D20:Modern. Dark City Explorers Company.

[Mordane76]

"Dragons, Elementals... where did you run into such magnificent creatures," Finneas inquires. "Such creatures are legends... I mean, the backwater peoples have numerous rumors of their existance, but most civilized people haven't seen such things in almost an eon."
Pausing barely for breath, "I would so love to document your journeys; they would make an excellent addition to my findings, especially if we could capture some photographic evidence of such mystical monsters."


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[Orochi]

The good Father slowly turns his gaze away from Finneas, not sure immediately if he believes this assertion, but in the ends he decides to help himself to a few treats to whet the appetite as he waits for the meal to come, smiling at the hostess as he gathers up a handful of cookies and eats them almost too quickly for the eye to see before he responds.

"You're a kind and gracious host to this humble preacher, Ms. Bloome"

He polishes off most of the remaining cookies as he listens to Froederick talking and Finneas's response.

"I doubt it will be easy, if you can even find such things. Satan's minions rarely stand still for photographs. At least before they're properly shot and scalped. Of course, that's just been my experience with his human, and I use the term loosely, servants, so maybe his more fantastic ones will be more obliging."

 

[Radiant]

She has a distant look to them for a moment, and she shakes her head slightly. [color= Darkorchid]“Woolgathering again,”[/color] she smiles wistfully and allows her eyes to wander over the group. When her eyes fall on Gen they widen slightly, [color= Darkorchid]“Come and get some food child, and leave that weapon alone – no harm will come to you in my home.”[/color] Her voice manages to be both stern and gentle at the same time, and she gestures to the tray of cookies. [color= Darkorchid]“Please help yourselves. If any of you wish to join me after our meeting,”[/color] she glances at Father William with a smile, well aware of his reputation for enjoying a well-cooked meal, [color= Darkorchid]“there is indeed a roast waiting.”[/color]

edit: spelling

Gen slowly takes her hands to her sides again and takes the chance to grab some of the cookies and eat them in record time.
"Sure, whatever you say Lady."
She curiously looks at Ms. Bloome at the invitation, wondering what the hell the women will want in return. No one had ever given food out for free as far as she remembers.

 

[Mordane76]

"Have you done some shooting and scalping of the more fantastic minions of Satan, Good Father?" Finneas responds. "I'm far more acquainted with preachers being pulpit-thumpers than I am with them being gunslinging pugilists."

 

[Jarval]

"Minions of Satan? I do wonder what books you read..." Andrew grins at Father William. "But it sounds like you've run into some pretty dangerous creature out there, Baron. None close to the city, I hope?"

He leans back in his chair, ill at ease with the opulent surroundings and the (to him at least) large company. He self-consiously tries to wipe his hands a little cleaner on his jacket, before taking one of the offered cups of tea.

"So, what's the business?" He says abruptly, cutting across Finneas and Father William's talk. "I'd guess that there are at least a couple of us you wouldn't have asked here just for the company."

 

[Orochi]

"I concern myself with Devils in human form, good sir. Such mythical beasts, wherever they may dwell, have not yet warranted the attention of the local government, and I have several causes to raise funds for that demand a certain...gratuity for services rendered. Of course, there was Lizard Mallik, who certainly was crossbreed with something distinctly reptilian. And I'll have you know that I can pound a pulpit with the best of them, but I find that a truely harden sinner is more likely to respond to a more personal aquaintance with the Lord's wrath"

He pats his holstered pistol and grins.

 

[Tanstaafl]

Ms. Bloome smiles, [color= Darkorchid]“Down to buisiness then.” [/color]She sets her tea cup on the nearby table and places her hands on the arms of her chair. “You may have heard rumors about the expiedition that caused my injuries, I’ve heard several colorful ones myself. The reality was far less interesting. Reginald (God rest his soul) and I had taken a small team to a sight where there were some ruins, several locals had come to us with interesting bits,” she waves her hand at a tray, sitting on the desk on the opposite side of the room. “We scouted the area without finding much, it looked as though a great deal of looting had happened and we were just about to leave. Junior called out that he’d found something and we all gathered around him, he’d found an entrance that was blocked by a large metal door. We spent several hours attempting to open the door. When we finally succeeded it was very late in the day, Reginald consuled waiting for morning but several hours of wandering the site without finding anything followed by a lot of work in the hot sun made us impatient and we talked him into moving on. We had gone about eighty feet down the tunnel, it sloped slightly and made two sharp turns; we’d already discovered a few interesting items and were becoming hopeful and excited.

“Reginald was in front, he turned to say something to Junior and the entire ceiling colapsed. I was in the back, and only the fact that I froze instead of leaping forward saved me. A timber fell on me, pinning my legs, and I was struck by many of the large rocks. When the dust had settled I called out for help, after some time I became convinced that no one else had survived – there was no answere to my calles and I did not hear any of the rubble sifting. I began moving rocks and debris. I am not sure how long it took me to crawl out of the tunnel – at the time I still had some slight use of my legs, my physician believes that I did further damage to the injury on my journey home. I released all of the horses except one and managed to pull myself onto that horse. I do not remember the treck home – my next coherent memory is of Honey and Elspeth lifting me up off the ground. It has taken me these last six months to recover my health and although I had once hoped to be able to return to the site and investigate, if only to bring back the bodies of my family and comrads for a decent burial, I find myself physically unable to do so. I would like to hire you, all of you, to do so for me.

“I will provide you with a map and supplies as well as compensating you for your time.”

 

[Mordane76]

"How far are these ruins from the city?" Finneas asks, pauses to think for a moment, and then continues on. "How many people were in your original team? Did you and your husband surmise the approximate age of the ruins? Did you lock down a period, possibly? Did you and your team encounter any difficulty on the trip to the ruins? Such information would be very useful in preparing for possible scenarios in the journey to and from these ruins."

 

[Tanstaafl]

Ms. Bloom answers Finneas, "The site is about 12 days journey from town, perhaps more if the weather is uncoorperative. Our team encountered only mild difficulty in reaching it, a large portion of the area traveled is unsettled and wild - there are both human and animal scavangers who have claimed the area."

She pauses for a moment, There were four of us, myself, Reginald, Junior, and Frank Jinke - who was Reginald's assistant. None of the artifacts that we had collected were still with me when I arrived back in Heolster, but I believe the site was very old - perhaps one of the oldest I've seen."

 

[Radiant]

"How far are these ruins from the city?" Finneas asks, pauses to think for a moment, and then continues on. "How many people were in your original team? Did you and your husband surmise the approximate age of the ruins? Did you lock down a period, possibly? Did you and your team encounter any difficulty on the trip to the ruins? Such information would be very useful in preparing for possible scenarios in the journey to and from these ruins."

Gen still munches down as much food as she can get her hands on.
"Yeah, that would help. Just need to know the area, can get you there."
She looks over the assembled group and sighs.
"And I guess most even alive."