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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GodOfCheese" data-source="post: 4649466" data-attributes="member: 19170">Let's get a few things straight...Dorin scowled at the empty garden where the Druid had been not a moment earlier.  It was ringed with thick trees that grew at odd angles, forming the impression of a wall or rampart.  Two paths of overgrown cobblestones led out through breaks in the trees.  One led to the main thoroughfare, back the way they came, and ultimately out of town.  The man’s eyes rested on it wearily for several seconds.“I told you,” Jo said calmly.  “Nobody goes to see Nicholas.”Dorin frowned again.  “Is it because he’s a jerk?”Jo shrugged.  “The nearest apothecary isn’t far away.”  She stood and waited for them.The traveler’s lips pressed tightly together.  “I don’t think anyone else can help.”Jo turned back to face him.  “You misled me, and you misled the border guard.  You aren’t here for alchemy at all.”  Her face was stern, but not angry.“Hey,” said Wik calmly but firmly.  “He didn’t say he was here for alchemy.  He said he was here for an alchemist.  There’s a difference.”Jo pointed her finger down at Wik, adding, “And you helped mislead us.”Wik put her hands on her hips and leaned forward as if setting herself against the force of Jo’s stare.  “Yes,” she said; her sweet voice defiant.  “What of it?”Jo blinked.  “Nothing.  Just making sure I understood .”Wik held up one hand dismissively and turned deliberately away from her to face Dorin.  “What do we do now?”“We?” Dorin whispered briefly under his breath, not quite silently enough to prevent Wik from hearing.  His eyes rested briefly on Wik’s amulet before snapping back to her face.  “We…” he answered aloud.  “We… I…”Dorin’s gaze had not escaped Wik’s attention to her chest, but she said nothing.  “Hey, I’m pledged to help those in need.  As they say, the deed you do is the deed done you.”  She smiled a smile that would light a room, if the room were small and they were in one.  “You clearly need my help.”Without waiting for a response, she looked up at the enormous woman.  “How about you, Jo?  Interested in helping Dorin out for awhile?”  Jo shrugged again.  “I’ve got nothing better to do.”Wik wrinkled her nose and rolled her head in a kind of Better-than-nothing-I-guess expression.  She turned back to Dorin and smiled again.  “So you have help.  What do we do now?”Dorin said nothing, his expression betraying little.  His eyes, however, moved busily as he considered his options.  I knew it was a long shot, but it still hurts to come all this way only to fail.After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Wik tilted her little head.  “Is it possible that Nicholas is testing you somehow?  Druids can be…” her lips and face wrinkled up, searching for the right words.  Her eyes sparkled incongruously though.  “…perverse, sometimes.”  Her smile returned.  “I’ve heard of Druids testing people in strange ways.  And nobody knows their true ways… it’s said no one can.”“He’s certainly testing me,” Dorin replied acidly, his nostrils flared.  “Testing my patience maybe.”Jo, who had been watching their exchange without comment, spoke up.  “What is your problem, exactly?”Dorin’s eyes flicked to the giant warrioress and squinted as he tried to decide whether to be offended.  He must have decided not to, for his eyes softened and he opened his mouth to speak.  “It’s… been going on for several years,” he began.  “Nobody knows exactly when it started, but at least two years ago, my people acquired an unending streak of…” he groped for words.  “Bad luck.“Horses would go lame or go ill.  Or they trip over unlikely obstacles.  Maintenance problems in the… the wagons.  Supplies go bad before they should.  People get hurt in freak accidents. “Nobody has died yet, but it’s been getting worse.  My...” he paused abruptly, his lips moving for a split second before continuing hastily and clumsily, “…first paternal man-cousin, once removed--”So, Wik thought at this, his native tongue must have plenty of kinship terms.  But she did not interrupt.“--broke his leg when his horse had to jump a branch that fell right in front of him, only to land half in a deadfall.  Were he less of a rider, he’d be dead now.”  He quickly added, “The horse is recovering.”Wik considered this, momentarily touched by Dorin’s obvious concern for the horse in addition to that of his relative.  Jo’s expression was unreadable.Dorin continued his story.  “We held a… council of sorts.  I was not there, mind you.  I’m too young.  But they decided that I must go out into the world and find help.”  He looked down bitterly as he continued.  “We couldn’t solve the problem for ourselves, but too many of us are being hurt.”  His jawline flexed uncomfortably.  “So I had to leave home.”Wik opened her mouth but was overspoken by Jo: “Where are you from, strange man?”“That’s complicated,” Dorin replied; his expression guarded.  He smiled weakly.  “But that won’t inhibit me from completing my task.  I’m well-prepared for this mission, even if it is a… a crapshoot.  I know or have studied the customs and languages from most towns in the Plains of the T’yers, and much of the Empire to the East as well.”Jo’s eyes narrowed but her voice was surprisingly quiet.  “I wouldn’t throw that around if I were you.”“Yeah, I know that you have no love of the Saldasha Empire,” Dorin began, but the axewoman interrupted him again.“I don’t care myself,” Jo answered hastily.  “But I’m not a Dwarf.”“That much is certain,” Wik cackled mirthfully, looking up at the enormous woman.  “I’m saying be careful…” Jo continued sparingly.  “They hate being ruled by the Elves.”  Dorin took a deep breath.  “To be fair, you’d hate it too if you were in their position.”  His voice acquired a scholarly tone.  “The Dwarven Landhold ceded Millington to the Saldasha Empire a hundred years ago, by most accounts.  None of us could have been alive then, but the Dwarves have long memories.“I’m amazed they’re angry at the Empire and not the Landhold.  As I understand it, it’s the Landhold’s edict that keeps them following Imperial rule.  Like not logging the forest.  If the Empire ruled Millington with an iron fist, you’d see more wizardry here.”  Tightness at his jawline again.“I see what you mean about having studied,” Wik offered.  She smiled again, but her smile was short-lived when she changed the subject.  “So why didn’t you mention any of this to me when we met up on the New Road?  How did you know I couldn’t help you?”Jo’s head swiveled to follow the conversation.“Thank you for trying to help me.  It’s… shameful… to ask for help from… outsiders though,” Dorin answered.  “And I have to be careful whose debts I incur.”Wik’s eyebrows go up, causing her nose to bob slightly.  She wobbled her head in a what-do-you-mean-by-that expression, but evidently decided against probing this bizarre statement.  In the midst of Jo’s predictable silence, Wik took it upon herself to move the conversation forward.“Well,” she said determinedly.  “Do you have any leads?”Dorin sighed.  “None,” he said dejectedly.  “None, whatsoever.  We don’t know exactly when the trouble started, or where.  There’s no pattern to when it happens, or to whom or what.  It’s… inconsistent.“I came to Nicholas seeking advice on where and how I might even look for leads.  My family… we’ve no idea how to approach a problem like this.  I came seeking his…” his lips and nose twisted angrily at the last word: “wisdom.”Wik took a deep breath.  “Well, then since we’re here, we should stake out the Cathedral of Pelor.  Even if the priests there can’t help, its beauty is famous.  It’s not even my faith and I’d love to visit.  Surely, you didn’t miss it on the way in…”Dorin’s reply was rapid.  “No, I doubt they can help.”  He paused before continuing at a more normal speed.  “Besides, I… don’t want to owe them any favors.”Wik’s face wrinkled as her left eyebrow rose while her right dropped.  She stared at Dorin with her head cocked.  “The priests of Hai Pelor, the God of the Sun and Charity you avoid, but the mad Druid was okay?”“I have my reasons,” Dorin replied with finality.Wik sighed and shook her head.  With a deep breath and a smile, she continued.  “Okay, well as long as we’re here, what should we do?”“Look,” Dorin began, a note of resignation in his voice, but Wik would not let him continue.“What do you think, Jo?” she interrupted, turning her back on him abruptly.Jo could not have hesitated more than a second.  “I need a beer.”Wik grinned broadly.  “Yeah, that sounds like a fine suggestion.  Coming, Dorin?”</blockquote>

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