Inside the Sandpoint cathedral, the merchant's wife and her daughter recover their wits after nearly witnessing fisticuffs in the courtyard between the Korvosan steel merchant, Ravi, and Rainier. The woman nods at Ravi's invitation to stay and pray and escorts her daughter back into the sanctuary where the pair sit in humbled silence for the better part of an hour. When the mother and daughter get up to leave, the woman makes a point to seek out Ravi and deposit a silver half-mark into the priest's palm. "For your trouble this day, good sir." With her gaze prudently lowered, the merchant's wife discreetly bobs a courtesy to Ravi then the pair quits the sanctuary in favor of returning to the festival. The large set of double stone doors in the narthex open to re-admit the tourists to the party outside, the sun and noise a garish intrusion against the cool and quiet interior of the sanctuary.
Outside, at one of the wooden bench picnic tables in the church square, Shayliss continues to intently listen to Gron's tale. The girl pales at Gron's description of earning the goblin skulls adorning his belt and is very obviously simultaneously disturbed and fascinated by Gron's story. At Gron's somewhat lighter suggestion that arranged marriages are against the will of nature, Shayliss noticeably perks and vigorously nods her head in agreement. "Katrine would not argue with you. She's dead set on one of the millers but father won't hear of it. Watches her like a hunting hawk does a mouse, he does. I'm hoping that when love finds me, it'll go easier with father." Sizing up the set of Gron's shoulders and the quality of his chest, Shayliss cocks her head to the side and smiles but declines Gron's invitation for a walk in the woods, saying that it's high time she returned to her family's merchant stall set up especially for the day down in the town's lower tier, nearer the docks. "Come and have a gander, see if there's anything that catches your fancy." The girl winks knowingly at Gron then takes her leave.
Penn and Phythas fall to storyswapping and while away the afternoon without leaving the church square. At random intervals, their banter is punctuated by a serving girl offering a platter of bread, meat, or pastry, and by the inevitable tankard of free ale that so copiously flows in Sandpoint this day.
The day flows forward, the sun warming the afternoon air with thick golden motes of light that soon enough resonate soupily at the day draws to a close. At the advent of evening, the day's stiff trade winds die down and the air becomes humid, hot with the perspiration of so many bodies in tight quarters. Just before sundown, Father Zantus returns to the wooden podium along with Mayor Deverin and Sheriff Hemlock for the official consecration of the new cathedral. A large covered wagon accompanied by a pair of robed acolytes is wheeled into the square. A sharp retort, like the crack of distant thunder, slices through the excited crowd as the sun's setting rays paint the western sky. A stray dog that has crawled under a nearby wagon to sleep starts awake, and the buzz of two donzen conversations quickly hushes as all heads turn toward the central podium, where a beaming Father Zantus has taken stance. Father Zantus clears his throat, takes a breath to speak but is suddenly silenced by a woman's scream slicing through the air. A moment later, another scream rises, then another. Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rises--high-pitched, tittering shrieks that sound not quite human. The crowd parts and something low to the ground races by, giggling with disturbing glee as the stray dog gives a pained yelp and then collapses with a gurgle, its throat cut open from ear to ear. As blood pools around the dog's head, the raucus sound of a strange song begins, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices.
[sblock=Gron, Phythas]Gron and Phythas are familiar with the Goblin tongue and their keen ears enable them to hear the following tidbit of a goblin song:
"Goblins chew and goblins bite.
Goblins cut and goblins fight.
Stab the dog and cut the horse,
Goblins eat and take by force!"[/sblock]
[sblock=Ravi, Rainier]Ravi and Rainer spot the shape racing by that killed the dog and recognize the beast as a goblin. The goblin now hides at the edge of the canvas-covered wagon--a single goblin, licking the blood from its dogslicer as it looks excitedly at the crowd, obviously seeking a new target.[/sblock]
Ravi and Rainier made their spot check and get an action for the surprise round.
Sorry, no love for Penn on either the spot or the listen check.
Initiative:
Phythas 17
Penn 14
Goblin 13
Gron 12
Rainier 10
Ravi 2
) about his life and how he had come to where he is today, including some stories that involve him "bending" more than a few laws.
