather than later."

[JadedDM]

Kendra Greylock (2723 Crooked Road, Synclair residence)
"Oh, no! Poor Norris," Garnet exclaims, upset by the news. "I hope he's okay. He must be terrified."

Rangle gives Kendra an appraising look. "You seem pretty calm and collected, considering your new boss just arrested your husband."

"That's because she's confident she can get him released," Garnet replies. "Right, Kendra? I mean, without Norris...this whole family is doomed."

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
The others sit down with Arulia to eat. "I do remember your father saying something awhile back about the Trade Guild sending messengers to see the prefect."

"Do you really think they'll release him then?" asks Niniva, clearly worried.

"Who's going to run the smithy?" asks Camilla.

[HorizonsDream]

"I am hoping to get Norris released," Kendra says, agreeing with her mother. "But, until then, with my new job working for the prefect himself, I can take care of the family and still have a little left over," she assures them. "So I have all of you covered. The harder part is running Norris' business. I have to sell some of his jewelry to be able to afford where we live."

[BishGada]

"Hmm... OK. I used the rooftops before, but then again the city wasn't under occupation. If you can manage the tracking yourself, I will go back to the mageware shop and once you have more information about Gregeddin situation come to see me and we will consider our next move. There is also the church thing. On our last mission to remove Belzor, the high priestess was quite annoyed that we didn't report daily. With the mission to find other clerics of new gods, it would be better not to repeat the same mistake. I wonder what false information we can give her that will undermine the occupation without having us arrested... I would like to use the mistrust between the army and the church somehow... Maybe if we tell her the Gregeddin was investigating a lead and the army got him for that, she will think the army are working with heretics... but that's a long shot."

[djhyland]

Arulia forces herself to eat with her mother and sisters, even though her worries make the food taste like sawdust in her mouth. Though she shares Niniva's fear, she puts on a brave face. "All that Father and the rest of the Trade Guild did was sign a letter," she says. "The Prefect will have to release them once he realizes that the representative acted on his own."

Arulia turns to Camilla. "I'm going to do my best to run the smithy," she says. "I'm not as good as Father, but I can make horseshoes and nails well enough to do most of the work that the smithy gets. If you want to come with and help, I can start teaching you too."

[JadedDM]

Kendra Greylock (2723 Crooked Road, Synclair residence)
"Well, we don't have a lot of room, but if it becomes necessary, you can always stay here for as long as you need to," Garnet tells Kendra.

"Quite a promotion, working for the prefect himself," Rangle notes as they all finish eating and Garnet begins cleaning up the table. "At this rate, you'll be general of their army by spring."

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
"What do you think will happen to the representative then?" asks Cassilda as they finish the meal and Vera begins cleaning up the table. "What if he tries to blame the guild for what happened and the prefect believes him?"

[HorizonsDream]

"I'm hoping that I can keep his business afloat while he is gone," Kendra says. "But thanks, mother," she says before she looks to her dad. "I don't want to be a general," she said. "But I do want to do what I can for Haven."

[spyguy1503]

"Now what?" Ne-Chanz asks.
(OOC: Would he possibly have run into one of these in the past?)

[chese780]

"Well... we could go back, or we could stay. Either way, we're going to have to wait for something."

(OOC: Anything drop from the cube? Other than Shima. Or was it just dissolved stuff and moss)

[djhyland]

"I don't know what will happen to him, and I don't care," Arulia replies. But though she's furious at Gregeddin, she feels a twinge of guilt at her words. Yes, he's a fool and he's responsible for her father's imprisonment, but she also knows that he'll likely be tortured and killed for his actions. And even worse, she imagines that the Prefect might use him as an excuse to find the Merchant's Guild guilty regardless of what he says. But she pushes down the queasy feeling that her thoughts bring and puts on a brave face. "I'm sure that the truth will come out eventually."

[JadedDM]

Kendra Greylock (2723 Crooked Road, Synclair residence)
"Since when?" asks Rangle. "You dropped out of the Holy Guard when things were at their breaking point, but now suddenly you're enthused about helping the city? Do you think the prefect is going to help? So far he's destroyed the economy, arrested and enslaved thousands of people, and taken away all of our freedoms."

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
"I hope you're right," Vera says, trying to sound optimistic. She and Niniva continue cleaning up while Cassilda and Camilla head into their room.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima (Haven North Sewers)
While Felran and Ne-Chanz discuss how they should proceed, the former searches around in the puddle for anything the ooze might have 'dropped.' However, he finds nothing beyond a few rat bones. Likely the creature had been surviving off of the many rats down here.

(OOC: Oozes are subterranean creatures, and Ne-Chanz has spent most of his life living on tropical islands, so I'd say he has probably never encountered anything like one before. Likewise with Felran, who has spent most of his life up in the mountains.)