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Tales of the Legacy - Concluded
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<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 1753888" data-attributes="member: 5203"><p>The party emerged from the Happy Half-Ogre into the morning sunlight. The sun was most of the way over the eastern mountains, and the forest at the edge of town threw long, jagged shadows across the newly plowed fields. They could hear the wheel of the mill churning off to the west. The group turned and began walking up the main road of Dagger Rock.</p><p></p><p> Soon they arrived at the door of one of the few stone buildings in town; Bearclaw Manor. Grog had suggested speaking with him first this morning. After knocking, the door opened and a young lad of perhaps fourteen answered. He led them into a small foyer to wait. Five minutes later, Captain Sidon Bearclaw came down to greet them.</p><p></p><p> “Good morning,” said Captain Bearclaw, “have you had breakfast?” When they indicated that Grog had already prepared breakfast, he nodded. “Then I hope you’ll forgive me while I eat.” He led them down a long hallway running the length of the building, and invited them into a simple dining hall. He sat at the end of the long table and invited the group to take seats as well, even as he was served a plate of plain bread with butter and honey.</p><p></p><p> “We wanted to talk to you more about the fire last night, and the crimes that have been happening over the last month,” said Kyle.</p><p></p><p> “They’ve stumped me, that’s for sure,” admitted the captain. “This whole mess has been keeping Raymond, Leif, and I busy. The three of us are all this town has for a watch.”</p><p></p><p> “Has there been trouble like this before?” asked Tolly.</p><p></p><p> Captain Bearclaw shook his head while chewing. “This town’s been pretty peaceful. No bandits, no humanoid raiding, no violent crimes. Most we ever dealt with was the occasional fistfight at Yuri’s place, and of course Jim the town drunk. Then the muggings start, and then the break-ins.”</p><p></p><p> “Have you seen any kind of pattern in the attacks?” Tolly asked, “Or have there been certain individuals that haven’t been victimized that should have been?”</p><p></p><p> “Nope. They only hit the locals, and not the wealthy ones either – like they know they’re more likely to have bodyguards. Sure has got the town riled up, though; the mayor won’t go out into town alone any more, and now there’s this meeting.”</p><p></p><p> “Do you think Grog is behind this?” Kavan asked.</p><p></p><p> “No, I don’t. Grog and his band are a decent sort. Maybe not the most upstanding of citizens when they were on the adventuring trail, but they’re not the sort to engage in petty theft. I’ve tried to convince people of that, but a lot of them have gone past the listening stage.”</p><p></p><p> “What exactly would happen if the town meeting went against Grog?” Autumn asked.</p><p></p><p> “Well, he and his crew would be run out of town. His holdings and accounts at the bank would be forfeit.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly scratched at his chin. “Who would benefit from this?”</p><p></p><p> The captain thought for a moment. “Well, Yuri probably would. He runs the Dagger Rock Tavern, but he’s been close to going broke ever since Grog’s place opened up. Tough to say, other than that. He and his crew certainly have brought a lot more business to town.”</p><p></p><p> “Has he employed anyone in town,” asked Tolly, “or do his own people do all the work at the inn?”</p><p></p><p> “No, he’s hired a few folks. My daughter Mary works for him as a serving girl, and so does young Julia. And he hired Esmerelda as a maid right after Yuri let her go – Yuri accused her of stealing, though there was never any proof. And even if he hasn’t provided a lot of jobs, the coin they spend in town makes up for it. Their bouncer, Fist, is a clothes horse, and has probably doubled the tailor’s income since they came here six months ago.”</p><p></p><p> “I saw another inn on the way here,” commented Lanara. “The Hearthfire Inn? What about them?”</p><p></p><p> “Oh, the Hearthfire’s been around forever, even since before Yuri. The Withams own that inn, and their business has been the same ever since I can remember. Most of the older folks in town go there, the ones who aren’t keen on the wild atmosphere at Grog’s or the seedy reputation of Yuri’s.”</p><p></p><p> “How do you think the vote will go?” asked Kyle.</p><p></p><p> “Well, I know I’ll vote to let Grog stay, and I know Yuri will vote for him to leave. Mayor Winston doesn’t have anything personal against Grog, but he’s a ‘man of the people’, if you catch my drift, and right now most of the vocal town members are against Grog, so I figure that’s two against him. Logan Ironhand, the town smith… I’m pretty sure he’s okay with Grog staying.”</p><p></p><p> “That’s two votes each way,” said Kyle, “what about the fifth?”</p><p></p><p> “That would be Barak, who runs the general store,” said Captain Bearclaw. “To be honest, I have no idea where he stands on the issue.”</p><p></p><p> “If we were to look into this matter,” said Kyle, “who would you suggest we speak to?”</p><p></p><p> The captain shrugged. “Pretty much anyone you want.” Sidon waved over his servant and muttered a few words in his ear. The servant left and returned a minute later with a large parchment roll. The captain spread it out on the table, and the party saw it was a map of Dagger Rock. He began pointing out buildings to them. “The stonemason, Mexalo Stonethumb, lives here behind me. Good dwarven craftman, and a friend of mine. Tell him I sent you. The bank is here, and the jail here – Leif Delaryn should be on duty now. Here’s Logan’s smithy – he should be at work by now with his son Raymond, my other watchman. The church is up here, you might try talking to the priest, Hiram Veril.”</p><p></p><p> “What denomination?” asked Tolly.</p><p></p><p> “Paccë… I mean Krûsh.* Sorry… the church used to be dedicated to Paccë, but six years ago it burned down and the town’s priest was killed. Hiram’s his son, but he follows Krûsh.”</p><p></p><p> Captain Bearclaw continued to point out where various people lived and did business; the mayor, the baker, the tanner, the tailor. Once finished, he rolled up the map and excused himself, stating he needed to get to work that morning. The young boy, who turned out to be Sidon’s son, escorted the party to the door.</p><p></p><p> “Well, now where to?” asked Kyle.</p><p></p><p> “We should split up,” offered Arrie. “We’ll cover more ground that way.”</p><p></p><p> “Agreed,” said Tolly. “I can visit the stonemason and the blacksmith. Since I have a background in craftsmanship, I may be able to establish a common bond.”</p><p></p><p> “Autumn and I can visit some of the other businesses.”</p><p></p><p> “Kyle, do you wish to accompany us?” asked Autumn.</p><p></p><p> Kyle looked at both Arrie and Autumn, standing next to each other, and an odd look crossed his face. His gaze dropped to a point right around Autumn’s feet. “Um, thanks,” he said, “maybe another time. I think I should, uh, go with Tolly. You know, the whole manual laborer camaraderie thing.”</p><p></p><p> “Very well,” Autumn shrugged, not sure why the wizard was still acting strangely, “We’ll take Xu with us. Perhaps we three can visit some of the more ‘feminine’ businesses, such as the tailor and the baker.”</p><p></p><p> “That leaves Lanara, Kavan, and Osborn,” said Kyle.</p><p></p><p> “Someone should stay at the Happy Half-Ogre, just in case something happens, or to listen for any news or gossip there,” offered Lanara. “I nominate myself.” She raised her left arm into the air. “Seconded?” her right arm shot up. “Then it’s settled.” She dropped her arms, and waggling her fingers in farewell, began flouncing down the path toward the inn.</p><p></p><p> “How about Kavan and I tackle the bank,” said Osborn, watching the bard walk away. When he caught the gaze of the others, he sighed. “I meant talk to the banker about Grog and the robberies.”</p><p></p><p> “We can go visit the town church as well,” offered Kavan. “As a courtesy for a fellow man of faith.”</p><p></p><p> “All right, then,” Arrie said, “Back at the inn for mid-day meal?”</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p> It was a very busy morning for the group. Tolly and Kyle approached Stonethumb’s house, a squat stone structure just behind Bearclaw Manor.</p><p></p><p> “You don’t have to worry about translating for me,” said Kyle casually as they approached the heavy oak door.</p><p></p><p> “Excuse me?”</p><p></p><p> “I just mean that you don’t have to worry about whether or not I’ll be able to follow you. I’ve learned to speak Dwarven.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly looked perplexed. “Why is that important?”</p><p></p><p> Now Kyle was beginning to look confused. “Well, given your background with the church of Ardara, I’d assumed you’d take the lead in the conversation with Stonethumb. And sine you’ll probably be talking in Dwarven, I wanted you to know ahead of time that you don’t have to interrupt your talk to fill me in.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly blinked calmly. “I don’t speak Dwarven.” He knocked firmly on the door.</p><p></p><p> “You don’t… but I thought… you talked about spending all that time in the church with dwarves…”</p><p></p><p> He shrugged. “My education focused on extraplanar languages, primarily.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle was still staring at Tolly incredulously when the door opened and Mexalo Stonethumb appeared in the entry. He was a brown-haired dwarf with a few streaks of gray, and looked up at them with bright blue eyes. His beard and clothes were covered in a fine layer of stone dust, and his hands were large and knobby.</p><p></p><p> “Hello, strangers,” Stonethumb said, “what can I do for you this morning?”</p><p></p><p> “My name is Tolly Nightsleaving. Your friend Captain Bearclaw said we should come speak to you.”</p><p></p><p> “Sidon sent you? Well, come in, then! Hope you don’t mind if I work while we talk.”</p><p></p><p> “Not at all.” Tolly followed the dwarf into the back, where Stonethumb picked up a hammer and chisel and set to work on a block of granite. “Who’s your big friend?” Mexalo asked.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, forgive me,” said Tolly. “This is Kyle Goodson.”</p><p></p><p> “Pleasure,” said Kyle. Seeing that Tolly had been distracted by a carving on the wall, Kyle pressed on. “So, I hear you’ve done most of the stone work in town.”</p><p></p><p> “Most of it? Ardara’s left teat, son, I’ve done all of it.”</p><p></p><p> “And excellent work, I must say. It looks like no one’s getting into that bank – and if they try, they sure aren’t getting out of that jail.”</p><p></p><p> Stonethumb seemed not to pay attention to the complement. “Too bad there’s not more work to be done around here,” Kyle continued.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, there’s plenty of work,” Stonethumb said. “I’ve done all of the foundations and basements in town. This close to the river, you need a solid foundation.”</p><p></p><p> “Well, sure, of course you do.” Kyle glanced over at his shoulder to see if Tolly was going to pick up the conversation, but the priest was now looking over the dwarf’s tools.</p><p></p><p> “Well, you must’ve done the basement at the Happy Half-Ogre, then,” Kyle said.</p><p></p><p> Stonethumb paused for a moment before grunting in the affirmative.</p><p></p><p> “Well, it so happens we’re kind of looking into those burglaries that’ve been happening round here.”</p><p></p><p> “I don’t know nothing about that,” said Mexalo, a little too quickly.</p><p></p><p> “Well, of course not. I just meant that since Grog is sort of the prime suspect, and since you probably spent a lot of time around him and his men while building the basement, you might have gotten a sense of the man… er, ogre.”</p><p></p><p> At first it seemed Stonethumb was ignoring the question, but then his hammer slipped and hit the back of his knuckles. Stopping work long enough to flex his fingers, he looked up at Kyle. “Look, Sidon says Grog’s okay, and I believe him. Sidon’s not the sort to hang around with disreputable sorts. All I do is build basements for people around here.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle regarded the dwarven mason curiously. He was acting as if he’d accidentally mentioned something he shouldn’t have, and rather than backpedaling had decided to push forward. “Well, sure, I’m sure you spend a lot of time on basement work. You probably know more about most people’s homes than the owners.”</p><p></p><p> Stonethumb sighed and set down his tools. “Look, son, I can’t really say much, you know?” The dwarf began heading back toward the front door. Kyle and Tolly followed, curious as to what they’d stumbled upon. Stonethumb opened the door and pointed west toward the river. “You see those two buildings over by the river?” he said in a low voice, pointing. “The southern one’s the tanner, and the northern one’s the cobbler. All I’m going to say is that you should check out the cobbler’s fields.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle nodded. “Well, I appreciate the directions, Stonethumb,” he said in a loud voice. “I probably do need to look into a new pair of boots before I leave town.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly and Kyle began to walk away as Stonethumb closed his door. “We should still head for the blacksmith’s first,” Tolly said.</p><p></p><p> “Sure, but before we go, I have to ask you something.” Kyle barely suppressed his smile. “You do speak Common, right?”</p><p></p><p>---------------------------</p><p></p><p>* Paccë is the goddess of community and harmony. Krûsh is one of The Four; he is the god of Water, and Good, and is the patron of the gnomes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 1753888, member: 5203"] The party emerged from the Happy Half-Ogre into the morning sunlight. The sun was most of the way over the eastern mountains, and the forest at the edge of town threw long, jagged shadows across the newly plowed fields. They could hear the wheel of the mill churning off to the west. The group turned and began walking up the main road of Dagger Rock. Soon they arrived at the door of one of the few stone buildings in town; Bearclaw Manor. Grog had suggested speaking with him first this morning. After knocking, the door opened and a young lad of perhaps fourteen answered. He led them into a small foyer to wait. Five minutes later, Captain Sidon Bearclaw came down to greet them. “Good morning,” said Captain Bearclaw, “have you had breakfast?” When they indicated that Grog had already prepared breakfast, he nodded. “Then I hope you’ll forgive me while I eat.” He led them down a long hallway running the length of the building, and invited them into a simple dining hall. He sat at the end of the long table and invited the group to take seats as well, even as he was served a plate of plain bread with butter and honey. “We wanted to talk to you more about the fire last night, and the crimes that have been happening over the last month,” said Kyle. “They’ve stumped me, that’s for sure,” admitted the captain. “This whole mess has been keeping Raymond, Leif, and I busy. The three of us are all this town has for a watch.” “Has there been trouble like this before?” asked Tolly. Captain Bearclaw shook his head while chewing. “This town’s been pretty peaceful. No bandits, no humanoid raiding, no violent crimes. Most we ever dealt with was the occasional fistfight at Yuri’s place, and of course Jim the town drunk. Then the muggings start, and then the break-ins.” “Have you seen any kind of pattern in the attacks?” Tolly asked, “Or have there been certain individuals that haven’t been victimized that should have been?” “Nope. They only hit the locals, and not the wealthy ones either – like they know they’re more likely to have bodyguards. Sure has got the town riled up, though; the mayor won’t go out into town alone any more, and now there’s this meeting.” “Do you think Grog is behind this?” Kavan asked. “No, I don’t. Grog and his band are a decent sort. Maybe not the most upstanding of citizens when they were on the adventuring trail, but they’re not the sort to engage in petty theft. I’ve tried to convince people of that, but a lot of them have gone past the listening stage.” “What exactly would happen if the town meeting went against Grog?” Autumn asked. “Well, he and his crew would be run out of town. His holdings and accounts at the bank would be forfeit.” Tolly scratched at his chin. “Who would benefit from this?” The captain thought for a moment. “Well, Yuri probably would. He runs the Dagger Rock Tavern, but he’s been close to going broke ever since Grog’s place opened up. Tough to say, other than that. He and his crew certainly have brought a lot more business to town.” “Has he employed anyone in town,” asked Tolly, “or do his own people do all the work at the inn?” “No, he’s hired a few folks. My daughter Mary works for him as a serving girl, and so does young Julia. And he hired Esmerelda as a maid right after Yuri let her go – Yuri accused her of stealing, though there was never any proof. And even if he hasn’t provided a lot of jobs, the coin they spend in town makes up for it. Their bouncer, Fist, is a clothes horse, and has probably doubled the tailor’s income since they came here six months ago.” “I saw another inn on the way here,” commented Lanara. “The Hearthfire Inn? What about them?” “Oh, the Hearthfire’s been around forever, even since before Yuri. The Withams own that inn, and their business has been the same ever since I can remember. Most of the older folks in town go there, the ones who aren’t keen on the wild atmosphere at Grog’s or the seedy reputation of Yuri’s.” “How do you think the vote will go?” asked Kyle. “Well, I know I’ll vote to let Grog stay, and I know Yuri will vote for him to leave. Mayor Winston doesn’t have anything personal against Grog, but he’s a ‘man of the people’, if you catch my drift, and right now most of the vocal town members are against Grog, so I figure that’s two against him. Logan Ironhand, the town smith… I’m pretty sure he’s okay with Grog staying.” “That’s two votes each way,” said Kyle, “what about the fifth?” “That would be Barak, who runs the general store,” said Captain Bearclaw. “To be honest, I have no idea where he stands on the issue.” “If we were to look into this matter,” said Kyle, “who would you suggest we speak to?” The captain shrugged. “Pretty much anyone you want.” Sidon waved over his servant and muttered a few words in his ear. The servant left and returned a minute later with a large parchment roll. The captain spread it out on the table, and the party saw it was a map of Dagger Rock. He began pointing out buildings to them. “The stonemason, Mexalo Stonethumb, lives here behind me. Good dwarven craftman, and a friend of mine. Tell him I sent you. The bank is here, and the jail here – Leif Delaryn should be on duty now. Here’s Logan’s smithy – he should be at work by now with his son Raymond, my other watchman. The church is up here, you might try talking to the priest, Hiram Veril.” “What denomination?” asked Tolly. “Paccë… I mean Krûsh.* Sorry… the church used to be dedicated to Paccë, but six years ago it burned down and the town’s priest was killed. Hiram’s his son, but he follows Krûsh.” Captain Bearclaw continued to point out where various people lived and did business; the mayor, the baker, the tanner, the tailor. Once finished, he rolled up the map and excused himself, stating he needed to get to work that morning. The young boy, who turned out to be Sidon’s son, escorted the party to the door. “Well, now where to?” asked Kyle. “We should split up,” offered Arrie. “We’ll cover more ground that way.” “Agreed,” said Tolly. “I can visit the stonemason and the blacksmith. Since I have a background in craftsmanship, I may be able to establish a common bond.” “Autumn and I can visit some of the other businesses.” “Kyle, do you wish to accompany us?” asked Autumn. Kyle looked at both Arrie and Autumn, standing next to each other, and an odd look crossed his face. His gaze dropped to a point right around Autumn’s feet. “Um, thanks,” he said, “maybe another time. I think I should, uh, go with Tolly. You know, the whole manual laborer camaraderie thing.” “Very well,” Autumn shrugged, not sure why the wizard was still acting strangely, “We’ll take Xu with us. Perhaps we three can visit some of the more ‘feminine’ businesses, such as the tailor and the baker.” “That leaves Lanara, Kavan, and Osborn,” said Kyle. “Someone should stay at the Happy Half-Ogre, just in case something happens, or to listen for any news or gossip there,” offered Lanara. “I nominate myself.” She raised her left arm into the air. “Seconded?” her right arm shot up. “Then it’s settled.” She dropped her arms, and waggling her fingers in farewell, began flouncing down the path toward the inn. “How about Kavan and I tackle the bank,” said Osborn, watching the bard walk away. When he caught the gaze of the others, he sighed. “I meant talk to the banker about Grog and the robberies.” “We can go visit the town church as well,” offered Kavan. “As a courtesy for a fellow man of faith.” “All right, then,” Arrie said, “Back at the inn for mid-day meal?” * * * It was a very busy morning for the group. Tolly and Kyle approached Stonethumb’s house, a squat stone structure just behind Bearclaw Manor. “You don’t have to worry about translating for me,” said Kyle casually as they approached the heavy oak door. “Excuse me?” “I just mean that you don’t have to worry about whether or not I’ll be able to follow you. I’ve learned to speak Dwarven.” Tolly looked perplexed. “Why is that important?” Now Kyle was beginning to look confused. “Well, given your background with the church of Ardara, I’d assumed you’d take the lead in the conversation with Stonethumb. And sine you’ll probably be talking in Dwarven, I wanted you to know ahead of time that you don’t have to interrupt your talk to fill me in.” Tolly blinked calmly. “I don’t speak Dwarven.” He knocked firmly on the door. “You don’t… but I thought… you talked about spending all that time in the church with dwarves…” He shrugged. “My education focused on extraplanar languages, primarily.” Kyle was still staring at Tolly incredulously when the door opened and Mexalo Stonethumb appeared in the entry. He was a brown-haired dwarf with a few streaks of gray, and looked up at them with bright blue eyes. His beard and clothes were covered in a fine layer of stone dust, and his hands were large and knobby. “Hello, strangers,” Stonethumb said, “what can I do for you this morning?” “My name is Tolly Nightsleaving. Your friend Captain Bearclaw said we should come speak to you.” “Sidon sent you? Well, come in, then! Hope you don’t mind if I work while we talk.” “Not at all.” Tolly followed the dwarf into the back, where Stonethumb picked up a hammer and chisel and set to work on a block of granite. “Who’s your big friend?” Mexalo asked. “Oh, forgive me,” said Tolly. “This is Kyle Goodson.” “Pleasure,” said Kyle. Seeing that Tolly had been distracted by a carving on the wall, Kyle pressed on. “So, I hear you’ve done most of the stone work in town.” “Most of it? Ardara’s left teat, son, I’ve done all of it.” “And excellent work, I must say. It looks like no one’s getting into that bank – and if they try, they sure aren’t getting out of that jail.” Stonethumb seemed not to pay attention to the complement. “Too bad there’s not more work to be done around here,” Kyle continued. “Oh, there’s plenty of work,” Stonethumb said. “I’ve done all of the foundations and basements in town. This close to the river, you need a solid foundation.” “Well, sure, of course you do.” Kyle glanced over at his shoulder to see if Tolly was going to pick up the conversation, but the priest was now looking over the dwarf’s tools. “Well, you must’ve done the basement at the Happy Half-Ogre, then,” Kyle said. Stonethumb paused for a moment before grunting in the affirmative. “Well, it so happens we’re kind of looking into those burglaries that’ve been happening round here.” “I don’t know nothing about that,” said Mexalo, a little too quickly. “Well, of course not. I just meant that since Grog is sort of the prime suspect, and since you probably spent a lot of time around him and his men while building the basement, you might have gotten a sense of the man… er, ogre.” At first it seemed Stonethumb was ignoring the question, but then his hammer slipped and hit the back of his knuckles. Stopping work long enough to flex his fingers, he looked up at Kyle. “Look, Sidon says Grog’s okay, and I believe him. Sidon’s not the sort to hang around with disreputable sorts. All I do is build basements for people around here.” Kyle regarded the dwarven mason curiously. He was acting as if he’d accidentally mentioned something he shouldn’t have, and rather than backpedaling had decided to push forward. “Well, sure, I’m sure you spend a lot of time on basement work. You probably know more about most people’s homes than the owners.” Stonethumb sighed and set down his tools. “Look, son, I can’t really say much, you know?” The dwarf began heading back toward the front door. Kyle and Tolly followed, curious as to what they’d stumbled upon. Stonethumb opened the door and pointed west toward the river. “You see those two buildings over by the river?” he said in a low voice, pointing. “The southern one’s the tanner, and the northern one’s the cobbler. All I’m going to say is that you should check out the cobbler’s fields.” Kyle nodded. “Well, I appreciate the directions, Stonethumb,” he said in a loud voice. “I probably do need to look into a new pair of boots before I leave town.” Tolly and Kyle began to walk away as Stonethumb closed his door. “We should still head for the blacksmith’s first,” Tolly said. “Sure, but before we go, I have to ask you something.” Kyle barely suppressed his smile. “You do speak Common, right?” --------------------------- * Paccë is the goddess of community and harmony. Krûsh is one of The Four; he is the god of Water, and Good, and is the patron of the gnomes. [/QUOTE]
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