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Company of Chaos - All Around Golarion
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<blockquote data-quote="Lwaxy" data-source="post: 6028491" data-attributes="member: 53286"><p>Several weeks later...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In Falcon's Hollow, winter didn't seem to want to surrender. Snow and ice kept returning between thawing ice and cold rain, and no flowers or other greens wanted to poke their heads out of the ground. It was, so everyone agreed, an unnatural cold, but after the recent happenings around town, the residents were happy enough for no more danger but the daily perils. </p><p></p><p>Despite the lasting cold, the Company of Chaos, how the party now named themselves – owning to the fact that they usually weren't sure what they were doing – was making preparations to leave, together with the children they had rescued from the kobold king the year before. </p><p></p><p>To everyone's surprise, a message had arrived a month ago, brought by Zayel's Hawk familiar Will. The hawk had been late, having had a little trouble finding Falcon's Hollow. The relief of hearing from their friends and their adventures and the new companion they had made – or two, counting the eidolon - gave everyone fresh energy. Like themselves, their friends had used winter time to learn a lot of useful things, especially spells and some self defense. Mook insisted, though, that Zayel might be good with a bow – no doubt thanks to his elven heritage she said – but any attempts to make him better with a staff or anything else had caused so many injuries, including one she had to heal considering Zayel might want to have children some time that they had given up on it. They had sent Will back with news of their own, which had become an even longer letter than the one they had gotten. </p><p></p><p>While they were ready to move on, there were some lose ends to tie up and an event to attend. The lose ends had to do with the criminal way the settlement was run. Kronk had been the first, during one of his frequent visits, to suggest they do something about it, after all, they had dealt with worse monsters. And there were a few people in town ready to help, including the son of the Lumber Consortium boss. That was the good part of their idea. The bad part was that it might involve a lot of violence, and the killing of some of the bad guys, including said Consortium boss. It was one thing fighting monsters, or even obviously evil cultists. It was something else to go against a company that was, at least at its face, operating legally. </p><p></p><p>The event to attend was the a carnival returned to town, the owner being from around here originally. The owner of the caravan, a local, seemed to be of the opinion that it was time and the town did not disagree. They had been through a lot lately, and anything to take their minds off that was welcome. The same could be said for the party, especially of Zaza. In some ways, the halfling girl was incredibly tough and fearless, but facing so many things, especially undead and close quarters, had changed her somewhat. Still, she was bossing Majek around when no one but the group could see – after all, he was her half-brother. She had started doing the same to Edawon, claiming that if he was to pretend to be her brother, she would treat him accordingly. </p><p></p><p>Majek had been helping setting up the carnival as they were getting short of funds, and he said he had met all sorts of creatures there. Something was, he said, a little off with the owner, one half-elf by name of Namdrin Quinn, former adventurer. The man seemed distant and somewhat depressed, with bouts of crazy energy. But the show itself would be good, the alchemist insisted. He couldn't wait to see it, and he had gotten free tickets for them and their new friends as part of his payment. The carnival was to open this weekend, which was in 2 days, and they could hardly wait. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Down in Augustana, things were not going quite as well since the hawk had returned with news from their friends. Spring was coming, the snow was thawing, and the troupes quartered in the Tree Top Inn were ready to move on. Oldtown was getting new attractions by now, and even Mook didn't get many people to come around asking for their futures anymore. </p><p></p><p>This left them with a money problem. They would have to pay to stay at the inn to wait for their friends, who would take a few weeks to come down to here. Mook's savings and Zayel's meager income from helping mages with potions and such were barely enough for himself, as he was mostly paid in spell components, and Tiva, who had decided to stay with them, didn't have any sort of income save getting them free food and quarters for helping at the inn while she was here. Madame Velomina had given them their share of helping to run the caravan already, and Zayel guessed that if they needed little, they could make it until the others, who had a little more money it seemed, arrived. But it would be difficult. </p><p></p><p>By chance, one morning before sunup, they overheard two travelers talking at the table closest to the bar while they helped Tiva setting tables for the morning crowd yet to come. </p><p></p><p>"Airk Jarigan hasn’t reported in for two weeks," a stocky swarf was saying to his half-elf companion. "He’s supposedly close to finding the artifact. If he hasn't been dreaming, that is. I shouldn't have drusted that old drunkard with retrieving something valuable, even if it is just a family heirloom. As the sun isn’t even up yet, he’s probably still asleep. I need you to go down to the Lusty Mermaid, drag Airk out of bed, and find out why he hasn’t been reporting in. More importantly, I need you to get that artifact. You’ll recognize Airk by a gold amulet he always wears around his neck. It’s of an owlbear clutching an amethyst. He should also be with his protégé, a whelp by the name of Dargo Mar. That’s all."</p><p></p><p>The half-elf shook his head. "You know I like helping an old friend if needed, but in this case, I have to pass. Sorry, Hestram, but my sister is getting married this weekend and I have to be the one personally bringing the invitations. Seems like a petty reason to you, maybe, but it is tradition and I draw the short straw – literally. You know, family..."</p><p></p><p>The dwarf's face fell. "S'alright, I'll find someone else to do it. I just hoped I'd not have to part with as much silver as even such simple jobs usually cost. I wish you a swift journey."</p><p></p><p>As the half-elf left and the dwarf downed his coffee, Mook spontaneously stepped up to the man, in her typical gnome fashion. "We can help you," she said, indicating her friends and herself. "We've decided not to travel on with the caravan so we can use some little side job here and there. Dragging someone out of bed and finding out what they have been up to is something we're used to doing." She grinned widely. It was not even a lie, they had had to drag a few of the caravan's workers out of beds, usually those of women of ill repute, a few times during winter. </p><p></p><p>The man looked about to shake his head, but then he shrugged. "As good as any, I suppose. You heard what I said, do you know where the Lusty Mermaid is?" When Mook shook her head, he began to give directions to the harbor, which the gnome had no issue memorizing. Asides, they knew town rather well by now. </p><p></p><p>"I'll give you 20 silver and will pay for minor damages – not burning an inn down, mind you – as I do not have a lot of money anymore, the search for our heirloom has taken up too much of it."</p><p></p><p>That wasn't much, but they had to start somewhere and it wasn't too bad for an hour or two of work, so Mook nodded. "We'll grab our stuff and be on our way immediately." </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Bjön and Rodawin Teltz had, by then, come to Augustana without knowing some of their party were there. After the affair at the coast, they had travelled here with some of the cavalry of Andor, where they had spent most of the winter in quiet and, thanks to them having most of the party's wealth, good comfort. As soon as spring broke, they had gotten an offer from Andoran druids in this area who had heard of them defeating the undead monstrosity. </p><p></p><p>Something had gone wrong in the Verduran Forest a good distance to the east but closer to Falcon's Hollow, where they still planned on ending up. A wild-haired druid named Hemzel recently appeared at the Civic Library of Augustana and demanded access to the archive. One of the druid circle contacts followed the druid’s trail of manuscripts and discovered that Hemzel had found a lorestone, a minor artifact that when used properly in a druid circle gives the bearer all of the accumulated knowledge of the druids of the area, in this case, the Verduran Forest. This was important because the forest was said to hold treasures and the druids now feared that, with Hemzel being so cut off from anyone else, he might lose the lorestone and it would fall into the wrong hands. The Andorans were, after all, not known to treat their forests with a lot of respect.And they fey of the area were a bit of a problem as well. </p><p></p><p>The two of them had accepted eagerly after they were told they could save a good deal of travel by using one of the druidic circles as teleportation circle – an information they were sworn not to reveal to any non-druids not of their party. The druid leading the Augustana group just outside the city seemed to be of the opinion that Bjön and Teltz were of importance to the future of the world, to which the paladin had replied that everyone of a good mind was of importance. Rodawin, however, sucked on is pipe looking very worried. "I don't want to be of importance," he reluctantly admitted. "It's why we had to run from home to begin with." Bjön had not been able to get anything else out of him.and had not been inclined to press the matter. </p><p></p><p>At the same morning his son and his friends decided to help the dwarf for some little pay, the paladin and the bard found themselves waking up to the drizzle of early spring rain, cold and refreshing. And wet! It was far from a nice walk in the woods as Teltz had hoped. From the druid circle they had come out in, several days south of their destination, it had been a scramble through brambles, boulders, and biting insects and a misadventure of detours, torn clothes, and near falls. Fortunately, from what they could deduct from the map, this would be their last day of travel before they would arrive in the druid's place. </p><p></p><p>"So," Teltz said as he gathered and magically fried their things as the sun came up. "What was that about gnomes again? Hemzel is friends with them?"</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, but strangely, him and at least some of the fey folk in the area aren't friends, exactly. I am under the impression that there is some backstabbing and intrigue involved. I pray to Desna we won't get pulled into it too deep. If we're lucky, he'll heed our warning and hand the lorestone to the druidic circle of this area."</p><p></p><p>"When do people ever heed warnings?" Teltz mumbled, but the dwarf didn't hear him, being busy with his morning prayers. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Zayel had altered the appearances of himself and his female companions to appear older than they were. From their experiences in the city, young people were taken less serious, if heeded at all, not like in rural places where you were accepted once you've proven your ability to help the community and follow the rules. The disreputable inn they were going to was going to be worse, if anything, so they now seemed to be about 10 years older – although for Mook it was hard to tell, as with most gnomes she could have been any age but very young - and he had added a good sized beard to his own appearance. Her wolf appeared to be a limping large mutt dog with grey fur. </p><p></p><p>The darkness had melted away, leaving Absalom in the gray grip of dawn. Rolling in off the sea, a chilling fog was hanging thick in the air like a cold, pale wraith seeking to steal warmth from the living. Cries of seagulls pierced the otherwise dull stillness of the Docks. A dim yellow light spilled from the stained windows of the Lusty Mermaid. The front door opened with a moan, and inside was a scattering of fisherman, returned from a predawn haul. The overwhelming stench of raw fish clung to these men, and it mingled with the savory aroma from the pot of stew hanging above a snapping fire in the hearth. The proprietor, a greasy-looking human with thick arms and an even thicker belly, looked up from behind the bar and says, “A little early for customers, isn’t it? I have stew cooking, but that’s it. If yer lookin’ fer anthin’ else, ya best shove off.”</p><p></p><p>Mook who had, as long as her bracelet worked and she didn't stutter, taken on responsibility for the group as it seemed, threw a grin into the room, looking at the fishermen closely. Almost immediately, she noticed one of them, who clearly was not who they were looking for as it was an older man reeking of fish, wearing the pendant Hestam had described to them. Not a good sign, she thought, but maybe the explanation was harmless. "We're just here to pick someone up. One Arik Jaridan and his sidekick, Dargoi Mar. In fact, you must know them because you," she pointed right at the older fisherman, "have his pendant he always was so proud of for some reason. Did he get drunk again and couldn't pay his bills?" </p><p></p><p>Mook was improvising, and Zayel added to it. "If he's been filling himself with drink again, he's due for another long lecture from you-know-who." </p><p></p><p>"Not seen him in a while," the barkeep said, motioning with his head to the guy with the pendant. "In fact, when he gave me that t' pay fer his drinks it was the last time I saw him. Hasn't paid fer his room, either. Used the pendant to pay my own debts, I did. Now, yer can pay fer his room, if ye want, and have a look at his stuff, but that's all. I ain't the salvation squad."</p><p></p><p>Zayel looked at the others and shrugged. "How much?" </p><p></p><p>The keep showed a crooked smile. "A silver and 5 coppers. Ain't much of comfort here, ya see, but I ain't got no bugs or rats so that's something."</p><p></p><p>The wizard fished for the coins they had been given for just such a scenario and paid the man, even one copper extra. "For being so helpful," he said, managing to sound sincere. "We know as well as anyone else how hard it is to make a living. Plus," he added with a crooked grin of his own, "these coppers ain't coming from our own pockets." </p><p></p><p>The barkeep chuckled and pointed to his left. "If yer go through the first door, then take a right, it's the first door there. Be aware, Jarid ne'er cleans up. Might be a mighty mess in there." </p><p></p><p>"Not a problem," Mook grinned at him. For some reason, the much taller man seemed intimidated by that smile. </p><p></p><p>As they went to check the room out, they noticed that talks and laughter picked up again. They had not noticed how quiet it had become before. "Something is very much off," Zayel suggested.</p><p></p><p></p><p>"Indeed," Mook agreed. "And that barkeep, he needs killing. Evil does not even begin to describe it." She opened the door to Jaridan's room and didn't notice the shocked looks of the others. </p><p></p><p>"What do you mean, he needs killing? Do you suggest that we...?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes," Mook said, her voice sounding hard, not at all like the young girl the wizard thought he knew. "All the gods seem to agree on that much." She seemed to be far away with her thoughts, and Zayel was wondering if it was even her talking, or if some deity of the other was talking through her. This part of her, this being an oracle, he had never been completely comfortable to begin with. </p><p></p><p>"The only thing of worth here," Tiva said, having not paid attention to the others right then, "is this box with water breathing potions." She held up 7 bottles carefully. "Those could prove very valuable. Curious that he has them."</p><p></p><p>"Take them." Mook turned to the girl, and her eyes seemed to glow for a second. "He won't need them anymore. He's not coming back. The barkeep and his thugs killed him."</p><p></p><p>"How do you...?" Zayel started, but the stopped himself. Waving his hands in frustration, he looked like he was trying to fly off. "What do we do now?"</p><p></p><p>"What thugs?" Tiva asked at the same time. </p><p></p><p>"Those thugs," the gnome replied and pointed to the door which suddenly sprung open. Two black haired, badly shaved humans with rapiers which had seen better days flanked the barkeep, who was probably also the owner of the place. The man held a greatsword and seemed to be very confident with it. </p><p></p><p>Tiva's eyes widened while Zayel sighed inwardly. In the stories about adventurers, there were always fighters, and every advice he had heard in their current residence was never to go anywhere without a fighter to back you up, no matter the spells you could weave. Without their currently absent friends, he found this all too true now. </p><p></p><p>A growl escaped from Doodah's throat, and the wolf showed his fearsome teeth. Mook, however, seemed not to be perturbed. She turned almost in slow motion to face those foes, and as before, something in her presence was very intimidating. The three-quarter-elf remembered the happenings in the golden city, with the undead dragon, and suddenly had the feeling that it was not only Mook in there, that somehow the gods she was praying to and talking about had some sort of personal stake in this. Not that the idea of divine intervention in what seemed to be, effectively, a very mundane matter, made a lot of sense to him. It was more worrisome than relieving. </p><p></p><p>The two thugs seemed to freeze for a second, looking to their boss for confirmation. The barkeep, however, stared right at Mook, wrestling with himself whether he should turn tail or not, so it seemed. Zayel knew that he would have run from the gnome, but then, he knew things their attackers didn't. </p><p></p><p>One of the thugs lost his nerve and turned, but the door slammed shut right in front of him. Without wondering why Mook, if if had been her, had done that, or how, Zayel focused on the other thug, throwing a bit of sand in his direction while reciting a sleep spell. Confronted by the gnome, the human had no will to resist and dropped sleeping, the rapier slipping from his hand. Their boss, however, charged right at the oracle. </p><p></p><p>Doodah jumped, biting deep into the man's sword arm. With a cry, but still holding on to his weapon, he tried to shake the beast off. There was surprise in his eyes, much like he had not registered the wolf before. He had no success, and blood started dripping to the floor. </p><p></p><p>A bullet from Tiva's sling hit their wannabe assailant in the ribs – Zayel thought the girl had aimed for the hand holding the sword but the wolf and the man danced around too wildly to have been successful. Mook's oracle staff flew upward with a much better aim and hit the human right between the legs. The shouts of the man broke off, and he dropped the sword and slumped to the floor, his uninjured arm clutching his new injury. The oracle mumbled a growling sounding word to the wolf, who let go of the limb and turned, snarling, to rip the man's throat out. A moment later, only the thug who had tried to flee was still left standing, shaking and still trying to open the door. </p><p></p><p>Tiva looked at the mess Doodah had made and started to vomit. She was pale as a sheet of paper. The wizard was less troubled, but the scent of blood and the ruthlessness of the act made him feel claustrophobic in the small room. </p><p></p><p>The gnome went to the last man standing. "We won't hurt you if you tell us the truth. Why did you kill Jarigan? Where is his sidekick Mar?" </p><p></p><p>"Mar p..paid us to k..kill the other guy. Don't kn...know where he is. Really!" </p><p></p><p>"Don't lie to me!" </p><p></p><p>"He... he left with some of Larro's f..friends." The man pointed shaking at the deceased. "Heard someone mention the Floatsam Graveyard. Don't know why, or wh...what they would want there. Please?" He seemed to shrink under the gnome's stare.</p><p></p><p>Mook nodded. "Did Mar have a room here?"</p><p></p><p>Nodding frantically, the human indicated the room right across this one. His eyes went to Zayel for help, maybe he thought as his friend had been made to fall asleep by the elf, he would have better chances of survival than with the gnome. "I don't know anything about anything else, serious."</p><p></p><p>Mook seemed to believe him, as the door flew open and the man, who had been leaning against it, fell out of the room and onto his back. The oracle walked right over him to the other room, followed by her wolf "You might want to clean up the mess," she casually remarked. </p><p></p><p>"W...what about..?" the man managed, pointing to the body. </p><p></p><p>"Feed him to the fish, for all we care," Zayel answered, managing to sound like this would happen around them all the time. Maybe, he wondered, it would from now on. Tiva hurried by him, after Mook, not looking back at all. There would be nightmares, for sure. </p><p></p><p>The other room was even more of a mess, with scattered notes all over. While the wolf was watching their backs, the 3 of them went through the information as quickly as they could. It was all about the family heirloom – an otherwise undefined statue - the dwarf was looking for. It also said where to probably find it – the shipwreck of the Vaydren's Maid, which was under, so it seemed, another ship called Iron Tide. Some descriptions of the Iron Tide and directions followed, plus a few handwritten notes they couldn't read. </p><p></p><p>"Perfect," Mook, now more sounding like herself, commented. "Let's go statue hunting."</p><p></p><p>"Why? We came here to find someone, and now we know both that he's dead and where the statue is. We did our job," Tiva dared to differ. </p><p></p><p>Mook shot her an irritated look. "Someone got murdered for this statue, that should be reason enough to stop the killer. And, this seems to be a test for me. I get divine help in dealing with this folks," she indicated the other room, "to find out where it is and to get there before someone else could get their hands on it. So that's what I'll have to do." With that, she gathered the notes with the information and rushed out. </p><p></p><p>The others followed. "What you have to do," Tiva mumbled, still pale, when Mook was too far ahead to hear. "Don't seem to need our help, though."</p><p></p><p>Zayel didn't say anything. As uncomfortable as he was, he would not leave his friend alone. Mook seemed to be as confused about what was going on as he was and she might need their help, after all.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lwaxy, post: 6028491, member: 53286"] Several weeks later... In Falcon's Hollow, winter didn't seem to want to surrender. Snow and ice kept returning between thawing ice and cold rain, and no flowers or other greens wanted to poke their heads out of the ground. It was, so everyone agreed, an unnatural cold, but after the recent happenings around town, the residents were happy enough for no more danger but the daily perils. Despite the lasting cold, the Company of Chaos, how the party now named themselves – owning to the fact that they usually weren't sure what they were doing – was making preparations to leave, together with the children they had rescued from the kobold king the year before. To everyone's surprise, a message had arrived a month ago, brought by Zayel's Hawk familiar Will. The hawk had been late, having had a little trouble finding Falcon's Hollow. The relief of hearing from their friends and their adventures and the new companion they had made – or two, counting the eidolon - gave everyone fresh energy. Like themselves, their friends had used winter time to learn a lot of useful things, especially spells and some self defense. Mook insisted, though, that Zayel might be good with a bow – no doubt thanks to his elven heritage she said – but any attempts to make him better with a staff or anything else had caused so many injuries, including one she had to heal considering Zayel might want to have children some time that they had given up on it. They had sent Will back with news of their own, which had become an even longer letter than the one they had gotten. While they were ready to move on, there were some lose ends to tie up and an event to attend. The lose ends had to do with the criminal way the settlement was run. Kronk had been the first, during one of his frequent visits, to suggest they do something about it, after all, they had dealt with worse monsters. And there were a few people in town ready to help, including the son of the Lumber Consortium boss. That was the good part of their idea. The bad part was that it might involve a lot of violence, and the killing of some of the bad guys, including said Consortium boss. It was one thing fighting monsters, or even obviously evil cultists. It was something else to go against a company that was, at least at its face, operating legally. The event to attend was the a carnival returned to town, the owner being from around here originally. The owner of the caravan, a local, seemed to be of the opinion that it was time and the town did not disagree. They had been through a lot lately, and anything to take their minds off that was welcome. The same could be said for the party, especially of Zaza. In some ways, the halfling girl was incredibly tough and fearless, but facing so many things, especially undead and close quarters, had changed her somewhat. Still, she was bossing Majek around when no one but the group could see – after all, he was her half-brother. She had started doing the same to Edawon, claiming that if he was to pretend to be her brother, she would treat him accordingly. Majek had been helping setting up the carnival as they were getting short of funds, and he said he had met all sorts of creatures there. Something was, he said, a little off with the owner, one half-elf by name of Namdrin Quinn, former adventurer. The man seemed distant and somewhat depressed, with bouts of crazy energy. But the show itself would be good, the alchemist insisted. He couldn't wait to see it, and he had gotten free tickets for them and their new friends as part of his payment. The carnival was to open this weekend, which was in 2 days, and they could hardly wait. Down in Augustana, things were not going quite as well since the hawk had returned with news from their friends. Spring was coming, the snow was thawing, and the troupes quartered in the Tree Top Inn were ready to move on. Oldtown was getting new attractions by now, and even Mook didn't get many people to come around asking for their futures anymore. This left them with a money problem. They would have to pay to stay at the inn to wait for their friends, who would take a few weeks to come down to here. Mook's savings and Zayel's meager income from helping mages with potions and such were barely enough for himself, as he was mostly paid in spell components, and Tiva, who had decided to stay with them, didn't have any sort of income save getting them free food and quarters for helping at the inn while she was here. Madame Velomina had given them their share of helping to run the caravan already, and Zayel guessed that if they needed little, they could make it until the others, who had a little more money it seemed, arrived. But it would be difficult. By chance, one morning before sunup, they overheard two travelers talking at the table closest to the bar while they helped Tiva setting tables for the morning crowd yet to come. "Airk Jarigan hasn’t reported in for two weeks," a stocky swarf was saying to his half-elf companion. "He’s supposedly close to finding the artifact. If he hasn't been dreaming, that is. I shouldn't have drusted that old drunkard with retrieving something valuable, even if it is just a family heirloom. As the sun isn’t even up yet, he’s probably still asleep. I need you to go down to the Lusty Mermaid, drag Airk out of bed, and find out why he hasn’t been reporting in. More importantly, I need you to get that artifact. You’ll recognize Airk by a gold amulet he always wears around his neck. It’s of an owlbear clutching an amethyst. He should also be with his protégé, a whelp by the name of Dargo Mar. That’s all." The half-elf shook his head. "You know I like helping an old friend if needed, but in this case, I have to pass. Sorry, Hestram, but my sister is getting married this weekend and I have to be the one personally bringing the invitations. Seems like a petty reason to you, maybe, but it is tradition and I draw the short straw – literally. You know, family..." The dwarf's face fell. "S'alright, I'll find someone else to do it. I just hoped I'd not have to part with as much silver as even such simple jobs usually cost. I wish you a swift journey." As the half-elf left and the dwarf downed his coffee, Mook spontaneously stepped up to the man, in her typical gnome fashion. "We can help you," she said, indicating her friends and herself. "We've decided not to travel on with the caravan so we can use some little side job here and there. Dragging someone out of bed and finding out what they have been up to is something we're used to doing." She grinned widely. It was not even a lie, they had had to drag a few of the caravan's workers out of beds, usually those of women of ill repute, a few times during winter. The man looked about to shake his head, but then he shrugged. "As good as any, I suppose. You heard what I said, do you know where the Lusty Mermaid is?" When Mook shook her head, he began to give directions to the harbor, which the gnome had no issue memorizing. Asides, they knew town rather well by now. "I'll give you 20 silver and will pay for minor damages – not burning an inn down, mind you – as I do not have a lot of money anymore, the search for our heirloom has taken up too much of it." That wasn't much, but they had to start somewhere and it wasn't too bad for an hour or two of work, so Mook nodded. "We'll grab our stuff and be on our way immediately." Bjön and Rodawin Teltz had, by then, come to Augustana without knowing some of their party were there. After the affair at the coast, they had travelled here with some of the cavalry of Andor, where they had spent most of the winter in quiet and, thanks to them having most of the party's wealth, good comfort. As soon as spring broke, they had gotten an offer from Andoran druids in this area who had heard of them defeating the undead monstrosity. Something had gone wrong in the Verduran Forest a good distance to the east but closer to Falcon's Hollow, where they still planned on ending up. A wild-haired druid named Hemzel recently appeared at the Civic Library of Augustana and demanded access to the archive. One of the druid circle contacts followed the druid’s trail of manuscripts and discovered that Hemzel had found a lorestone, a minor artifact that when used properly in a druid circle gives the bearer all of the accumulated knowledge of the druids of the area, in this case, the Verduran Forest. This was important because the forest was said to hold treasures and the druids now feared that, with Hemzel being so cut off from anyone else, he might lose the lorestone and it would fall into the wrong hands. The Andorans were, after all, not known to treat their forests with a lot of respect.And they fey of the area were a bit of a problem as well. The two of them had accepted eagerly after they were told they could save a good deal of travel by using one of the druidic circles as teleportation circle – an information they were sworn not to reveal to any non-druids not of their party. The druid leading the Augustana group just outside the city seemed to be of the opinion that Bjön and Teltz were of importance to the future of the world, to which the paladin had replied that everyone of a good mind was of importance. Rodawin, however, sucked on is pipe looking very worried. "I don't want to be of importance," he reluctantly admitted. "It's why we had to run from home to begin with." Bjön had not been able to get anything else out of him.and had not been inclined to press the matter. At the same morning his son and his friends decided to help the dwarf for some little pay, the paladin and the bard found themselves waking up to the drizzle of early spring rain, cold and refreshing. And wet! It was far from a nice walk in the woods as Teltz had hoped. From the druid circle they had come out in, several days south of their destination, it had been a scramble through brambles, boulders, and biting insects and a misadventure of detours, torn clothes, and near falls. Fortunately, from what they could deduct from the map, this would be their last day of travel before they would arrive in the druid's place. "So," Teltz said as he gathered and magically fried their things as the sun came up. "What was that about gnomes again? Hemzel is friends with them?" "Yeah, but strangely, him and at least some of the fey folk in the area aren't friends, exactly. I am under the impression that there is some backstabbing and intrigue involved. I pray to Desna we won't get pulled into it too deep. If we're lucky, he'll heed our warning and hand the lorestone to the druidic circle of this area." "When do people ever heed warnings?" Teltz mumbled, but the dwarf didn't hear him, being busy with his morning prayers. Zayel had altered the appearances of himself and his female companions to appear older than they were. From their experiences in the city, young people were taken less serious, if heeded at all, not like in rural places where you were accepted once you've proven your ability to help the community and follow the rules. The disreputable inn they were going to was going to be worse, if anything, so they now seemed to be about 10 years older – although for Mook it was hard to tell, as with most gnomes she could have been any age but very young - and he had added a good sized beard to his own appearance. Her wolf appeared to be a limping large mutt dog with grey fur. The darkness had melted away, leaving Absalom in the gray grip of dawn. Rolling in off the sea, a chilling fog was hanging thick in the air like a cold, pale wraith seeking to steal warmth from the living. Cries of seagulls pierced the otherwise dull stillness of the Docks. A dim yellow light spilled from the stained windows of the Lusty Mermaid. The front door opened with a moan, and inside was a scattering of fisherman, returned from a predawn haul. The overwhelming stench of raw fish clung to these men, and it mingled with the savory aroma from the pot of stew hanging above a snapping fire in the hearth. The proprietor, a greasy-looking human with thick arms and an even thicker belly, looked up from behind the bar and says, “A little early for customers, isn’t it? I have stew cooking, but that’s it. If yer lookin’ fer anthin’ else, ya best shove off.” Mook who had, as long as her bracelet worked and she didn't stutter, taken on responsibility for the group as it seemed, threw a grin into the room, looking at the fishermen closely. Almost immediately, she noticed one of them, who clearly was not who they were looking for as it was an older man reeking of fish, wearing the pendant Hestam had described to them. Not a good sign, she thought, but maybe the explanation was harmless. "We're just here to pick someone up. One Arik Jaridan and his sidekick, Dargoi Mar. In fact, you must know them because you," she pointed right at the older fisherman, "have his pendant he always was so proud of for some reason. Did he get drunk again and couldn't pay his bills?" Mook was improvising, and Zayel added to it. "If he's been filling himself with drink again, he's due for another long lecture from you-know-who." "Not seen him in a while," the barkeep said, motioning with his head to the guy with the pendant. "In fact, when he gave me that t' pay fer his drinks it was the last time I saw him. Hasn't paid fer his room, either. Used the pendant to pay my own debts, I did. Now, yer can pay fer his room, if ye want, and have a look at his stuff, but that's all. I ain't the salvation squad." Zayel looked at the others and shrugged. "How much?" The keep showed a crooked smile. "A silver and 5 coppers. Ain't much of comfort here, ya see, but I ain't got no bugs or rats so that's something." The wizard fished for the coins they had been given for just such a scenario and paid the man, even one copper extra. "For being so helpful," he said, managing to sound sincere. "We know as well as anyone else how hard it is to make a living. Plus," he added with a crooked grin of his own, "these coppers ain't coming from our own pockets." The barkeep chuckled and pointed to his left. "If yer go through the first door, then take a right, it's the first door there. Be aware, Jarid ne'er cleans up. Might be a mighty mess in there." "Not a problem," Mook grinned at him. For some reason, the much taller man seemed intimidated by that smile. As they went to check the room out, they noticed that talks and laughter picked up again. They had not noticed how quiet it had become before. "Something is very much off," Zayel suggested. "Indeed," Mook agreed. "And that barkeep, he needs killing. Evil does not even begin to describe it." She opened the door to Jaridan's room and didn't notice the shocked looks of the others. "What do you mean, he needs killing? Do you suggest that we...?" "Yes," Mook said, her voice sounding hard, not at all like the young girl the wizard thought he knew. "All the gods seem to agree on that much." She seemed to be far away with her thoughts, and Zayel was wondering if it was even her talking, or if some deity of the other was talking through her. This part of her, this being an oracle, he had never been completely comfortable to begin with. "The only thing of worth here," Tiva said, having not paid attention to the others right then, "is this box with water breathing potions." She held up 7 bottles carefully. "Those could prove very valuable. Curious that he has them." "Take them." Mook turned to the girl, and her eyes seemed to glow for a second. "He won't need them anymore. He's not coming back. The barkeep and his thugs killed him." "How do you...?" Zayel started, but the stopped himself. Waving his hands in frustration, he looked like he was trying to fly off. "What do we do now?" "What thugs?" Tiva asked at the same time. "Those thugs," the gnome replied and pointed to the door which suddenly sprung open. Two black haired, badly shaved humans with rapiers which had seen better days flanked the barkeep, who was probably also the owner of the place. The man held a greatsword and seemed to be very confident with it. Tiva's eyes widened while Zayel sighed inwardly. In the stories about adventurers, there were always fighters, and every advice he had heard in their current residence was never to go anywhere without a fighter to back you up, no matter the spells you could weave. Without their currently absent friends, he found this all too true now. A growl escaped from Doodah's throat, and the wolf showed his fearsome teeth. Mook, however, seemed not to be perturbed. She turned almost in slow motion to face those foes, and as before, something in her presence was very intimidating. The three-quarter-elf remembered the happenings in the golden city, with the undead dragon, and suddenly had the feeling that it was not only Mook in there, that somehow the gods she was praying to and talking about had some sort of personal stake in this. Not that the idea of divine intervention in what seemed to be, effectively, a very mundane matter, made a lot of sense to him. It was more worrisome than relieving. The two thugs seemed to freeze for a second, looking to their boss for confirmation. The barkeep, however, stared right at Mook, wrestling with himself whether he should turn tail or not, so it seemed. Zayel knew that he would have run from the gnome, but then, he knew things their attackers didn't. One of the thugs lost his nerve and turned, but the door slammed shut right in front of him. Without wondering why Mook, if if had been her, had done that, or how, Zayel focused on the other thug, throwing a bit of sand in his direction while reciting a sleep spell. Confronted by the gnome, the human had no will to resist and dropped sleeping, the rapier slipping from his hand. Their boss, however, charged right at the oracle. Doodah jumped, biting deep into the man's sword arm. With a cry, but still holding on to his weapon, he tried to shake the beast off. There was surprise in his eyes, much like he had not registered the wolf before. He had no success, and blood started dripping to the floor. A bullet from Tiva's sling hit their wannabe assailant in the ribs – Zayel thought the girl had aimed for the hand holding the sword but the wolf and the man danced around too wildly to have been successful. Mook's oracle staff flew upward with a much better aim and hit the human right between the legs. The shouts of the man broke off, and he dropped the sword and slumped to the floor, his uninjured arm clutching his new injury. The oracle mumbled a growling sounding word to the wolf, who let go of the limb and turned, snarling, to rip the man's throat out. A moment later, only the thug who had tried to flee was still left standing, shaking and still trying to open the door. Tiva looked at the mess Doodah had made and started to vomit. She was pale as a sheet of paper. The wizard was less troubled, but the scent of blood and the ruthlessness of the act made him feel claustrophobic in the small room. The gnome went to the last man standing. "We won't hurt you if you tell us the truth. Why did you kill Jarigan? Where is his sidekick Mar?" "Mar p..paid us to k..kill the other guy. Don't kn...know where he is. Really!" "Don't lie to me!" "He... he left with some of Larro's f..friends." The man pointed shaking at the deceased. "Heard someone mention the Floatsam Graveyard. Don't know why, or wh...what they would want there. Please?" He seemed to shrink under the gnome's stare. Mook nodded. "Did Mar have a room here?" Nodding frantically, the human indicated the room right across this one. His eyes went to Zayel for help, maybe he thought as his friend had been made to fall asleep by the elf, he would have better chances of survival than with the gnome. "I don't know anything about anything else, serious." Mook seemed to believe him, as the door flew open and the man, who had been leaning against it, fell out of the room and onto his back. The oracle walked right over him to the other room, followed by her wolf "You might want to clean up the mess," she casually remarked. "W...what about..?" the man managed, pointing to the body. "Feed him to the fish, for all we care," Zayel answered, managing to sound like this would happen around them all the time. Maybe, he wondered, it would from now on. Tiva hurried by him, after Mook, not looking back at all. There would be nightmares, for sure. The other room was even more of a mess, with scattered notes all over. While the wolf was watching their backs, the 3 of them went through the information as quickly as they could. It was all about the family heirloom – an otherwise undefined statue - the dwarf was looking for. It also said where to probably find it – the shipwreck of the Vaydren's Maid, which was under, so it seemed, another ship called Iron Tide. Some descriptions of the Iron Tide and directions followed, plus a few handwritten notes they couldn't read. "Perfect," Mook, now more sounding like herself, commented. "Let's go statue hunting." "Why? We came here to find someone, and now we know both that he's dead and where the statue is. We did our job," Tiva dared to differ. Mook shot her an irritated look. "Someone got murdered for this statue, that should be reason enough to stop the killer. And, this seems to be a test for me. I get divine help in dealing with this folks," she indicated the other room, "to find out where it is and to get there before someone else could get their hands on it. So that's what I'll have to do." With that, she gathered the notes with the information and rushed out. The others followed. "What you have to do," Tiva mumbled, still pale, when Mook was too far ahead to hear. "Don't seem to need our help, though." Zayel didn't say anything. As uncomfortable as he was, he would not leave his friend alone. Mook seemed to be as confused about what was going on as he was and she might need their help, after all. [/QUOTE]
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