Clutches of Evil - IC: Chapter One

[unleashed]

Keryth, Male Drakontos Cleric

“He’s currently helping his herdmate with a task, never fear he will join us on our quest as will his herdmate...I have brought along several of my other companions though. Certainly I’m ready to meet with your superiors, I wouldn’t wish to keep them away from their daily tasks.”

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Keryth, Pwent:

At Keryth's sense of urgency, the acolyte bows deeply to Destiny and Pwent and in the same motion steps backwards. As he stands up to his full height he whispers, "Follow me, then. I will not keep either of you waiting on my account."

Leaving the entryroom, the acolyte leads the party down a narrow hallway. Along the hallway there are various priests and commoners praying in the rooms. Many of the priests wear symbols on their person of Heironeous.

The acolyte silently leads the party to the end of the hallway and then down a spiral staircase in which the only possible direction to travel is down. At the bottom of the winding staircase the party finds itself in another corridor jsut as narrow as the first. The moisture in the air asserts that this level is indeed fully underground. The acolyte leads you to the final door along the hallway. Knocking on the door, the acolyte awaits a response.

"Come!" Shouts a voice from inside. The acolyte hurriedly opens that door and steps inside, beginning to speak immediately. "I bring the dragon-priest and a few of his adventurers we spoke of earlier, sirs. They are interested in hearing of our troubles with ..."

"I know why they are hear, acolyte. Your service is well noted. You are dismissed."

As the acolyte leaves, he adds, "There are a few more to come, apparently. Shall I bring them to you when they arrive?"

The other voice answers, "Indeed."

Entering the room Pwent and Keryth see two clerics of obviously high religious order. The higher ranking of the two is human in appearance while the other cleric is dwarven. They both stand as Keryth enters the room, but they do not bow. The human speaks, "Heironeous greets you, dragon-priest. You wear your faith proudly, that is something to be respected. I am Braachus, cheif priest of this temple. My associate is Dhorgrad, my second. How may we be of your service this day?"

 

[unleashed]

Keryth, Male Drakontos Cleric

Keryth bows his head to both priests before answering their query, “A pleasure to meet two so high in Heironeous’ favour, your attendance on this matter honours me. I am Keryth and these are two of my companions Destiny and Thibbledorf Pwent, we also have two Bous with us though they are on another task at the moment, reacquiring an item stolen from one of them when we were all robbed the other evening. Now to the matter at hand...I and my companions were hoping to be of some assistance to you, if you would be interested in our aid, in finding out what has happened to your uncommunicative temple. The acolyte which just led us here informed us of that much yesterday, but knew no more. So if you do wish our aid in this task we would be most appreciative of some specifics, most importantly where the temple may be found and who we should be looking for.”

 

[jkason]

Byntrou, sorcerous barbarian

He chuckles a bit and continues, "Well, I return this to you, sir. Unfortunately, I have no other leads on the remaining stolen equipment. I hope our services have satisfied you enough that if you should get further leads on your equipment and they are within the jurisdiction of our town - you will inform us so tat we may help in their recovery? I'd also like to see where this trail of Black Market merchants goes ... if we can stop the merchants, perhaps we can also stop the robberies."

Byn smiles softly as takes the bow in his hands, carefully inspecting it before returning it to its regular place slung on his back. He bows deeply to Filgar, his hands open and arms spread to his sides in a Bous gesture of respect.

"Chanuk Gai*, Filgar, from both myself and my ancestors. I owe you a great debt."

When he rises, Byntrou turns to glance at Bahruul, his smile taking a much more wry aspect. Turning back to Filgar he adds, "Perhaps this will go some way to making a partial repayment: I would suggest that a close audit of the Merchant Dreeves' associates and dealings of late might provide ... enlightenment, if you catch my meaning."

Byn can feel Delcoi's amusement mirror his own as he turns to leave. The goblin he and his associates will tackle alone, of course (and as he's outside the humans' jurisdiction, there should be little interference), but the thought of providing Dreeves further inconvenience was too good to pass up.

"With that, I shall leave you to your very much appreciated work. My herdmate and I have another appointment to keep this morning. May it prove as beneficial as this one."

*OOC:[sblock] Given the independant nature of Boes, their society is held together by a heavy emphasis on personal obligations. There are many forms of gratitude in Bous society, each carrying a different level of said obligation on behalf of the Bous offering it. While there are higher levels than Chanuk Gai, they are reserved for close friends and family. Chanuk Gai is the highest level of gratitude a Bous might extend to a casual acquaintance or relative stranger.[/sblock]

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Bahruul, Byntrou:

As Bahruul and Byntrou take their leave, Filgar can be head mumbling, "The merchant Dreeves ... why, just last night he was involved in a conflict with a cleric of Bahamut, a human berserker, and two ... ah, right now. I believe I catch your meaning ..." As Bahrull and Byntrou head out of the building Filgar heads back to the back room walking with a purpose.

[Sblock]OOC: I'm not advancing the plot too much here to allow Bahruul and Byntrou the flexibility of going to the bowmakers' guild or to head straight to the temple. Or - some other task if that is desired. Daz, if you two decide to head to the temple, it is safe to assume Bahruul remembers the way and can get there to meet with the acolyte at the door.[/Sblock]

Keryth, Pwent:

The high priest replies in a very business-like tone. "Ah, the temple in Foothills*, then. Yes, we have been extremely discouraged by reports coming out of that villiage. It is believed that the government of that tiny town has become corrupted from the mayor down. As far as how the people themselves are, we cannot be sure. The last report we had was that the head priest of that temple was encountering resistance to his daily proclamations for the greatness of Heironeous. The wealthy in the town were especially adjitated by his daily messages. He asked for assistance from nearby temples, but no assistance came. He then asked for assistance from any temple of Heironeous in the land, and a few responded. All the priests who have been sent there to investigate have not been heard from since. If you are willing to undertake a quest, I could manage to collect what funds we can gather and provide for your travel. We are a small town ourselves with minimal resources. But my priests can provide holy water, food, and perhaps even a few scrolls if that would be needed."

*Foothills:
[Sblock]Foothills is a very small suburb of Dullstown - in the northern most extreme of the kingdom of Barghast. While Foothills is only a meager 500 people in population, Dullstown is the 2nd largest city in the regency under the control of Regent Colvert.[/Sblock]

 

[unleashed]

Keryth, Male Drakontos Cleric

“Well any assistance you could provide for the quest would be appreciated, however we would not claim it until we were ready to pursue the problem with our full attention. How far from Theropa is Dullstown anyway? For if it is a fair distance it is not something we will be able to pursue immediately as we first must handle a local problem, hopefully it will finish with the creature we seek to confront, but you can never be sure in these matters...”

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Pwent, Keryth:

The dwarven second smiles briefly and adds, "Dullstown is many days into the north. Foothills is a few hours journey beyond that. I mean not to sound overshadowed in negativity, but if you are planning on pursuing this matter I would recommend that you take care of the business that you have here and say your goodbyes. Even if you are successful, you will be gone many long days."

Braachus nods in agreement. "If you need a few days, that will only help us to help you prepare for this journey. I do not mean to presume your acceptance, but if you give us a minimum of two days to help you prepare, we may provide a few potions and scrolls if you would like. As a cleric, I am sure you are aware of what my priests of the temple may do. At any time you may make a request - I will determine if it is possible."

[Sblock]The offer is for potions/scrolls of 1st level spells. Keryth would understand this as the general capability of a typical temple acolyte/priest here.[/Sblock]

 

[D20Dazza]

"Well done Petik it must feel good to have retrieved your bow" Bahruul says as he leads the way down the street "Now I did offer my strength to the church yesterday so let's see if we can't catch up with out friends eh?"

 

[unleashed]

Keryth, Male Drakontos Cleric

Keryth considers the words of both priests before replying, “Well before undertaking such a long journey I would need to discuss it with the rest of our group...they shouldn’t be too far behind actually, so we may be able to give you a definitive decision shortly. Currently I’m inclined for the time being to leave the task unaccepted until we return and find ourselves with ample time to pursue your quest, as I would hate to give my word that we will assume the task you have presented us with, only to find I cannot keep it immediately.”

Pausing for several moments to gauge their reaction, Keryth then explains his reasoning. “To put your minds at ease that it’s not the length of the quest or that we find it unworthy, I will detail the task that occupies our thoughts and time currently. We are at the moment in pursuit of a goblin that paid to have us robbed, and we’ve heard that the robbery may have been associated with some form of prophecy so you’ll understand why I’d currently rather not commit our services to any long journeys until that is resolved.”

Knowing that the preparations may be a moot point, he decides to discuss that eventuality as well just in case. “As for the preparations, well I’m sure we could use at least a few days rest after our business with the goblin and its minions before moving on...assuming that task we currently pursue doesn’t lead us to a greater problem. So I would imagine any preparations could begin when we return from our goblin hunt.”

 

[jkason]

Byntrou, sorcerous barbarian

"Well done Petik it must feel good to have retrieved your bow" Bahruul says as he leads the way down the street "Now I did offer my strength to the church yesterday so let's see if we can't catch up with out friends eh?"

"Indeed, herdmate," Byn agrees, hand falling to touch the bow again. "And we two should make good time to the temple, I should think. No doubt the others were slowed somewhat by our small companion--though that's no fault of hers, to be sure. I think it best to hold off visiting the bowmaking guild for a little while, anyway. I suspect having been outmaneuvered by a Boes won't sit particularly well with the guildmaster; best to let him cool down before approaching him about work if it comes to it."

As they walk, Byn retrieves the longbow he got at Endoo's store, holding it forth.

"You know, petik, now that I've my own bow again, I don't see much need to keep this other. We haven't the gold to pay Endoo the rental, though, so we can't quite return it. Could you make use of it, perhaps?"