[LANAI] The Rod of Seven Parts: Into the Crucible

[hafrogman]

Rhys almost sets the bartender back down again. Reaching for the disc around his neck, he is about to offer his own services to save a trip when he realizes that it might not be best to announce his fealty in such a public setting. Frane is in no immediate danger it seems. Rhys's hand drops away.

"Yes, the healing halls. I will seek out your sister for you."

Shaking his head, he repacks his healing supplies and gathers his discarded gear around him as he uses the shaft of his spear to pull himself to his feet. He helps the ailing Frane out into the taproom. Leaving him at the bar for a moment, he goes in search of Vaja.

"Blood calls to blood. I did all I could for your brother, I believe he will survive, but he asks for you."

Returning to the taproom, Rhys is transfixed by the sight of Arden facing down the yellow dog. A flash of whatever struck him upon entering the bar returns and he once again ponders the creature's significance.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Arden looks into the yellow dog's eyes but try as she might, she can't decipher want the animal wants. The dog is simply too different from the forest animals with whom she's accustomed to speaking. Unlike most of the mongrels in the warehouse district, the dog seems healthy, and only a little bit dirty. The animal nudges Arden's hand, the same one that had held the wand a bit earlier. While Arden is engaged with the yellow dog, Yssal trots back behind the bar. Wyleck hears a series of quick crunches, followed by the click of Yssal's toenails on the wooden floor. When Yssal reappears, it is with an 8 inch black hoary segment of spider leg clamped in his mouth and look of supreme pride in his eyes.

When Rhys goes outside to fetch Vaja, he notes the crimson tabards of what looks to be four pikemen from the Teggestian Guard rapidly approaching down the byway. Vaja nods at Rhys, saying, "My thanks for tending Frane. After the terror in the street here, I'm sure no one's likely to venture into the bar while I have a word with the Guard. Tell Frane to go ahead to Madriel's Halls of Healing and not to worry. He keeps the coin locked in a box chained to the floor, anyway. The most anyone could make off with'd be a few clay tankards. You go on, I'll be back inside shortly."

 

[Brain]

Arden starts to walk around behind the bar, so she'll be closer to an alternate exit. She also brings the wand in hand, watching what the dog does. If he doesn't follow, she'll say to it gently, "Come on, come with me. We'll figure out what you want with this thing."

ooc: [sblock]Arden is ready to make a retreat to avoid the guard if that's what the group wants to do. She's trying to get the dog to follow, and will pack away the wand before leaving the establishment.[/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

Rowan slides his hand along the brim of the derby-style hat that he wears. A nervous look is obvious on his face. "Is there a back way out of this place?"

 

[pallandrome]

"Such things can typically be found through the kitchen. If you all will follow me?" Wyleck strides quickly through the crowd and into the kitchen, looking for the back door through which the wood is invariably brought in the keep the stove burning. As he passes Arden's new friend, he makes a quick, surreptitious inspection of the animal. He had previously assumed that Yssal had picked up a friend somewhere, but so far, the golden dog had shown distinctly curious behavior...

 

[CanadienneBacon]

The yellow dog wags its tail at Arden and gets up to follow her. Wyleck casts a passing glance at the dog. The creature seems well-fed, if a little dirty. The dog's mannerisms are completely at odds with the normal behaviour of most city mongrels and its eyes belie keen intelligence and kindness.

Through the kitchen and past the stonework hearth that cook used to bake and stew all manner of edible concoctions, a door inset into the kitchen's south wall stands ajar. The cloying stench of urine from an outhouse greets those who exit the Cockatrice via the kitchen door. In the back of the Cockatrice, a narrow strip of garden in which herbs, lettuces, and carrots look to be grown stands thoroughly torn apart. The lettuces are shredded, the carrots are uprooted, and nary a sprig of any of the herbs still stands, for the earth in the garden is rent. In front of the empty three-stall horse and pony stable lies a dead boy, his chest torn open and several ribs exposed so that the whites of the bone show. It takes a second or two to set in, but the boy is reconizable as Schrute, the Cockatrice's stablehand. In life, the stableboy was a quiet soul of perhaps 14.

 

[hafrogman]

With a glance over his shoulder to the approaching guards, Rhys returns inside. He moves to Frane's side to relay Vaja's message.

"Your sister is going to be busy with the guards for a while it seems. She bid you be on your way to Madriel's."

He dithers for a moment about whether to leave the bar or not. Presumably the guards had already seen him as he went outside. Nonetheless he walks to the back door with the others as they leave, seeing them on their ways. The sight of the fallen stableboy hits him hard, as a grim expression falls over his face.

He bends down to close the child's eyes and rises again, one hand to his chest as he once again murmers a few words over the fallen.

"Time and tide move ever forward. The flow of the ocean cannot be halted. May you find peace wherever the currents bear you."

 

[Rhun]

Rowan casts only a brief look at the body of the boy in the courtyard. With a shake of his head, the halfing moves on toward the exit.

 

[Brain]

Absorbed by the dog, Arden doesn't notice the boy's body until she almost stumbles on it. Giving a startled gasp, she looks at the others with a worried expression. "This is a bad scene. Where are we going?"

 

[pallandrome]

His face turns stony as the group passes the body of the boy. "The old city forest. I've got some friends in there, and it should provide us with what seclusion we may require while we discuss potential ramifications and future courses of action. Additionally, it might serve as a fine place to ask this person a few much needed inquiries." Wyleck takes a moment to mount Yssal, and heads out of the alley on the side opposite the approaching guards, to round his way towards the forest.

OOC:I note walls around the old city. Are there guards at the entrances? If so, I'll take the group to the one with the most traffic. I figure I've been pretty much living in the forest off of goodberries and water, and have made myself a little nest somewhere therein.