[IC] Halfling Quest - Rooting Around

[Tarlonniel]

Kiylea doesn't wait for Bubbles' wagon; right now she much prefers dashing on foot across Amblestock's outlying farmlands. Everything seems more alive than usual, the animals playing and basking in the sun, the plants rejoicing in strong growth under a bright blue sky. But at the same time she can't rid herself of the uncomfortable sense that there's a shadow lurking somewhere, ready to spread darkness over the lovely scene if given an opportunity. "Well it isn't gonna' get one!" she vows firmly.

Upon arriving home she finds Ma Tangleweb waiting anxiously. "Bless the goddess, child, where have you been?" Brighteyn asks, hurrying forward. "What happened to your lovely jerkin?"

"Oh Ma, you'll never guess!" And Kiylea launches into the story of their quest - somewhat edited in any part which involves her injury. Brighteyn listens with only occasional interjections, but it's obvious that she doesn't quite believe the entire story. Motherly intuition, perhaps, or it may just be the fact that Kiylea's a terrible liar... likely both. However, to her child's surprise, she asks no probing questions and makes no accusations. Just listens.

"When d'you expect to be back this time, dear?" Brighteyn inquires upon hearing of the groups' proposed new adventure. "I hardly know, Ma. Things are gone a bit wild," Kiylea replies with a smile and a shrug. She has gathered her javelins and stands on the threshold of their modest home. "I'm gonna' go see Tirrin and talk with Marigold about mending this tear. Then I'll jump over to the armory, though I don't think they've got anything I could use, and after that back to the brewery. Tell Pa 'Hi' for me. Love you." She kisses her mother and starts off. Brighteyn watches from the doorway, a thousand questions on her lips and a million vague terrors in her heart, but remains silent until Kiylea has disappeared from view. Then a soft sadness fills her eyes. "Our little girl," she says softly. "When did we lose our little girl?" "She wandered into the forest, and from it in her stead is come this woman of the woods, who walks her own paths... and whose secrets I must honor."

In a few minutes Kiylea has come to her brother's house and is beginning the whole story over again, though this time she hides nothing. Tirrin listens soberly while his wife, with skillful stitches, returns the leather to something of its original wholeness. "You've had some adventure, Leafkin. And it sounds like there's more to come," he comments at last.
"I hope so! But mostly I hope we can find what poisoned the boar," Kiylea replies as she slips back into her armor. "That's the main thing. Thanks Mari." She gives her sister-in-law a peck on the cheek.
"My pleasure. Good luck."
"Be careful."
"I will." And she's off again. After spending an hour or so looking over the armory, she returns across the fields to where she started from that morning.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Mom, Dad, Im home! You would not believe the adventure I had last night! Dad was slouched in his usual chair while mom puttered around the house humming. Dad smiled and nodded “Go on then what happened? “ I shoud have known something was wrong instead I just kept talking Merro sent us out to catch a boar that was digging up crops …
“Did you bring any of it home?” dad asked still smiling, Nope as I said it was some kind of devil boar and it wasn’t safe to eat Ringly said it might have had some bad water. Oh! Exclaimed mom and hurried off, and the cellar door opened and closed. “well Come hear then son,” said dad holding out his arms I should have known better When Eddie came forward there was a mighty thud and he went sprawling – his ear turning red from the blow “THAT WILL TEACH YOU TO STAY OUT OF MY THINGS, NOW TAKE THAT ARMOR OFF NOW!
Fine! I don’t need your old worn out armor, Merro said I could have a new suit, anyway. YOU CANT TALK TO ME LIKE THAT AS SOON AS YOU GET THE ARMOR OFF YOU GET OUT OF MY HOUSE. Fine- sullenly Eddie finishes taking off his fathers old armor he turns to leave but his mom catches him at the door. Here Eddie, I had some left over bad water, just a few drops in someone’s food or drink and they wont bother you any more. Umm , thanks mom Eddie gingerly takes the proffered vial and leaves, Its probably harmless, but I cant be to careful Eddie moves well away from the house before pouring out the vial and stashing the glass under some leaves. once I get new armor I could run away, go seek my fortune, but hen I would have to leave Kyalea, Alton, Bubbles and the rest. Maybe they would want to come with me… Eddie heads to a nearby stream to get some water to soothe his ear, and finally wanders down to the town armory.

 

[ender_wiggin]

Ringly tries to ignore his mentor's ramblings. He knew how weird Wellsly could get at times. Instead, he tries his best to concentrate on his own work.

The more he thought about it, however, the more curious he was about demonology. So much that he wanders around Wellsly's collection of books to see if he could find something on the subject.

 

[Boddynock]

Alton walks home, his mind filled with images of the night before - the appearance of the boar, its goring of Kiylea, the agonizing fact that he was too far away from his friend to prevent it, the charge, Bubbles leaping to the fray (his mind dwells on that memory for a while), the downing of the beast, his own fervent prayers and the way his hands moved decisively about the task of stanching Kiylea's wounds - "Thank you, Lady, for saving her life!"

He is glad of the chance to be alone, to come to terms with his failure to protect his friend. Briefly a chasm of despair yawns for his spirit but he feels a whisper-light touch of breeze and the warm kiss of the sun - and then, although still appalled at how easily it could have ended badly, he takes heart from the Lady's presence with them, and even feels some pride at how they had together achieved what they had set out to do.

By the time he reaches Amblestock Alton is more upbeat. Although more tired than he wanted to admit, he takes time out to visit his mother at the Bakery before heading home. She is very busy but he still manages to give her the thumbs up, and to let her know that he would be going out for training before she got home. She smiles at him, secretly relieved and not a little proud of her fine, tall son. She would let him know just how proud later - for now, it was enough to beckon him over and hand him a steaming meat pasty - "For your father and you both, mind." He grins at her, and pantomimes tucking in as he leaves the shop. In the corner, Hugh Highdumple snorts quietly before meeting Talia's eye and smiling at her. A moment later, Hugh's eyes are closed and he begins to snore, ever so gently.

After a long lunch with his father, who listens attentively to Alton's recounting of their adventures and asks a few penetrating questions about the boar and Welsly's theories about its origins, Alton lies down to rest. A couple of hours later he wakes, stretches luxuriously, and realizes that he'll be in good time to swing by the armoury before heading back to train with the others. After packing up his gear - he decides to wear his armour again, because it is easier than carrying it - he makes his way to see Mero.

 

[hafrogman]

Jerran has the decency to look slightly ashamed at Bubbles' words. She was right, he'd been worried about people making demands on him for the future, when really they were toying with something that might not leave much of a future to begin with. He looks down for a while, considering her words, and his own life up until this point. He looks up just in time to catch Bubbles leaving, before she gets too far he grabs her lightly by the arm and turns her to face him. He looks into her eyes and speaks with a reassuring smile on his face.

"Hey, you can count on me."


He lets her go then, watching as she goes off to run her errands. Once she's gone far enough he lets the smile slip from his face, and it's a more serious look that graces his visage as he whispers to himself.

"because there's no way I'm going to let you go off and get yourself hurt while there's anything I can do to prevent it."



Jerran wanders home and deposits his armor and weapons on his bed before wandering off to have a nice long bath. He hauls up some water and heats it up over the hearth fire, eventually filling himself a tub for his bathing. He sits stewing in the water, scrubbing at the dirt and blood left from the previous night's excersizes. Eventually, he climbs out again and gets dressed. He finds himself sitting in his room, staring out the window at the life of the village below. He watches people go about their daily chores, and watches the children playing. Eventually his gaze returns inside and falls upon the pile of leather and metal on his bed.

With a new sense of resolve he goes to work on his gear, polishing and sharpening his daggers and buffing his armor until the leather shines. Eventually he straps it all back on his body, and it is a gleaming new Jerran who walks his way through the village towards the training session.

 

[Ferrix]

The Armory

For those who arrive at the armory, Mero has already been quite busy inspecting and going through the meager supplies Amblestock has to provide its soldiers. Not a particularly busy time for new recruits, there is little in the way of surplus equipment; although Mero seems to have some things in mind that he has laid out in bundles.

Alton: [sblock]As you enter the armory, Mero gives you a broad smile, "well, glad you could make it my boy. I think I may indeed have a piece of equipment that may fit your large frame, think it used to belong to a gnome really, but I can't remember exactly." He unfurls the bundle of cloth lying atop a set of boxes revealing a suit of armor, strips of metal overlay each other upon a backing of leather and reinforced with sections of chain. It's a simple design really, although more effective than the scale mail which you wear. "Veryl patched it up a while ago, although none of the recruits would fit it properly, with a bit of adjusting, these straps here," he tugs on a leather strap, "do that, should fit you just fine. Banded mail she called it, too bulky anyways for my taste, but you may like it."

OOC: Gain a suit of banded mail.

[/sblock]

Eddie: [sblock]Upon entering the armory, you find Mero sorting through a pile of unstrung shortbows talking to himself, "bah... they'll figure it out..." he stands up, leaving the pile of shortbows to its mess and turns to go about some other business when he notices you. "Ah! Eddie Mossback, quiet on your feet you are. Where's your armor my boy? Ah, well it doesn't matter, don't need to hear the story. Let me see," he steps over to the counter and picks up a bundle, "try this one, one of the best suits we have for our best scouts, moves without a creak." He tosses the bundle to you, which you catch, the cloth drops open, and you notice its a supple leather dyed a mottled series of greys, with small black iron studdings along various areas for additional protection. "You may also want to grab one of these, that sling isn't going to do you much good at real range." He gestures towards the mess of shortbows.

OOC: Gain a shortbow, quiver w/20 arrows & a masterwork suit of studded leather

[/sblock]

Kiylea: [sblock]As the door to the armory swings open, Mero looks up at you from a stool, in his lap rests a longsword which he is sharpening. "Kiylea, glad to see you. I've a few things that may be of some use to you," he finishes one last pass with the whetstone and slips the longsword into a sheath. He sets it down upon the counter next to a pair of bundles, one slightly more bulky, the other nearly as tall as him. He unfurls the tall one and you smile, a finely polished longbow like the one Coyo carries and a leather quiver of full of arrows. "Seems more appropriate for you," he then unfolds the cloth from the bulky bundle, a buckler of steel rests atop a shirt of steel chain. "The shirt should fit a woman of your physique, and it's been a while since we've had one around in the militia, it'd just be gathering dust. And the buckler, well, it's a good idea in any case." He picks up the longsword he was sharpening and hands it to her, "might be a good idea if you had something a bit more trusty should anything get in too close again." He smiles, "your mother would worry herself to death if something like this happened again."

OOC: Gain a chain shirt, a longsword, a buckler, quiver w/20 arrows, & a composite (+1 str) longbow

[/sblock]

Bubbles: [sblock]As you enter the armory, Mero is oiling a chainshirt with a cloth, looking up, he sets it aside and smiles. "Quite the mess you get those boys into," he chuckles and then walks over to the counter, "least Finn never did convince you to join the militia, you cause enough boys to stumble over each other that we don't need that." This last bit is said with a playful sincerity, you are pretty certain that if you had joined the militia it would probably be true, although you know quite well that even Mero might stumble. He turns back towards you, "seems like the rest of your group aren't going to be able to make it down here before the training, if you could bring some things up to them for me, it'd be appreciated." He folds the chainshirt, then places it in cloth, tying it to make a relatively neat bundle. "This one, is for Jerran," he stacks an oddly shaped bundle atop it, "and this, for Ringly, you may want to show him how to use it." As you collect the two packages, he smiles, "almost forgot, this one, is for you," he reaches behind the counter and draws out a shortsword in a dark crimson leather scabbard. "One of the best blades Veryl's ever made. Keep good care of it."

OOC: Gain: masterwork shortsword. Jerran's Bundle: masterwork chainshirt. Ringly's bundle: Light crossbow, 10 bolts, & a dagger.

[/sblock]

Ringly: [sblock]You peruse Wellsly's library, eventually picking out a pair of books you think should relate to demonology. A two volume set entitled "The Princes of the Dark: Devils and the Lower Planes," the first volume is a summary of the various sorts of devils most commonly referred to in the arcane literature, as well as more detailed account of some of the lesser varieties and fiendish creatures, the second volume talks more about the nature of the lower planes, some of the theoretical effects that their environments have upon arcane magic, and so on. The two books together would probably take you a week to properly read, although with the margin notes of Wellsly, you can get at least some basics without too much effort.

As you examine the first volume in more detail, the door to Wellsly's private study creaks open and he emerges with a small satchel in his hands, "ah! You are still here, excellent. I've got a thing or two for you I think," you sigh internally, "let's see here..." As he approaches he pauses for a moment, adjusts his spectacles, and says "ah yes! Good choice my boy, Princes of the Dark, do read the margin notes, they'll speed things along quite a bit for you. Oh, yes, almost forgot." He hands you the satchel, "these may help you a bit, the first is a scroll I had lying around, you should be able to get your head around it pretty easily. The other bit, well, it's been a while since I've had use for it, don't break it though, they are fragile." You peer into the satchel and can make out a wooden scrolltube and a thin wand of a greyish wood. "The scroll creates a cloud of glittering motes, can blind and disorient creatures, be careful not to drop it on your friends. The wand there creates a slick patch on almost any surface, gives a running creature quite the start when they go flying on to their rump, indeed!" He is definately quite content with himself, "oh, aren't you going to the training, you might miss it."

OOC: Gain: Scroll of Glitterdust (CL 3), Wand of Grease (10 chg., CL 1)

[/sblock]

OOC: Whoever decides to arrive at the training, you can roleplay your arrivals at the Greenbottle Brewery.

 

[Boddynock]

Alton's eyes light up at the sight of the new armour. He glances at Mero, unsure of whether it is really his, then, when Mero smiles and nods, he loses no time in stripping off his own gear and putting on the banded mail. With Mero's help he makes the adjustments which mean that the steel bands sit snugly on his torso, then strides around the room, getting used to the distribution of weight and assessing the increased defensive capabilities of the suit. He notes that it is more restrictive than his scale mail but also only slightly heavier. He can't wait to try it out in the training session.

Well pleased with his new acquisition, he turns to Mero and says, "Thank you, sir. This is wonderful. As for my own armour, may I leave it with you? After all, it's a good suit, and it may be of use to someone else in the militia." Then, again assailed by doubt that he is misreading the situation, he adds, "And if you want this banded mail back when we have finished our mission, I know that mine will have been well cared for."

"Oh no," he thinks, "that sounds really patronising." Confused, he looks down at his feet and mutters, "Er, I'll just give the scale mail a final polish before I head off to the training session."

Stripping off the banded mail, he retires to a corner of the room and cleans and polishes the scale before returning it to Mero. He then puts on his new! armour again and goes off to train with the others.

***​

When he arrives at the Brewery, he finds the usual bustle of a busy day but none of his friends in evidence. Rather than disturb the workers, he finds a clear space out of the way and practises his combat moves - getting used to the momentum the armour builds up, the amount of energy he needs to expend for the more ambitious moves, the way that he needs to adjust the angles of his shield and sword just so to compensate for the increased bulkiness of the armour. So engrossed is he in his practice that he doesn't realise that at some point he has attracted an audience ...

 

[ender_wiggin]

Ringly had to admit; Wellsly was always generous, and his tone was always kind. Over the years, these attributes had somewhat balanced his idiosyncrasies.

"Thank you kindly, Mister Ironspoke. These arcane items are greatly appreciated; I'm sure they'll help me in my studies." Ringly, but inwardly he simply wished that Wellsly would leave sooner.

"The brewery! Of course. We were to meet there; the others wanted to practice fighting. I hardly think I'm the type they need, but I suppose it's best if I attend anyway."

Ringly humbly thanks the man again, and leaves as soon as he can.

 

[hafrogman]

Jerran wanders over to the Greenbottle brewery only to find that Alton is the only one present to view his spectacular enterance. And the paladin is so engrossed in his own practice that the spectacle is entirely wasted.

Jerran looks around for a little bit, mostly at a loss for how to proceed. Alton's heavy sword play is not something that ever interested him, really he didn't have the build for it. Jerran briefly considers his daggers, they were stylish enough, and certainly had proved effective against the boar, but over all they weren't much of a weapon. The crossbow had much more power even if it lacked grace.

Eventually he gives up and watches Alton for a bit, but he quickly gets bored again. He grins to himself and wanders a ways from the young paladin. Time to try a trick he learned from old Evan. He slips a small piece of wire out of his pouch and walks over to a fence, facing away from Alton. A quick flick of his hand and a few muttered words. . . then he nochalantly leans up against the fence and tucks his hand under his other arm, pointing back at Alton.

[Alton]

Spoiler

You clearly hear Jerran's voice whisper in your ear. "Can you hear me now?". But if you look in his direction, he's quite a distance away and seems to be watching the streets in a completely different direction.

[/Alton]

[ooc - casting the message spell]

 

[Boddynock]

Alton is attempting a particularly ambitious set of moves when he stumbles, caught unaware by the sound of Jerran's voice in his ear. Berating himself for being so engrossed that he allowed someone to come up close behind him, he spins around ... only to see that Jerran is over by the fence, looking in the opposite direction.

Puzzled, he calls out, "Jerran, was that you? I was sure I heard your voice." As he speaks, he sheathes his sword and crosses to stand beside the young bard.