Staret Liiros Tivaniel of the Aquilline Cross
Liiros sighs and mumbles something quietly in Elven. He dons his brown, hooded cloak to slightly lessen the nuisance of the rain out here, but wonders idly if Indomitability's odd 'gift' might keep the group warm enough not to catch a cold out here.
He advises the others not to buy anything they don't really need here. He buys 1 map of the swamp for his group and hands it to Hollister, or anyone else in the group with a map-case or scoll-case. He suggests the group buy a rowboat and 2 oars so they can cross the swamp more easily. Liiros will contribute 40 GP towards the boat, and will buy 1 oar himself for 5 gp; so the rest of the group just needs to contribute 65 gp in total, if they're going to take the boat. Liiros refuses to pay anyone to carry the boat out; he insists that he, Torrent, Hollister, and Lytha can carry it (plus, it can double as a temporary rain-shelter when we carry it overhead!).
"Shaylir, do you think you could sit on someone's lap in the rowboat? They look too cramped for all of us to fit in. Torrent and I will likely have to do the rowing, but perhaps you could share a seat with Lytha?"
After hearing her response, Liiros asks the group to please bear with him for the rest of the day. He needs to help the refugees at least a bit before moving on; he cannot leave them to suffer in this cold rain while greedy villagers charge outrageous prices for supplies.
Liiros buys 8 deerhide tents (or fewer, if there aren't enough available) and brings them to some of the refugee families, passing them out to those who seem the most in-need. Then he purchases 2 platinum pieces worth of food in Vidor (or less, if there's not that much food for sale in Vidor right now) and brings the food out to the refugees, asking Hollister, Lytha, Shaylir, and Torrent to help with carrying the food out.
Liiros gathers the refugees around and offers what condolences and encouragement he can, telling a few jokes about the cold north and some miscellaneous (derogatory and crude, given the subject
jokes from his homeland about orcs, half-orcs, and goblins. He tells (drastically changed and exaggerated) tales of his adventures and blows them well out of proportion, while carefully leaving out anything related to his real mission or anything else that could be problematic if it got out.
He assures the refugees that Knights of the Aquilline Cross are assembling and doing what they can to protect and support folks who've suffered under the Ragesian Inquisition, and that Shahalesti also seeks to settle the unrest in Ragesia that lead to this horrible Scourge. He encourages them to continue traveling and head for other towns in the south. He sings glorious and beautiful elven songs and a few simpler, rowdier, human tavern-songs to lift the refugees' spirits. He dances with the children in the rain and tries to cheer them up with simple games and humor..........perhaps helped by the fact that he sings and dances terribly today, slipping on wet ground and almost making it a slapstick comedy, perhaps making the refugees lack at his apparent incompetence as an entertainer......? He even gives the refugees a few short lessons with examples of basic swordplay, knife-fighting, and fisticuffs, so they can defend themselves a little better if they need to.
Finally, Liiros looks for any trees in the vicinity of the town that he could chop down using the heavy old greatsword recovered near Gate Pass. A proper hatchet would be preferable, but Liiros wasn't in the habit of chopping down trees. He plans to try chopping down a few trees to drag over and build temporary shelters for some of the refugees, after requesting their help in this task, of course.
He asks Shaylir if she can find any suitable plants or natural materials in the vicinity to use as covering over the stick or log shelters.
