NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1193725" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 64Mole continued to jabber on, oblivious to the four strangers who were clearly headed for their table.  Zenna heard a growl from Arun—the dwarf, at least, had the wit to keep his senses alert. The young woman drew up ten paces from their table, standing in the midst of a knot of a dozen round tables.  Some of the guests had taken note of the newcomers, and glanced at them curiously.  The woman basked in the attention, piquing the curiosity of the mob, letting her gaze travel across the room before turning back to Zenna and her friends.  Her skin was flawless, a dark color perhaps a shade lighter than Arun’s, and her clothing was of sufficient style and quality that she would have had little quality fitting in with a gathering of nobles.  Looking down at her own tattered cloak, Zenna felt cheap and ugly.  A rapier hung at her belt, and a lute was slung casually over her shoulder, perhaps indicating her profession.  “Ah, friends!  Unless my eyes deceive me, we are in the presence of some notable souls!  Are these not the very same heroes who freed the orphanage children from the clutches of those vile slavers that were defiling our town?”One of her companions, a muscled woman with close cropped red hair and a breastplate of polished steel, looked at them with a seemingly bored expression.  “I don’t think so, Annah.  By their clothes, they look like a couple of unemployed mercenaries to me.”Annah chuckled.  “Now, Cora, don’t be rude.  I think that it is indeed them!” Zenna frowned.  The attention of everyone in the room had focused on the developing scene, now, and the buzz of conversation had grown silent.  The wizardess noticed that all four of the young adventurers wore a badge on their garments, a brooch shaped in the form of a miniature shield, bearing the sigil of a pair of crossed swords surrounded by a cloud producing stylized bolts of lightning.  The badges appeared to be fashioned out of solid silver.  Mole had finally turned her attention from the treasure and her bag, and turned to face the strangers.  “Yes, that’s us all right,” she said cheerfully.  “What can we do for you?”Zenna groaned. The one named Annah chuckled.  “It should be us doing something for you, as heroes who have done such good for the citizens of Cauldron.  Bartender, a round in honor of Cauldron’s newest heroes, courtesy of the Stormblades!” Annah drew out a small pouch that clinked as she tossed it onto a nearby tableThere was some activity as the inn’s staff rushed to meet a flurry of drink orders from patrons determined to enjoy this unexpected largess, but the attention of the room was still on the exchange between the two groups of adventurers.  One of the men leaned against a vacant chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest.  His clothes were of equal quality to his companions’, but they hung awkwardly on his lean frame.  His face was narrow and tweaked, his expression reminding them more of a weasel than anything else.  “Amazing that they were able to find the children, when no one else could,” he said to no one in particular, although his words carried easily throughout the tavern.  “The City Guard, the churches, all manner of independent groups... no one could find them.  I suppose it was a good thing that you came along when you did, appearing out of nowhere like you did.”“Well, it wasn’t really that hard, once we put the clues together,” Mole said.  “I’m sure that if we hadn’t agreed to help Jenya Urikas find the children, someone like you guys would have figured it out.... eventually.”Zenna nodded to herself.  Mole had figured out what these “Stormblades” were up to, and was responding to their jab in the way she always did... by talking.  The wizard glanced around the room, weighing the gathered audience, sensing that more was coming. “Indeed, Todd doesn’t exaggerate the degree of our good fortune,” the last man said.  He was a stark contrast to the unkempt Todd, tall and ruggedly handsome with a finely trimmed beard.  Zenna could see that he wore an icon at his throat, possibly a holy symbol, although she could not quite make out the design at this distance. “An ingenious plot by these scum, using the locksmith who created the town’s locks to gain access to private homes,” Cora said.  “Wasn’t he a gnome?” she added, with a not-so-subtle look at Mole.  “I believe so,” Todd replied.  “From what I’ve heard, there’s a whole gnome settlement under the city.  But the slaver leader was a dark dwarf... much like that fellow over there.”  Twenty sets of eyes turned to regard Arun, who was watching with eyes that smoldered.  Zenna suspected that they were losing control of the situation, though Mole’s cheerful expression hadn’t slipped and Arun didn’t move.  Clearly the Stormblades were trying to provoke them, but to what end?“You should be careful, boy, in applying labels when you don’t know what in the blazes you’re talking about,” Arun said.  His voice was a deep growl, low enough so that the audience had to strain to hear.  But Todd had heard it, by the way his expression changed. Annah interjected before either he or the dwarf could comment further.  “Friends!” she said, in such a way that it included everyone in the room.  “Come, let us not argue!  There is no denying that the children are safe, and the abductions have ceased!  I’m sure these strangers can offer good reasons for how they, as outsiders to our stately burg, unraveled the evil mystery that so vexed our city!”The bearded young man nodded.  “Indeed.  We should not offer disrespect where it is not deserved.  Tell us, ser dwarf, of this slaver, this dark example of your race.”Cora, standing beside him with hands tucked into her swordbelt, added, “If he’s even a dwarf,” he said.  “I’ve never heard of a dwarf who shaved his beard.  Well, unless they’ve been dishonored and ejected from their clan, perhaps.”Arun moved so quickly that Zenna didn’t have a chance to stop him.  One minute he was seated at the back of the booth, and then the heavy table scraped aside and he was standing before them.  A few patrons at tables nearby moved back reflexively at the sudden movement, giving the heavily armored and armed dwarf some space.  The Stormblades made no obvious reaction, but it was clear to Zenna’s experienced eye that they too prepared, with hands falling to weapons hilts, postures changing slightly in anticipation of action.  The mood in the room had changed, with that collective tension that existed before a situation exploded into chaos.  The innkeeper made a quick movement, and one of the kitchen boys darted out the door into the streets of the city. “Keep speaking, woman, if you want to earn a lesson in manners.”Zenna pressed her fingers to her brow.  She knew how it sounded to the crowd, the dwarf threatening a woman, even one dressed in armor and carrying a blade.  These Stormblades were clearly locals, and they would gather the sympathy of the crowd if things turned ugly.  A few more people rose from their chairs and moved backward. “Touchy, eh dwarf?  Perhaps a few barbs struck home?”“Yeah, maybe you’d better explain a few things to the goodly people of our city, dwarf,” Todd hissed.  “You’re a long way from the Great Rift.  In fact, I heard that you beat up a guy in this very tavern, less than a tenday ago.”  A few regulars nodded, remembering the event. Annah shook her head sadly.  “Indeed, the people of Cauldron deserve to know the truth,” she said, as if regretting how the encounter had turned.  Zenna wasn’t fooled, but she was at a loss for how to disarm the situation.  Annah lifted her gaze to fix on Zenna, and the tiefling thought she saw the slightest tweak of a smile on her face.  “After all, a noble man of Helm, our own local cleric Ruphos Laro, gave his life to see those children free.”Zenna felt as though she’d been punched in the gut.  Mole’s forced grin evaporated, and Arun’s hands tightened into fists at his side.  To be attacked with insinuation and innuendo was one thing, but to have Ruphos’s sacrifice tarnished...Cora stepped forward to face Arun.  “Well, dwarf?” she asked.  “What do you have to say?” Zenna tensed, suspecting that she knew what Arun’s response would be.</blockquote>

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