The Winding Road II (The Narrow Path)

[Diful Takveh]

Anna hears a voice, not belonging to Arthur, nor Elastial, nor any of the others who would have that understanding yet youthful male voice, "Anna, why are you giving my present to Arthur? Don't you love me anymore?" The voice belonged to Lyle, and though she couldn't see him, she could hear his voice from the direction of the doorway. Soon, strong arms of some entity she cannot see wrap around her, and a voice whispers in her ear, "Anna, please, I love you."

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Elastial can see what is going on, at least somewhat. By the bed is a small figure, almost invisible save that the light that passed through it was slightly dimmer than that around it, and that figure continues to brush its hair with a physical hairbrush. When he hears the voice in the door, he turns to see yet another of these figures who proceeds to run over to Anna and wrap his arms around her.

[Saskia]

There's nothing that can be done about a quasi-material thing she can't see. She knows it's not actually Lyle, anyway. Just more fuel for Saffron and Arthur's forced psychosis. Anna kneels beside her betrothed and steadies both of them with her strong hand, though still her voice trembles. Seeing him in pain is suffering itself, but somehow, this is so much worse. Whether it's the confusion and not knowing what to do, or only being able to guess who's done this, or why, or the temporal proximity to having lost everything else she's not sure, but she's not going to leave here until he's safely, and sanely, in her arms again.

"Arthur, say something, please. You're drying your eyes with the very handkerchief I used to ward Rachel's necklace. I gave it to you when we split up so you would have something to hold when you felt lonely or hopeless and know that I love you, and that I've always loved you, and I've never loved anyone else. You promised you would give it back to me when everyone was safe, but you're not even making an effort now. Rachel isn't here, Arthur. She's in danger, and I need you. Not just for me, Arthur. I need you so I can protect Rachel. The real Rachel, not this illusion of a feigned happy life." She takes his hand and kisses it before placing the comb there.

Silently she offers her beloved goddess a simple prayer. Please, Loving Dark-Eyed Lady, please let me have him back. Let me give him the happiness he deserves, and grant me the wisdom to save Arthur, and even Saffron from this horrible imaginarium. In Your Holy Name, I humbly beg Your favor.

[Diful Takveh]

It is not long before Caitie and Fle find enough wood and kindling for a decent fire, and after that, not long before they have a nice little fire, the perfect size for keeping warm. By now, it is about as dark as night becomes, and the fire is necessary for the halfling to see that which is around him.Hansi heals 2 more NL.

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Arthur grabs Anna by the collar of her cloak and lifts her to her feet, "Stop lying, Anna. If you want to be miserable, then be miserable, but don't you dare use that as an excuse to keep lying to us about how I loved you and how we were happy together." He looks at the comb in his hand, "And if this is some symbol of that imaginary love, then--" He doesn't finish his statement with words, but by dropping the comb to the ground, and he punctuates it with a series of hard stomps.

The man is only stopped when Saffron grabs his leg, and he once again kneels down next to his supposed wife, "I'm sorry, dear, did I scare you?"

[Saskia]

No, Arthur, you can't... She staggers back and stares at the pieces of his and Rachel's gift and falls to her knees again; crying, confused, and terrified of losing everything she loves.

[Bladehunter217]

"Excellent, now let be off, fire attract unwanted in night. Not go far, want be close case get too cold and want know when bad catch up." Fle looked to the surrounding area, hoping to find a series of trees or bushes they could hide behind.

spot: [roll0]

[Diful Takveh]

As Anna cries, she can feel two small, cold hands on her face that lift her head up so she can see the concerned face of Rachel as she asks, "Why are you crying Miss Anna? Even if you don't have Arthur, Lyle's still here and he loves you ever so dearly. Isn't that enough?" Rachel, as she is, stands there in her white festival dress, but her entire form is slightly darker than it should be as if she were standing in a darker room. Besides that, though, the girl is still Rachel in appearance, save her hair which is worn in the same fashion Anna had after receiving the ribbons from Saffron, complete with a set of matching ribbons.

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As far as Sin Je can tell, the entire house is magical, but it is too difficult to pinpoint exactly what kind of magic is being used.

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A few minutes after the fire is lit and the group hides behind the trees, Blaire wakes up shivering in the night air which Fle doesn't believe is cold enough for shivering, but humans are strange after all.

[Bladehunter217]

"You were poison, has it start work out blood? Mule man not yet wake." Fle asks, thinking that sometimes people are cold when sick, maybe poison can do the same. "You can use Fle's cloak, but is small and not for human. He is careful to speak quietly, hoping that she would realize that they are currently hiding and not make too much noise.

[Saskia]

Anna stops crying immediately at Rachel's voice and reflexively jumps to her hands and knees with her flaring maternal instinct. No, it's an illusion, of course. Come on, Anna, stay with it. Remember, this feels real to him. She reaches to touch the faux-Rachel, wondering if she's really even there, or how much.

With her other hand she takes off her flaming skull medallion and holds it to her chest. "Loving Lady, light the way." Maybe it's a stretch, but maybe she can dispel, or at least suppress the appearance of these shadow people with the Stern Lady's light. If nothing else, a more brightly lit room would make her feel better and maybe offer some more perspective. Even if she's grasping at straws she needs to find a way to fix this.

Casting light on her holy symbol medallion.

[Diful Takveh]

Blaire pulls the cloak tightly around her, "Thank you, Fle." With Blaire taken care of for the moment, Caitie walks over to Fle and sits down next to him, "Fle, if something... happens to you, how should I take care of the twins and Mrs. Whitebirch?"

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Anna touches Rachel, stroking her cold face with her hand. The Rachel shadow was most definitely a physical entity, but it had none of the warmth of life and even as Anna called forth her light, it remained, and remained just as dark as it had been. With her focus on the shadow of the girl she had sworn to protect, Anna doesn't realize Saffron approaching until she feels her arms around her, one behind her back and one behind her head. "Anna, I'm sorry. Arthur can sometimes be a little overprotective. Do you think you could forgive him?"

[Bladehunter217]

Fle blinks in surprise, confused by the question. "Fle not know how care for human's children. What advice Fle offer? Keep moving, there not be faces for you with money."

[Saskia]

She remains silent for a moment. Ruby had told her many, many times that a primary responsibility of a Karuth is to always be aware of the creeping creatures of chaos and the spirits of the dead. This thing isn't behaving like Saffron. It's blind. It's using shadow illusions. Anna you stupid girl, what are you thinking? This isn't Saffron at all! If she weren't so wrapped up in desperation she would be rightly embarrassed.

"He can be overprotective. That's part of what I love about him." She looks at Arthur and answers more directly. "I can always forgive him." She unties the ribbons from her hair and throws her arms around the creature who she no longer believes to be Saffron and holds her tightly, and takes a handful of her comb. She reacted poorly to Saffron's ribbons. Maybe she'll react to the comb, too, even in its current state. It's at least worth a shot.

"Arthur and Saffron belong to me. Give them back and I can even forgive you." She holds the Saffron-creature securely with the comb pieces and the ribbons against her, hoping it will break her focus on whatever magic she's commanding.

[Diful Takveh]

Caitie smiles, glad to have the small man's input, especially after he had saved the entire group from the two bounty hunters. "But now we just wait?"

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"Anna, you're warm." Half to herself, she continues, "But I thought Arthur was the only warm one." With her thoughts back in the moment, she tells Anna, "I knew something was different when I brushed your cheek earlier, but..." She doesn't get any farther before she bursts into tears and holds Anna for support.

As she does this, the shadow versions of Rachel and Lyle fade out of existence.

[Saskia]

It is Saffron? Did she just pull off her first successful exorcism, then, or was it just magic? The thought briefly touches her mind, but she brushes it aside. She lets go of the ribbons and wood and hugs Saffron like she were her own daughter, if perhaps a rather older daughter than she could possibly have, and kisses her hair. "Yes, Saffron. I'm warm. I'm real, and you had me scared to death. I need you, and I need Arthur. I can't bear to lose anyone else. Tell me you're okay now, please tell me you remember what happened."

[Shinovar]

Elastial starts to move towards Arthur as as he roughly treats Anna, but he stops himself from directly interfering, knowing that she can handle herself and would be much more upset with him if he hurt Arthur than if he let her be handled a little roughly.

As Anna moves on the Saffron, Elastial watches intently, still not knowing what he should do. His only thought was to try to lay hands on them, hoping that Pelor would extend his blessing of healing to their minds, and not just their body, but something Anna is doing seems to be working. The shadow beings have disappeared, which couldn't be anything other than a good sign. Hopefully the two entranced people would not respond to coming out of their situation with reckless behavior. Elastial had seen one of Lord Grimly's servants once woken from sleepwalking, and he attacked those around him until he could be restrained. Perhaps this could be similar? Elastial wished he was more familiar with magic than he was, but the only supernatural powers he truly understood were those that stemmed from Pelor.

[Bladehunter217]

"Now you sleep." He. shrugged again, surprisingly calm considering the situation they were in. "Fle will wait for mule man to wake, if tired you wake."

[Diful Takveh]

Continuing to hold Anna tightly, Saffron lets the words come rushing forth from her wounded soul, "I've been so selfish, Anna. I lost Mom and Dad and Olivia and Lyle and-- and everyone else, and I just wanted everything to go back before, and for everyone to be happy, but I haven't even done that. Oh, Anna, I thought this house was a dream come true, that I could make any dream of mine come true, that I could bring back those happy days we used to live, and all I would have to do is give up my sight. I thought I was being brave to make everyone happy, but all I made is a mess, and you're not happy, and Arthur--" Saffron hugs Anna tighter, if that is even possible, "Anna, I don't know if Arthur can forgive me for this because in my selfishness, I've caused him to hurt you. I never meant to hurt anyone Anna. I just wanted everyone to be happy... I'm sorry."

As Saffron pours out her heart, the colors of the room begin to dull as room and furniture seem to age almost immediately. The bed rots to nothing almost immediately, leaving the room empty save for the walls which expand in addition to aging such that the entirety of the house joins together into a single room empty save for a bookcase at one end and an eye drawn across the entirety of the floor in white. There are two windows on each of the front and back of the room and a single door between each pair of windows.

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Fle and Caitie wait for a long while before Hansi wakes up, but in that time, no hunters have come to scope out the fire. Hansi has no idea where he is, nor of what happened to him save that his head ached more than when he had woken up the morning after he had challenged a dwarf to a drinking contest. By all accounts, he had won, and had earned prestige for that noble art of business which ends with one or both parties under the table. Of course, that doesn't matter now, and he had to figure out exactly where he was, why he wasn't indoors this late at night, why a little girl was staring at his face, and why she was upside-down. The answer to that last question came when Hansi looked up to see the ground and realized he was hanging off Piers.

[Saskia]

Anna casts a concerned eye at Arthur, desperately hoping he's well again. She wants to tell her how badly she's hurt. She wants to tell her how angry she is. She wants to scream and shout and cry. But, if she's admitting she's entirely wrong, Anna would be so incredibly wrong to scream at her for it. The entire purpose of mistakes is to learn, after all, and with time she might even be able to let this episode go. Instead she just holds the girl in a tight embrace. "I know it, darling. It's hard on all of us, I know. I won't lie and say I'm not hurt, but I do believe your heart was in the right place, and I do love you. It'll take some time for me to get over this, but never doubt that I love you, and I will never abandon you. You're never alone, Saffron, and I'm going to do everything in my power to rebuild a new life for us. For all of us." And quite critically, keep her eyes out for a dashing, good-hearted young nobleman looking for a beautiful girl to care for, and get the little wench out of her hair.

Part of her hopes Arthur would hold a grudge, but she at least recognizes that as part of her primitive and animalistic territoriality, and she's slightly repulsed by the thought of wishing for a schism between the two. They've known each other for so long. It may well be a long while before she can trust Saffron with him again, but for now, it's alright. She can ask about the house and its powers and determine what to do with it later. She knows there's a strong chance she'll determine it's best to commit it to the holy flames anyway, but that's to be decided with the others when she knows what's left of her life is secure again. She kisses Saffron's hair again, and gently lets go to stand up, and takes a tentative step toward Arthur. "You're okay, right, Arthur? You love me again? We're okay?"

[Diful Takveh]

As Anna continues to comfort Saffron, Arthur looks around, taking in the single room of this house he has never before seen. After a few moments of looking around, his gaze shifts to Anna and Saffron. He's glad that they had found the younger girl as it was most definitely not a good day for her to be running about in the wilderness as she had.

As Anna walks over, Arthur stands, and as Anna asks him about his status, he gives her a tight hug and responds, "Anna, you know that I've never stopped loving you, and no matter what might happen, I'll continue to love you throughout eternity." He adds on with a whisper as he starts to stroke the back of her head, "Yes, Anna, we're okay."

[sparky9042]

"Ow...uh...Fle?...Uh...Where's my sword?" Hansi pauses for a while, taking in his surroundings. Dropping his rapier was one of the last things he remembered doing. "Where are we, for that matter? And is Blaire alright? Can someone get me down from here?"

Hansi pauses, then thinks back to the earlier events that led to this...the wanted posters! "Did anyone think to grab one of the wanted posters?"

[Bladehunter217]

"Fle not grab, ask woman. The Blaire woke first, some reason was cold and now has Fle's cloak. Were in rush, woman heard more bad." Fle looked at hansi and snickered, remembering that he was still on the mule. "Fle not lift humans."

[Saskia]

For the first time, Anna tenses when Arthur holds her. She doesn't resist, but she doesn't reciprocate, either. It's not true. He called the love they shared imaginary only seconds ago. Even if he's back to normal, what then? If Saffron could take him away from her without any magical powers of her own, who else could come and take him from her?

No, Anna. Just deal with it later. After a moment she wraps her arms around Arthur and closes her eyes. This has been more taxing than even Hillingshire. At least then she knew what her goal was and how to attain it. And because she had help from people with both the knowledge and the resolve to help, it succeeded. This, though, all she could do was cry and flail about until something happened, and it was far more draining than spending a night swinging her mace. Now all she really wants to do is fall asleep snugly beside Arthur, where she belongs. Even so, she'd happily stand like this with Arthur as long as the others would tolerate it if she wasn't convinced Sin Je and Elastial would be far too polite to make the call to leave. She releases Arthur but in her unwillingness to let him go wraps her arm around his own.

"Saffron, tell us how this place operates. If it's too dangerous we can't leave it unattended, I shouldn't think, but I'd rather not put it to the torch when it could be guarded and studied under the eyes of the Jasidin."

[Diful Takveh]

Caitie comes over and helps the bard off his mule, "I brought your sword; it's right here." The girl pats the scabbard and blade within which hang down from Piers's saddle. "I didn't think to get one of the posters, though. I'm sorry if you needed one, but I could only think about keeping you and Blaire safe. It's what Anna would have wanted."

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Anna's inquisition of Saffron is cut short by an army of voices speaking some language unknown to all coming toward the back of the house. Out the windows, those tall enough can see that the voices belong to a band of at least 50 goblins were unarmed and unarmored, but their numbers would still pose a challenge to those gathered who were drained emotionally, by the long journey of the day, or both.

The goblins themselves were coming from caves in the cliff face that stretched behind the house, something that none of those gathered had noticed, or if they had, they were in too much of a hurry to explore them. What was more troubling, however, was that the group did recognize one of the words the goblins were using, one they were using quite often in fact, "Anna." The goblins would soon be at the back door of the house.

[Gem_Knight]

He turned back to Bran, "Time go, now, get wolf." Sin Je rushes into the room with Anna, "Lady Anna- trouble!" was all he bothered to say, lastly he heads towards Elastai(sp?) "We must go, warriors or not, we are minority without reinforcement, traps, or any precautions."

(On the assumption Sin Je basically used two move actions and three 'free to talk' actions xD)

[sparky9042]

Hansi takes his rapier. "It's fine. The most important thing is that everyone's alright. I would've liked to get a hold of one of those posters as evidence of what's against us...this is a confusing situation and it's almost certainly being played as a powergrab by some very powerful people in the capital. That raid on Hillingshire, I'm convinced, was definitely not the work of cultists of Erythnul. I'm worried now...there are going to be more like it, and as long as we're alive... We're going to get blamed for it. What were those bounties? 1500 for Anna and myself, 1000 for you and Sin Je, Fle? I expect those to go higher soon. Those bounty posters told me so much..." Hansi rubs his temple, in part to relieve the throbbing ache in his head, in part to think of their next move.

"Alright, now...Anna knows a couple people in the area, one of whom is the main cleric of Pelor, one Valencia Cassidy. I'm...not sure how to approach her, but she does typically hand out bread to people in the morning. I figure if I walk up to her and start talking things will happen. There are probably worse ways to go about it. Now...where should we sleep for the night?"

[Saskia]

Anna nods. "Yeah, if they want me then it's worth it as long as all of you get away safely. Arthur," She kisses him hard, but a thought strikes her. "If they want me but didn't bring weapons or armor I can't imagine they mean us any harm, that would be suicide. We do need to be careful, though. With only Tai'shar and one wolf not all of us will be able to outpace them. I'll talk to them, but be ready to leave quickly."

With reluctance she lets go of Arthur and embraces Saffron to kiss her hair once more, and moves toward the door. The group needs to get to Bentwood and make sure the others made it okay, and Anna needs to finally get some rest. She does not welcome this distraction. She adjusts her armor and cloak and takes a deep breath to prepare herself before opening the door and taking a confident stride outside.

"I am Anna Whitefield, Karuth and enemy of discord. You've come to me unarmed and unarmored, offering due respect to the Guardian of Death. What is your purpose here?"

[Diful Takveh]

At Sin Je's warning, Saffron starts up and, glancing at Arthur for only a brief second, makes her way to the front door of the house, head hung down. Bran is the next to go after he gives a nod to Elastial; if nobody else took care of the girl, he would. The rest stayed in the room, hoping that they wouldn't have to flee so soon after arriving, but knowing that outcome was probable and preparing for it.

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Caitie looks away, "But who would do that? I know Erythnul's cultists will do it just for the destruction, but to purposefully kill almost everyone in a village for power?" She turns back to Hansi, "Sir, do you think it would be better if Blaire or I went in your stead? There were no wanted posters for either of us, so people wouldn't come after us."

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Anna steps outside to see that a semicircle of goblins has formed, and now that they all stand together, she realizes they all wear the same thin white robes. With the cleric outside, the center goblin steps out and lowers to one knee, bowing his head to the servant of Wee Jas, and all of the goblins follow suit. He speaks something in an unknown tongue, but Anna can hear her name mentioned more than once.

As he continues, he stands up and bows before turning behind him and calling someone forward with his hand. Another goblin, much older than the one who had given a speech about Anna, steps forward and bows. The first goblin puts his arms on the older goblin and starts speaking again and holds up the pendant around the older goblin's neck, a wooden carving of an open book with a sword where the pages joined.

After some sort of explanation, the older goblin bows again and walks as though to enter the house while the first goblin lowers back down to one knee.

[sparky9042]

"Hmm...How about this. Tomorrow morning, we all go out to the temple district. There, we go begging. That will give us a chance to both get food and talk to Valencia. I know sending me in there is risky given the bounty posters, but...I think I can work something out. Plus, I don't want to put you in harm's way."

[Saskia]

Frustrating. Still, if she chastises herself for only skimming parts of certain books she'd never be able to enjoy learning again, and only when it becomes arduous does learning stop and the individual descend into ignorance. "I think they're alright, not like a lot of goblins at the very least. The way I understand it their religion is something of a mix between Heironeous and Boccob." With a bow Anna continues speaking. Obviously they respect her, though for what she's not entirely sure, But if that's the case then one or both of the leaders at least should have magic to comprehend the speech of those they couldn't normally understand, even if they couldn't replicate it. Or, maybe she was just foolishly speaking to a bunch of people who couldn't understand her. "Forgive me, but my companions and I are exhausted. We've had a horrendous several days, and we need to regroup with the rest of our posse." She hesitates, waiting for the goblin to do or say something she can understand but unsure if there's a point in doing so.

[Diful Takveh]

Caitie gives Hansi a smile, "Thank you for thinking of my safety; it means a lot to me, especially with Anna gone, and I know that you'll take care of the twins should anything happen to me. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go help those two get ready for bed and then probably do the same for myself." She walks away to where the twins are playing, leaving Hansi standing next to Piers as he continued to formulate his plan. The trip to the village hadn't been quite as easy as expected, and now that he and Fle knew they were wanted criminals, Hansi knew it was going to be even harder to continue with Anna's plan.

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As Anna tries to talk with the leader, his head very slowly tilts to the side. Maybe she didn't understand them. Maybe he needed to think of another way to communicate. He finds a stick and starts drawing in the dirt, first a circle, no a face with long pointy ears and no eyes. He then draws a square with a triangle on top of it, a building, and he points to the house behind Anna. He uses the stick to point at the face while gesturing to the goblins with his other hand and following it up by closing his eyes and putting his head on his hand and making some sound that was some cross of snoring and purring. As he does that, he drops the stick and holds his hand above his head as though grabbing something and then points to the house once again.

When he has done all that, he looks back at Anna, and ever so clearly, the goblin says, "Maria, please don't leave me, I love you." While the goblin's expression and stance remain the same, his voice is emotionally charged as though he were afraid to lose whoever this Maria person was. The other goblins understood what the chief was trying to do and copied his action, speaking things that were viable grammatically, but made no sense in the current situation.

"Shh, shh, don't worry. Mommy's here, you're safe." "Help me, Will, I don't know what to do." "Don't you dare speak to my sister that way!" Anna could make these out, but most of the things they were saying were lost in the general speech of the crowd. The chief turns around and holds up his hands to quiet the crowd as a young goblin walks up to Anna and says, "Why are you crying Miss Anna? Even if you don't have Arthur, Lyle's still here and he loves you ever so dearly. Isn't that enough?"

[Bladehunter217]

"In morning, Fle have look at town, grab poster, Mule-man meet with mother-weird's friend." He smiled and patted down the ground for comfort. "Fle stay awake for while, not good to all sleep when not know what is out night."

[Saskia]

So... the place belongs to a blind elf? No, it belongs to the goblins. And their friend is in a... cupboard? And possibly blind, or just asleep? They can't exactly leave if these goblins need help. When it starts talking like Rachel her expression hardens. She looks back toward the house and walks through the door. As she walks by she takes Arthur's hand and drags him with her looking for a staircase or ladder or some entrance to an attic space. "Okay boys, I think they have a friend passed out in a magic attic? Or a cabinet? I don't know, they don't speak Intuneric and I'm too tired to play Charades."

[Diful Takveh]

As Anna walks inside, she is greeted by the older goblin who kneels and presents her with her comb, repaired as if nothing had happened to it. Having completed that duty, he and the leader come inside and walk over to the book shelf and start browsing its contents, trying to find something they could understand, but their search was in vain as the piles of books around them soon grew. The rest of the goblins remained outside, sitting in the same formation they had while standing.

As far as anyone could tell, there was no sort of ladder anywhere in the place, nor was there any sort of floor above them as the rafters were entirely open for the group to see, and nobody was up there. The group's search stops when the leader calls out, "Anna, Anna!" and holds up one of the smaller books they had found. It was really just a stack of papers between two black leather covers bound together by a string wrapped around the left edge of the packet so that it would open like a standard book.

Upon opening it, Anna discovers that the writing is not Intuneric, but some form of language formed of gracefully flowing characters. It was not something she could read.

[Saskia]

Anna graciously takes the comb and the book, though she had hoped to restore the comb with Arthur. Even if he couldn't use magic, he could be there with her and hold her when she did it, as an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to one another and to Rachel. It is a very kind gesture though, and enough to force a warm and grateful smile out of her.

In any case, due to no failure of these goblins her patience is wearing thin and she has no idea what to do, but no desire to be rude. They apparently expect more out of her than she has right now. All she wants is to withdraw from the world and rest to heal her wounds, physical and emotional, and this is anything but the withdrawal she needs. She looks pleadingly between Sin Je and Elastial, as though begging one of them to take charge and give her some relief.

[Shinovar]

Elastial watches the conversation between Anna and Arther shift into worry about the goblins around them. Elastial goes to the window to scout the new threat. Not really seeing any other option, Elastial doesn't argue when Anna decides to go and talk to them. He does, however, grab Bran and take him with him to where Tai'Shar, and more pressingly, where his armor and his weapons are.

"Help me to get these on, can you lad? And if trouble breaks out, take Taishar, grab Anna, and try to get out of here. If grabbing Anna isn't an option, do your best to get Saffron or Arthur and get out of here. But be careful not to risk yourself too much."

With Bran's help, Elastial puts his armor on and straps his morningstar to his side as Ann has her conversation with the unexpected guests.

"I don't think that they mean us any harm, but be careful still. Be ready to get out of here if things go south. I will hold them off as long as I am able."

With that, Elastial walks with the others into the house. He walks in in time to see Anna take a book from the goblins. She looks at it, but doesn't seem to understand what she is seeing. Anna looks up and gives him a pleading look and Elastial walks closer. He catches a glimpse of the script and sees some familiar designs. "May I?" He asks of Anna as he reaches forward for the book.

[Diful Takveh]

Elastial opens the book, written in elvish, and starts reading it, and from its front page, he determines that it is a research journal of the arcane belonging to a Lisara Ashaern.
After all these decades of searching, I may have finally found an answer as to how I can see, not just with this arcane echolocation I've developed, but with my actual eyes, to see the letters I direct my quill to write, to see the colors of the world I live in. My peers, they all said I should just go to the healers and beg some god or another for the gift of sight, but they fail to realize that it was these same divines that cursed me and begging for that which all others have naturally is acknowledging their victory over me, but I digress.

I have found a way to avail myself of the sights of creatures: birds, mice, squirrels, and anything else that might find its way into my home, but when I do this, it seems the creature loses its gift of sight, so I am at somewhat of a loss. I could continue to use this procedure on the creatures around me, but I do not want to be some petty thief who steals the natural gift rather than gold or knowledge. If there were but a means to warn them and offer compensation for their services, I would have no problem with it, but to an animal, sight is often the most precious thing to them.Here, it goes into technical details of how the magic actually works, but that is something the paladin has no knowledge of nor knack for. After a few pages, it returns to the writer's moral dilemma.
Now, I could conceivably use goblins or some other semi-intelligent beast as they have the capacities to understand contracts and payment, and certainly nobody would mind if a goblin village suddenly disappeared, and the unknown force that caused that disappearance might even seem heroic to the people of Intunercale. They would honestly be the perfect source save the fact that I personally have a strong aversion for such uncivilized races, such is the pain of an arcanist. If I had to use such horrible subjects, I would still need some form of compensation, but that is a topic for some other day. After a few more pages of detailed notes and arcane formulae, Elastial finds the next part of the aracnist's thoughts.
I know now what I must give as compensation for my heart's desire, and that is the heart's desire of whoever gives their sight to me. Now, many of my peers might wonder how I can offer what often amounts to some impossible dream which can only possibly be conceived in the mind of the one with the desire. However, I have--At this point, Elastial's reading is interrupted by a familiar face who had made her way through the goblins. Charlize now stands in the doorway and says, "Good evening, Anna. I trust you've made acquaintance with the chieftain of the Znalosť tribe. He was fairly eager to thank you for freeing him and his kinsmen." As she mentions the chieftain, she acknowledges the younger of the two goblins among the book pile who once again is bowing toward Anna. Charlize says something in that tongue which until now had only served to confuse the group, and the chieftain straightens up and gives a nod to the elf in the doorway.

[Shinovar]

Elastial takes the book and reads it out loud to those gathered, doing his best to translate as he goes. At some points, he has to pause and search for a translation that better gets across the meaning, as a direct translation would just confuse the listeners. As he he continues, the rust begins to fall off of his translating skills and he goes a bit faster, gaining confidence as he goes.

When Charlize walks in, he pauses and looks up at her realization dawning on him as she talks. "So is the spell broken now? They will be free and the house wont work anymore?"

[Diful Takveh]

Charlize nods, "Margareta and I made it so that the next time the owner decided they no longer wished for what they had asked of the house, that the goblins would become free. With the dreams of the goblins no longer giving shape to the house, it can no longer offer anyone his desire, so it is virtually harmless. The goblins do, however, bear a grudge against Lisara and more specifically, this house, and wish to see it burn to the ground." She looks to Anna, "But they are creatures of honor, and will not destroy the house if it is against the will of their savior."

[Saskia]

After giving the book to Elastial, Anna sits down against the wall, asking with her eyes for Arthur to accompany her to lean against in case she dozes off. She smiles warmly at Charlize and says "Charlize, I'm so glad you're okay." She's surprised actually at how quickly she had bonded and become attached to the woman, so polite and sweet and not making passes at Arthur. She looks to the indicated goblins and smiles warmly, and closes her eyes. She was supposed to go with the others to Bentwood, but Anna's in no mood to argue the point, and it would be in poor taste anyway. Her stomach churns at the improper ratio of men to women with only Hansi, Fle, and Caitie with the twins, but at least Hansi seemed like a lovely enough young man and Fle, while perhaps a bit touched, is probably harmless.

When she becomes aware that she's being spoken to she opens her eyes again. So collapsing crying and squeezing Saffron like she were made of gold saved the goblins. Suddenly this whole place makes a lot more sense. She doesn't want to speak, but now it's directly referring to the work she dedicates herself to, and to that she is far more amenable. "Oh, well, I don't blame them one bit. But where is this Lisara? As a Karuth one of my duties is to protect unique magical effects and places so they can be studied and understood, but only if it's not going to impose undue harm and discord to do so." She pauses to adjust herself against the wall. "If they really want to destroy this place I understand and I won't begrudge them for it, but I think it's important to understand that if the same mystical framework is employed to create a similar device elsewhere it'll be much easier to dismantle if it's understood. If Lisara is still around somewhere then she'll just make another house, or something more compact and easier to conceal, so that information will be invaluable." She lays her had on Arthur's shoulder and closes her eyes once again with a deep, exhausted breath. "And more practically for the tribe, if the magic is still intact then there's a good chance that its unusually intimate connection with its creator can be used to find her and bring her to justice so she can't destroy any more lives."

[Diful Takveh]

Charlize shakes her head, "I don't know where Lisara is, and whatever magic that might have remained after freeing the goblins has been canceled, so we can assume that Lisara is out there somewhere, but because she didn't come here or at least send an angry message, we can assume she does not desire confrontation or desires it on her own terms. I do not believe, however, that Lisara would make such a thing more difficult to find as she needs people to find it; however, there are plenty of ways to hide things from people who she believes shouldn't find it. As for the information needed, I believe we may find it in the books the Znalosť have been so kind to organize for us." She turns to the chieftain and speaks in goblin for a short while, and he nods and replies to the elf who in turn translates for Anna, "The chieftain wants to know if there is anything else you desire, possibly some healing or a place to sleep for you and your companions."

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Hansi and Fle wake up to the sight of the branches above them just starting to be visible in the light before the dawn. The fire the halfling had started has long since been extinguished, not by any person or creature, but simply by the passage of time. The bard feels refreshed, and what injuries he had sustained the night before have all gone away, and all that is left is some minor bruising, but that won't interfere with what he has planned for the day. As his stomach reminds him of its vacancy, Hansi thinks once more of the woman he was to meet, and of the bread she would be passing out. One look around reveals that the others still sleep. It was a cool and quiet morning, and the birds and insects had just started to sing and chirp.

[Saskia]

"I don't have any strong personal interest in the matter if there's no magic to be studied, so it's up to them to determine what should be done with it. But sleep and healing sounds like a lovely pair." The muscle strain from the fall into the lizard's pit was about the only thing she hadn't recovered from. Laying of hands really is a powerful, if understated tool in the holy warrior's arsenal. "I don't think I've ever been quite so thoroughly worn out."

[Diful Takveh]

Having Charlize to translate truly was a boon as soon the older goblin walks over and puts his hands on Anna's head, and reciting a short prayer, she can feel healing energy make its way through her entire body, and welling in her back before it flows out through her extremities, taking the pain and injury with it. At the same time, the chieftain heads outside and gives the gathered tribe some orders, and soon, they all make their way to the caves from which they came.

Shortly thereafter, they come back carrying bundles that the group learned were piles of straw and blankets as they brought them inside and piled them into makeshift beds which seemed more like nests than actual beds. The chieftain says something else, and Charlize translates for him, "I am sorry we cannot offer more, but everything else was taken from us and we have not been awake long enough to regain that which we have lost to our enslavement. We shall keep watch as you sleep, so relax knowing that you are in the care of the Znalosť."

[Shinovar]

"Charlize, please pass along our dearest gratitude towards them. Will you be accompanying us when we leave tomorrow?"

As he waits for the elf's reply, Elastial detects evil on those gathered. He really must get better about doing that first thing.

[Saskia]

Anna gratefully takes the opportunity to get out of her armor. Without the shell of steel scales to contain it she realizes in just how dire a need she and her clothing have of cleaning. When they reach Bentwood she's got to be the same placid and dignified Anna that passed through three seasons ago, and that won't be possible if she smells like a horse with festering bridle sores. Besides, the cold water should be invigorating. "Absolutely," she says to second Elastial's thanks, "And is there a river or creek nearby where I can get cleaned up before I lay down for the night? I'm sure I smell even worse than I look right now, and I'd rather not subject everyone to the filth."

[Diful Takveh]

Elastial looks around at those gathered and sees no apparent evil in either the group nor in the surrounding areas. Charlize nods and clarifies, "As will Margareta, but she's still a bit tired from all the excitement of the evening and will stay in the caves for the night. As for a stream..." She has a short conversation with the goblin chieftain before continuing, "The goblins are, regrettably unfamiliar with the area, but are willing to send out a small group to search for one. Though, if you desire, I do possess magic which I can use to clean both you and your clothes. Any others who desire such magic can see me as well."

[Saskia]

"I would appreciate that tremendously, Charlize. Thank you." It's not always easy explaining seemingly arbitrary rituals; she wants to be clean, certainly, but it's also important as a daily religious rite; bathing daily ensures that a Karuth has time for herself, to relax with her own meditations and prayers. Still, she can't ask the goblins to risk encounters with nocturnal predators for a religious practice that the priesthood takes more seriously than the goddess. And, putting it in those terms, it sounds like a rather foolish idea anyway. There should be plenty of time for that in Bentwood. Even if it's not necessary though, there's a comforting security in maintaining rituals. Even without a creek she's still got a conjuration to create water prepared, so Anna looks around for a wash basin to wash her face and hands before laying down for the night.

[Diful Takveh]

In her search for some form of bucket or wash basin, Anna realizes just how empty the house and the surrounding land is. Besides the straw, the blankets, the bookshelf and its contents, and the house itself, the area is seemingly devoid of man-made objects. Anna does, however, find a stump that has been hollowed out and finished so as to retain water, which it had from the previous day's rain. Carved about the edge of this carved basin are letters of the same script in which the journal had been written. "May the one reflected here ever treasure her vision." The voice from behind Anna belongs to Charlize who had followed he out, "That's what it says at least. Don't worry though, I can see no magic about it."

[sparky9042]

Hansi looks up at the bright morning sky. Mornings were nice, he supposed. Not as much fun as nights, but nice. This morning, however... Alright, everyone! Time to get up and get going!"

[Saskia]

Vision. The topic makes for a good focus while she washes her already-cleaned face. How powerful a tool to be taken for granted. How lonely it would feel to never again bear witness to Arthur's smile, or the juxtaposition of Elizabeth's careful cleanliness with her brother's inability to stay that way;to never again be able to stare at a beautiful work of art. The thought is heart-wrenching.

Ruby had a favored saying when Anna would ask why somebody did something stupid or obviously incorrect. You don't need eyes to see, you need vision. As a girl this didn't make much sense, and as she grew she dismissed it. But should she have? The primary function of vision is that it grants a glimpse into the future—to see a charging bull or a diving raptor, or a kobold turning a ballista. Any idiot can see a tree fall, but it takes vision for a lumberjack to make it fall where he wants it. So should be the case with sight, and information more generally. If it's not being used to broader effect, you're just faffing around in the darkness, seeing the trees but blind to the forest.

Divine magic exists to restore sight to the sightless; restoring lost senses is widely considered one of the more common miracles, just behind the mending of wounds. Sure, it's beyond the power granted to Anna, but for a fee, (and a modest fee given the practicality of sight weighed against the budget this wizard obviously had to work with) she could have had it restored in the space of a day. Why had she opted not to take that path? Was she so consumed with restoring her sight that she forgot the powers of those around her? Perhaps the real tragedy wasn't in the loss of her sight, but in the loss of her vision. Perhaps the use of her eyes was the least of her problems.

Anna sighs and looks at the ripples now distorting her appearance even more than the hideous facial carving, and is indeed quite happy that she can see them. Even happy she can see the scarring, though still not happy about being vandalized in such a personally offensive manner. She had lost her own vision several times just today: First in mistrusting Arthur's desire to be only with Anna, second in failing to keep collected when it was most crucial to save him. In nearly every way she had failed today, and because she had lost vision. Even so, in her Beloved Lady's love, her fumbling allowed her to save her stalwart pillar of strength. It might take a while for her to come to terms with what Saffron's done to her in claiming Arthur as her husband though. The thought of Arthur and Saffron consummating their imagined marriage wrenches Anna's gut like a knife, but her family is now safe; Arthur is hers again and that duplicitous little wench of hers has learned her lesson. At least with Saffron, Anna knew he wouldn't be bringing fell ailments into her bed. She can't blame Arthur for what he'd done under the effects of magic, but she would certainly need to talk to him about it. Resolution and devotion are not measured in one's ability to resist the influence of powerful magic. That said, Anna is resolved to ward Arthur against such influence in the future, and with trinkets so ensorcelled under her own hand. Creating magical attire to ward against magical attacks on her lover, how quintessentially Jasidin.

Her meditations done and feeling her thoughts are sufficiently collected, Anna kisses Arthur and retires for the night at his side to bury herself under his arm. The powerful emotions still coursing through her heart cause tears to flow silently from her eyes, but it's alright; just residual passions and tensions flowing out from her while she prepares to rest. She hasn't had a day so full of emotion for ages. She's got Arthur back, and she'll get Rachel and Lyle back. So at least for now, things are good as she closes her eyes to rest.

[Shinovar]

Elastial walks up to Charlize as well. "If you don't mind, my armor and I need cleaning as well."

Elastial begins removing his armor, now comfortable that he will not need it this night. These last days had been action packed. Hopefully they were approaching the end of their struggles, although with his promise to help find Rachel and to help end this new scourge upon the land that seemed doubtful.

[Diful Takveh]

The first ones up are the twins who both jump out of a gap between the roots of a nearby tree, Robert fully covered in all manner of dirt and leaves while Elizabeth has a single leaf on her nose which she promptly picks off and adds to her brother's hair. Next up is Blaire whose hair is a tangled mess full of sticks and leaves which she immediately starts brushing out. That means the only one left is Caitie, but neither Hansi nor Fle can see any sign of her. After a brief moment of debating whether to call out for her or not, Robert points to a figure walking toward the group. As the figure gets closer, those gathered can see that it is Caitie who immediately apologizes for making them worry for her.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Anna wakes up to a gentle kiss on her cheek and a hand, Arthur's strong hand which is ever so gently brushing her hair. She lets this go on for a short while before she turns and looks up at him, at the pain in his eyes, at the apology he could not yet put into words. He tries to put on a smile for the woman he had wronged, but Anna could still see that what he had done was bothering him. Without thinking too much on the matter, she sits up and throws her arms about her beloved, letting him know that it would all be okay, not with words but with the comforting embrace she so often used when those around her were suffering from a wide variety of problems. Arthur returns the embrace, calming an emotional storm that Anna wasn't even aware was howling inside of her, and what Arthur said next had a profound effect on her indeed:
"Good job, Anna. You saved me. Now why don't you thank the one who told you where I was?" With that, the loving embrace is ended, and Anna falls through the floor into some darkness that neither the light of her comb nor the light coming from her pendant could pierce, and while she landed on something, she knew not what it was, save for it was cold and strong enough to break both her fall and her legs. She can hear the sound of approaching footsteps, but she cannot see who it is until he is right on top of her. Arthur continues to walk up to her and pulls her up by her hair, and asks her:
"Isn't it your duty to thank someone if they've helped you? Isn't that what you're all about, your duty to this person and that person and everyone and your goddess? Start acting the way you're supposed to, do your duty, and thank your beloved fiancé." With that, Arthur drops Anna, and she starts to fall yet again into the abyss.

Anna wakes with a start. It is still dark, but she can hear the goblins talking in that language she knew not. Arthur's arm is still wrapped around her, holding her loosely in his sleep. As far as she can tell from where she is, only she and the goblins are awake at whatever hour of the night this is.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Sin Je decides that it would be best to wait until morning to give Anna the letter as she had quite a rough day, so after Charlize cleans him up, he heads straight for one of the piles of straw the goblins had brought out and wraps himself up in one of the blankets, promising himself that tomorrow would be a better day. With that, he falls into a fairly sound sleep.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

After getting himself cleaned up, Elastial checks to make sure Bran and Saffron were accounted for and sleeping before heading out front to bring Tai'shar around to the back of the house to tie him up. With everyone accounted for and in the protection of honorable goblins, Elastial offers his nightly prayers to Pelor, praying for the coming dawn. Having completed his prayers, he lays himself down on one of the piles of straw and falls into a nice sleep.

[Saskia]

That's... That's true. She does owe him her thanks. Maybe it was a more aggressive approach than she approved of, but that doesn't change the fact that he did help her invaluably. As a magus he should understand that her ability to communicate with him is limited, but she shouldn't have forgotten his assistance completely the way she did. Naturally, he should not be a petulant child because her mind was exhausted from running every which direction all day. She sits up with her hand on Arthur's chest, and speaks lowly to the air. If he could affect her dreams he might be able to hear her still. "You're right, and I'm sorry. I couldn't have done this without you. I was exhausted physically, emotionally, and intellectually, and everything else left my mind. You will come to understand this, and you will not speak to me that way again. You helped me invaluably twice when I needed help, and rest assured that I will repay you for it."

She strokes Arthur's hair, thinking about what the future could hold for the two of them with all the powers seemingly arrayed against them. Not just the two of them specifically, but a peaceful and happy life together will be impossible as log as Lyle and Rachel are stolen, and even then the impending conflict won't make things easy. She quickly decides that the only appropriate option is to guard him with her life, just like she knows he would do, and make sure she spends as much good time with him as she can, in case she doesn't get the chance later. And if anybody or anything comes between them, she'll just annihilate the offending party. With a gentle kiss for her peacefully resting Arthur, Anna replaces his arm around her and lays her head on his chest to let the beating of his heart lull her back to sleep.

[Diful Takveh]

Anna falls back to sleep easily and peacefully to the steady beat of her beloved's heart. This time, she finds herself standing in front of a forest in the light of a noon some midsummer's day. She can feel a small hand in her right, and looks down to see Rachel's smiling face. In the smiling girl's other hand are the fourth and fifth finger of the man Anna loved who also wears a smile. In Arthur's right hand is a basket which is most commonly used to carry food for lunches outside of the home. She looks back to see the people of Hillingshire going about their daily business, walking to and fro happily talking with each other. Leaving that place behind, the three of them walk into the woods, led by Arthur who knew exactly where they were going.

The three of them stopped by a stream about a quarter of an hour into the forest, and Arthur put down the basket to wash his hands and face in the stream. Rachel and Anna follow suit, and wash up before lunch with Anna finding a place where the water was still enough to provide a reflection, so she could fix her hair. Rachel sits down next to her and starts doing the same thing, and, in the pool, she can see the smile stretch across her unmarred face.

After washing up, the two ladies go back to Arthur for their lunch, Anna taking her rightful spot next to Arthur, and Rachel alternating between sitting between them and playing with the things she found in the forest. The three of them had a wonderful day with wonderful conversation, but none of what they said really mattered. All that mattered was that the three of them were once again together and happy once more.

As the day ended and Anna gave Arthur a farewell kiss before taking Rachel home to Olivia, a breeze blows past, carrying a simple message:
"Thank you."

With that, Anna's eyes open once more, but this time, she feels much more rested, and the sun has just risen over the horizon.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Elastial and Sin Je wake up from a nice restful sleep, ready to face the new day as the sun has just started to rise. As with the day before, the clear skies foretold a good day for travel. Those in the house can hear the goblins outside, talking more excitedly as the sun starts to rise. A whiff of cooking meat welcomes the group into the waking world.

[Shinovar]

Elastial gets up slowly, stretching his old body slowly. He had done more exercise lately than he was used to, and his body didn't recover as quickly as it once did.

Elastial walks over to his newly clean armor and begins putting it on, finishing by strapping his morningstar on. These past few days had been filled with violence and possible threats, and Elastial didn't intend on being any more vulnerable than was necessary.

That done, Elastial went to go check on Bran and Tai'Shar, making sure that they were as comfortable through the night as he had been.

[Saskia]

Anna stands and flexes the stiffness of sleep from her body, surprised by her newfound vigor. She feels like she could wrestle a bear. She wouldn't, of course, because that would be stupid, but her face carries an infectious smile in spite of the world around her crumbling. Setting the world right after what's happened might be difficult, but as long as she's got her lover, something to fight for that hasn't been destroyed, it'll be much easier, and having her comrades to shore up her weaknesses and share her burdens should make the daunting tasks ahead of her achievable. How she'll repay them she has no idea, but something should become apparent.

She decides to seize the opportunity to take the morning sun, even if the air is cool, to honor the forebears who laid their successive tiers of improvements to build the world today, and for continued strength through the troubled times.

[Diful Takveh]

Bran continues to sleep with his wolf Gray curled up around him. As Elastial approaches him, some wolf fur gets in Bran's nose, and he sneezes and wipes his nose with his shirtless arm before continuing his peaceful sleep. Going outside, Elastial sees that the goblins had been productive during the evening as there are many wooden and stone tools and weapons for hunting and meat preparation. These things are necessary as Elastial looks at the many fires the goblins had made to cook a variety of smaller animals they had caught: squirrels, rabbits, frogs, and a variety of other small forest creatures. As Elastial walks among them to his horse, they offer him cooked goods and bags of gathered nuts and berries.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Anna heads out the front of the house as she knows the back leads into a decent-sized band of goblins, and not that there's anything wrong with them or she's prejudiced. She just knows that they have a tendency to over-idolize her and would likely interrupt her meditation if they knew she was awake. In addition, she has no idea how she would communicate with them without Charlize whom she had not yet seen that morning. Who knows, maybe she had had the same idea and is now sitting right outside the front door.

Anna opens the door, and though she does not find the mysterious elf, she does find another sitting by the front door. Saffron looks up to acknowledge the one who came through the door, but when she sees who it is, she quickly darts her eyes back down until they once again look across the road and lets her head slowly follow. The eye contact they had had was brief, but long enough for Anna to realize Saffron's eyes were still discolored, though, from her actions it could be assumed she still saw.

[Bladehunter217]

Fle moved to clap his hand, forgetting about the missing one, he made a strange half squeak, half hiss, content with their awakening. He starts off with questions, intending to take advantage of not having a horrendous headache for the first time since waking up without a right arm. "Why was the woman gone? Does mule man plan to enter, or circle around town, do we together stay? You did already think about said, did you mule man?"

[Diful Takveh]

Caitie, who had been walking back to the group rather quickly, given the forested terrain, stops where she stands and calls back to the halfling in annoyance, "The woman was gone for her own reasons, and the halfling should remember the woman's name is Caitie."

[Saskia]

"Saffron," she says simply, not overly friendly but not without warmth, and sits down beside her. She wants to be friendly. She wants to go back to how things were with just a dull, implied rivalry rather than open competition between them. "It'll rip me apart if you're pregnant, you know."

Damn it, Anna, way to go. Why would you try to start a conversation with that? She takes Saffron's hand as a gesture of peace and continues with her voice calm, if hurt. "Look, I meant what I said last night, but I really need to talk about this with you, for Arthur's sake as much as for mine, because I don't think you know how deep you cut us, Saffron. Breaking his free will to be with you? It hurts so badly for me, but I just don't understand how you could do that to Arthur. You're not a bad girl, how could you think that's any different from rape?" Even so, she still feels an unusually placid calmness. Almost like she's not even angry. Almost.

[Bladehunter217]

"Fle is aware. Names are a strange thing, Fle doesn't like using them. Not even Fle's name is Fle, been so long, can't even remember what is was, something Greenfire, but Fle was always small, like a flea." He shrugs and runs his hand through his hair, a little uncertain as to what he should think of her response.

[Diful Takveh]

Saffron pulls her hand away from Anna and wraps both of her arms about her legs which she pulls up to her chest. She doesn't even turn her head to listen but continues staring across the road even as Anna questions what she was thinking. She continues to stare with eyes devoid not only of color but of the life that generally flourished in the girl's eyes, the life that could charm any number of boys who happened to but glance in her direction. As Anna continues, she draws herself even tighter until all that was visible above her knees were her eyes which continued to stare straight across the road.

The girl voiced neither answer nor argument to anything Anna said, and in fact, her only answer was a single tear that seemed to crawl down her face, not quite knowing it was falling. She didn't even bother to wipe her cheek as her gaze lingered on the other side of the road.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

With Caitie back in the group, all that remained was for Hansi to answer Fle's questions and decide how best to disguise themselves for the trek into the village.

[sparky9042]

"Alright everyone. Caitie, can I ask a favor of you? Can you pretend to be injured and ride on Piers? Just fake a limp or something. I need an excuse to get Piers into town as well and this works. If needed I'll just spin up some sob story about how he's all we have left from our farm or something. Also...Blaire? Fle? How are you two holding up from yesterday's poison?"

Once everyone responds, Hansi says,
"When everyone's ready, let's go."

[Saskia]

Anna sighs. Good job.

"Honey, I don't mean to beat you up over it. I know you regret it, and I do believe you've learned a lot from a bad and painful mistake. You're going to be a better woman for it." She looks to the rising sun and back to Saffron. When she's able to put it to words, she'll speak up, and the two can move on. Arthur? Maybe not. If somebody had pulled a stunt like that on Anna she could never forgive it under any circumstances. She's having serious trouble with this, after all, and the girl won't even talk to her. "If you want to be left alone to think about what you've done, I understand. I'll send Elastial to get you when it's time to eat and move out." She kneels and kisses her hair. "And remember, I will never stop loving you, so you'd better damn well not do anything that'll get you hurt."

She'd rather pray by Arthur's side, anyway.

[Diful Takveh]

Saffron doesn't so much as give a nod to indicate she had heard Anna or felt her kiss on her hair. As Anna opens the door, she glances back at Saffron who she could have sworn was just looking at her, but upon a closer look, her eyes still looked forward. It didn't matter anyway, Anna was going to leave her for now. She had to have a talk with Arthur.

Speaking of the man, he had gotten off the makeshift bed and had started stretching for the long day ahead. When he sees Anna walk in, he lowers his arms which he had been stretching over his head so as to be more welcoming. As she walks closer, he, in turn, walks toward her, and wraps her in a tight hug before asking in a low voice, "What happened last night, Anna? The last thing I remember is chasing Saffron out into the rain, and then there you were with Saffron, both on the verge of tears, and then you asked me if I loved you again. Anna, what did I do?" The arms that are normally very strong and supportive now seem to weakly hang off of the cleric, pulling her down instead of lifting her up.

[Bladehunter217]

"Wait up a tad, you want go into town with the donkey? Fle knows Fle's been calling you mule man, but ain't that getting a bit suspicious? Norms be that Fle suggests mule man stay back with Fle, but can't be having since mule man seems know most bout whats been happens. Fle can do something bout mule man's face, hope not run into meat at town, Fle can prove stump recent, ex-mean lady shot by kobold last night." He smiled at her and his own joke, she really was shot yesterday after all. "Children, woman and donkey come in separate from others, father dead, mother widowed and whatnot. Now starts a plan, though, should done night last." He turns to Hansi and waits for a response.

[sparky9042]

"I don't want to send you guys in alone...Fle, can you pretend to be a human child? If it's dark enough, no one will be able to tell the difference. Hide under your cloak or something? That way, you can protect everyone else. We meet up in the town square. I'll go in alone. Don't worry about me. Don't get yourselves hurt, and take care of Piers."

[Saskia]

"Oh, Arthur, I wish I knew." Or maybe she didn't. Maybe not knowing was best. That was a decision he would have to make for himself, though.

She sighs heavily in preparation for retelling. "When we got here, I opened the door and threw myself at you. I apologized for my paranoia and jealousy because I know if I don't control it it'll destroy us, and told you I love you." She leans in against him. The memory isn't pleasant, but he has to know. He can't be kept in the dark about things he'd done, or things maybe that had been done to him.. "You held me away and said that I only thought I loved you and I was acting childishly because you were married to Saffron. I tried to break the spell on you, but I didn't know how, and you got angry that I made Saffron cry, and you stomped my comb to pieces. One of the goblins fixed it, but I think I'd have rather had you stab me in the gut than break this thing. Even if it wasn't the Arthur I love, it still hurt so much." She pauses for a moment and rests her head against his, holding him much more securely than she usually does. Usually she leaves the security to Arthur, but she suspects right now he needs it more than she does. "And maybe it's just my jealous paranoia again, but it looked like you carried yourself with the same pride and confidence you do after we make love. I don't know if you did, but I know exactly what I'd do if I had you totally alone all night and completely in love with me, and it wouldn't be playing cards. But I stumbled upon the means of breaking the enchantment after a few minutes of hell." She kisses his cheek gently and holds him tightly. "I don't blame you, Arthur. I know you were under some magic or other. It's not your fault. I'll make something to keep you safe from it in the future. And I understand if you hate Saffron for it, but please don't be hostile to her. I swore to Wee Jas that I'd get all the survivors to safety, and Saffron is one of them. We'll get through this and you'll be fine. We'll be fine."

[Bladehunter217]

"Was the idea to disguise as child, Last time Fle did so was years ago, but like riding horse, yes? Do not go alone, mule man was beat by pig wrestler, at least take ex-mean lady or younger human woman. Fle is too old to let fool go alone." He sighed and waves a hand, swearing softly in halfling. "Do what must, but warning is given."

[Shinovar]

"Thank you, I will have enough for breakfast. If you have anything for Tai'Shar, I will be most thankful." Elastial takes enough of the offered food and motions towards his mouth and his horse, not knowing if the goblins will understand him without Charlize to translate.

[Diful Takveh]

Arthur listens intently to the horrendous acts he had committed toward his beloved that continued to elude his memory. As he listened, his arms slowly fell until they no longer held his beloved but hung lifeless at his side. At the same time, he let his upper body fall into hers, necessitating that Anna hold him as securely as he often held her. When Anna mentions the comb, Arthur takes in a quick breath, stands upright, and pulls his arms back around Anna, but they were not the gentle, secure arms Anna remembered but almost seemed constricting. He loosens them some when she pauses, but it still feels abnormal.

As Anna finishes, Arthur lets his feelings flow out, "Anna, I've hurt you. I'm sorry. I still love you, and I know we'll be fine, especially after we meet up with Rachel and the rest in Bentwood. Then you and I can go out and find that madman who stole Lyle from us, and after that, we'll head back to Hillingshire and rebuild it just as it was except you'll be the head priestess of the temple of Wee Jas that you and I will build together."

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

The goblins nod and take Elastial over to Tai'shar where one of them picks up a pile of grass and puts it in front of the horse. While the grass certainly isn't the high-quality variety that nobles generally offer their mounts, Tai'shar doesn't seem to have a problem with it and happily diminishes the pile set before him. Elastial knows that Tai'shar is smart enough not to eat anything that is bad for him, and so he trusts the goblin's meal is sufficient.

[Saskia]

As nice as the thought of restoring everything to normal may be, Anna squeezes Arthur as if in pain when he says Rachel's name. "Arthur, there's something else. When we got to Sin Je's home, Eli Sharp was there. The man from the trading company. He tricked me into saving him, but then he tried to kill used some magic to throw me in a pit with a giant lizard monster, and he took Rachel." She takes a slow, difficult breath. "It had to be powerful magic to throw me like rag doll. Arthur, I don't think I could have protected her if he's got access to that sort of power even if I was expecting it. But I'll find a way, I promise."

[Diful Takveh]

Arthur's end of the embrace starts to feel normal once again and once again become a place of sanctuary for Anna. He holds the back of her head, gently stroking it as he calmly says, "We'll find a way, Anna. Remember, you're not alone, and I promised you I'd look after Rachel."

[Saskia]

Anna nods. "Thank you, Arthur." She kisses him and sighs contentedly. He's right; between not only the two of them, but Elastial and Sin Je have pledged their support. That touched halfling and the singer might even be convinced to help, if they aren't also burning for revenge. If it ever really was Anna's own crusade, it isn't any longer. "If it's okay with you, Arthur, I'd rather talk about us when we've got more privacy, and maybe a fire and a warm blanket to share." And fewer Saffrons around who might hear them, intentionally or not. "Will you sit with me while I pray?"

[Diful Takveh]

Arthur loosens his grip on Anna and slides his hands down her arms until he holds both of her hands in his, "I understand." With that said, he gives Anna a nod of the head and lets her lead him to her chosen spot of worship where he will gladly stay beside her during her morning prayer.

[sparky9042]

"I don't want any of you to get hurt because you're with me. Blaire got shot and poisoned yesterday because she was next to me. I don't want that to happen this morning. I'm going in alone, that's my decision, and it's final." Hansi takes off, heading towards the southeast road.

[Bladehunter217]

"{Why must humans be stubborn?}" Fle muttered in halfling before turning to the others. "Now that sourpuss is gone, we'll wait while then trudge in after the idiot and save mule man's life. Maybe then will listen."

[Diful Takveh]

With the utmost finality of the bard's decision, he starts off, heading slightly to the rising sun rather than directly toward the center of town. As Hansi walks to where the road begins, he realizes that it is not much of a road from here to there, but more of a space that naturally formed between the houses as the town formed. It didn't really matter, especially not today, not when he had to be on constant lookout for people who might come after him. There weren't many people on the streets at this time in the morning, and those who were didn't come anywhere near the bard, most probably because, like him, they didn't want to be noticed.

As he walks around the back of the temple of Pelor to the Eastern road, he comes across a door that opened into the majestic building and shedding light on the nearby street and the cart outside the door.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

There are no arguments to Fle's brilliant plan as everybody around him was either not as wise as he or did not desire any further arguments. Elizabeth does ask one question, however, "How long are we going to wait, Mr. Fle?"

[Bladehunter217]

"Valid question my dear, Fle has absolutely no idea. Ask Fle again when mule man is out of sight." Upon Hansi's dissapearence, Fle looks over at piers and mutters more halfling slang that most parents would not like around their children and starts pacing. "Human men half again stubborn as halfling women, surprising other humans deal. Now small woman, we walk, no rush of course, we have no reason to rush."

[Shinovar]

With himself and his steed fed, Elastial thinks that he might as well attempt to communicate with the goblins. He first tries common, assuming it would have worked already if it were going to, but it was worth a shot, then cycles through Elvish, Orcish, and Giant.

[Diful Takveh]

Fle waits a short while after the bard's departure, maybe enough for the bard to have sung a song or two if he had been smart and stayed with the group instead of running off on his own. Oh well, the human was more stubborn than his mule and there was no helping it. Now, however, was not time for berating the bard for his foolishness; that could be saved until after they all got back safely. For now though, they walk as per the small man's plan.

They are on the road a short while after, and as with when the bard walked down the street, there weren't many people outside this early in the morning. Fle looks around, and sees a woman in the window of an inn, shaking a carpet out. She had black hair that was tied up behind her head in some shape he couldn't make out from his angle. She gives a wave to the group before they pass her inn, and then takes her carpet inside.

Shortly thereafter, as the group passes by the inn, the woman from the window comes out wearing her hair in a bun, a simple brown dress, an apron, and a smile upon her youthful face, "Would you kids like some sweets?" She looks at Blaire with that kind of smile that lets you know everything is alright, "The master isn't up yet, but he wouldn't mind if I shared some with such beautiful children." Without even waiting for her response, she pulls a sweet bun in each hand out of the pocket in her apron and hands one to each of the twins before patting them on the heads and asking, "And what are your names?" Elizabeth answers for the two of them, "I'm Elizabeth, and he's Robert." The young woman pats the girl on the head, and says, "Pleased to meet you, Elizabeth. My name is Sandra." As she introduces herself, she notices Fle, "And who might you be? Come now, don't be shy." She pulls another sweet roll out of her apron pocket and holds it gently out in both hands, beckoning what she thought was another child to come over.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

When Elastial speaks in Elvish, the goblins stop talking for a brief second before grabbing his hand and leading him a short distance to the goblin Elastial recognized as the goblin chieftain from the night before. The goblins chatter something and the chieftain bows to Elastial and speaks in broken Elvish, {Glad speak you. We feed horse. Know Anna speak elf? Need ask what do books.}

[Bladehunter217]

Fle is careful to move forward slowly, not certain if she was truly just being generous. He makes move to reach with his bandaged stub before realizing its gone. He backs away again, left hand on right arm before coming closer with his left hand raised. "Christopher." He offers softly, not meeting her eyes.

[roll0]

[Diful Takveh]

Sandra takes Fle's hand and lowers it so she can put the bun in it, "I think Christopher's a nice name." After placing the bun in his hand, she wraps her hands around his for a brief moment before standing, patting him on the head, and saying, "Well, I'd better get back to work. It was nice meeting you all, and I hope you have a nice day." With that, the young woman turns back to the inn and grabs the broom leaning against the side of the building before heading inside.

With the distraction gone, the group continues on, and the twins start eating their sweet buns, happy to have something to eat again.

[Bladehunter217]

Fle eats the bun, thinking to himself as the moved along, wondering if he actually met an honestly generous person just then. "Going straight to the church then?"

[Shinovar]

Well that's a relief. Elastial had worried that Charlize would be their only method of communication. His Elvish wasn't perfect, but it seemed good enough.

"I thank you for feeding my horse. I do not believe that Anna speaks elvish but I would be happy to translate for you."

If the goblin doesn't seem to understand Elastial, he simplifies his statements. "Thank you. Anna no speak elf. I speak to Anna for you. Put your words in language she speaks."

[Diful Takveh]

Blaire pats Fle on the head as he eats his sweet bun, "That's right." With this, the group continues on, straight as they are heading, and soon the majestic stone of the church of Pelor becomes visible ahead. At the same time, they see that a crowd has formed about the center of the town, for what reason, they cannot tell. They do, however, see a small group of beggars in front of the church, but again, they cannot tell if Hansi is among them.I'm going to put Fle's journey on a mini-hiatus until Hansi figures out what he's going to do.
-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Elastial doesn't need to simplify his speech for the chieftain who responds, {Elf good translate too. She with other nice lady in cave. I go talk Anna. Don't like house. Make fire. No burn books. Burn books sin. Anna decide what do books. She smart.}

[sparky9042]

Hansi decides not to get distracted now, and ducks to the side quickly. A spell later, and he is dirty-looking to boot. The bard wanders outside towards the main square, taking a position outside the temple of Pelor.

Prestidigitation to soil stuff up.

[Shinovar]

Elastial smiles. They seem even better with understanding than they do with speaking.

"Very well, let us approach her. I am sure that she would be more than happy to talk to you after all you have done."

Elastial waits for the goblin to lead so he can follow behind, but ready to start them moving if the goblin seems to be waiting for Elastial as well.

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi arrives in the town center to find two groups of people, a small clump of dirty beggars standing in front of the temple of Pelor in a sort of huddle around something in the center and a much larger group surrounding the town center, but Hansi couldn't see what was going on in there. There are occasional shouts from the crowd, but beyond that, he couldn't hear what had brought on the shouting. As for the smaller huddle, people move in and out of it with those exiting carrying with them a loaf of bread.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

The goblin nods and starts the walk back to the house to talk with Anna about the books. As the goblin realizes Anna is offering her daily prayers, he silently stops in the doorway and kneels, motioning for Elastial to do the same.

[sparky9042]

Hansi moves towards the smaller huddle, attempting to get in line for bread and hoping that he'll get a chance to see Valencia Cassidy there.

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi makes his way into the smaller huddle to find the center of it all, a rather plain older woman whose most striking feature was the benevolent and understanding smile that ever remained on her face as she blessed each and every person to which she gave bread. In no time at all, she puts a loaf of bread in the bard's hands, and clasping them, says instead of a normal blessing, "Something is bothering you, my child. What is it?"

[sparky9042]

Without looking up at her, Hansi replies, "...I have many problems...I...came to seek your aid on one of them. Would you perchance be Valencia Cassidy?"

[Diful Takveh]

She nods as she continues to hold the bard's hands in a light grip, "That I am, my friend. Would you mind coming inside? You will be safe there, and one of my brothers or sisters can take care of these people's physical needs while I take care of your spiritual ones."

[sparky9042]

"...Alright, I'll...come inside...thank you...it's good to know I can trust the Church of Pelor in these troubled times..." Hansi follows Valencia inside the church.

[Diful Takveh]

Valencia gently leads the bard into the church, waving an acolyte over to ask him to take charge of the poor while she helps 'this lost child'. The acolyte does as she says, and Valencia continues to lead Hansi into one of the side rooms. She shuts the door and places her hand upon it, whispering something before turning back to the bard. "There, my child. No one can overhear us as we speak." The room is small, made of stone just like the outside, and is furnished rather meagerly with only two chairs and a table with plates and utensils upon it. She motions for the bard to place his loaf of bread down and to sit in his chair as she does the same. "I had a vision you would come today, my child, though it was unclear on many things including the very reason you decided to come to me. Please, tell me what troubles you."

[sparky9042]

"A vision? Perhaps...What exactly did you find out in this vision?"

[Diful Takveh]

"It was vague on many details, Hansi, my child, but for some reason, I could hear a woman calling your name as if she was lost in the desert trying to find you, and then I saw you, not as dirty as you make yourself to be now, but regal and dressed from head to toe in finery. It was a very strange vision indeed, and if I was one of lesser faith, I might have dismissed it immediately, but oddly enough, your face and name on those posters gave me reason to believe that we would meet. Please do not worry yourself as I have no desire for the money nor for turning you in before I understand your story."

[sparky9042]

"So. You know my name, and you've seen the ridiculous posters. I suppose everyone around here has by now. I do apologize for the dirt. It's just a simple...cantrip, I believe I've heard them called, I'm taking advantage of it to disguise myself somewhat. I should explain why I'm here. It's about one of the other people in the bounty posters -- Anna Whitefield, cleric of Wee Jas. Yes, I know it says Erythnul on the bounty posters, and it says we're married -- we met less than a week ago, and she's engaged to another man. She sent me here to find you and tell you what happened -- now, what really happened -- at Hillingshire. She's off trying to do the same elsewhere. These posters made our jobs a lot harder..." Hansi sighs, a touch of weariness in his eyes already.

[Diful Takveh]

A slight frown mars Valencia's charitable smile, "Yes, they are quite the obstacle for those who seek the truth. I know it's still soon after the disaster, and your spiritual wounds are still fresh, but could you tell me what happened at Hillingshire? The people deserve to know the truth, and a firsthand account is the best information I have."

[sparky9042]

Hansi starts with his journey away from Kalnucita, where he used to work as a bar singer, towards Staleport, and how he met Sin Je. He then talks about the people he met at Hillingshire, and the setup for the festival. Then, he goes into detail about what happened when the festival came under attack, making it clear that three of the people on the posters were actually helping the town out during the attack, and the fourth was doing so as well until he was, it would seem, ensorcelled, then taken down. Hansi also makes sure to mention the Hillingshire survivors he has with him, as well as the two defenders of Hillingshire not on the wanted poster who are with the other group: Charlize, and in particular, Elastial Kepler, though of course, Hansi knows better than to point out that there is no poster for Kepler because Lord Grimly is probably not ready to frame his vassal for this.

As Hansi finishes, he decides to correct one more falsehood. "Oh, and for the record...I do not worship Erythnul, as you may have guessed. I know this is a temple of the Shining One, and I have a great deal of respect for Him, but the god I pray to most often would be Olidammara."

[Bladehunter217]

"Just so long as a head pat doesn't become a common occurrence." Fle stays behind the adults as they all make their way to the church, playing the part of the frightened child. When closing in on the church, he reasserts why the where there. "Don't forget, we look hansi and Cassidy."

[Diful Takveh]

The frown on Valencia's face remains there as she comprehends the gravity of the situation and how hard it must have been for all those involved. She does, however, smile when Hansi tells her of his affiliations, "It doesn't matter what god you or your friends might worship; this temple shall be a place of refuge for you until these lies are cleared up."

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Fle's group makes its way into the huddle of people in front of the church only to find that Hansi is not among them. In addition, the one who is passing out bread is not a woman, but a younger man wearing the robes of an acolyte.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

As Anna finishes her morning prayers and stands once more with Arthur, the goblin chieftain walks in, Elastial in tow. The goblin turns to the paladin and says in his broken Elvish, {Ask Anna what do books.}

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With the comforting feeling of knowing everyone will be safe, Hansi wants to thank his benefactor, but for some reason, he can't seem to move. Then, he hears a voice behind him, "Hansi, Caller of Darkness, you're going to have to come with me." The smile that had returned to Valencia's face now deserts her in favor of a face of anger, "This is a temple of Pelor, sir. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." "Ah yes, and I'm going to have you come with me as well for harboring a wanted criminal and obstruction of justice." "Well, if you care about justice, then--" She is stopped in mid-sentence as she too ceases to move. With this, Hansi feels a blow to the back of his head and he collapses to the floor, hearing these final words before falling into unconsciousness, "Valencia, dear, I am a bounty hunter. I care not for any justice beyond the coin it puts in my pocket."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle knows he should stay out front and wait for hansi, but waiting is for those with more patience. He frowned and looked up at Blaire. "Fle small, will look for back door from back, maybe he already inside church. Wait here, mule easy to find, Fle track it down if move. Ask where priest is will you?

[Diful Takveh]

As Fle makes his way out of the small huddle with a loaf of bread in his hand, he sees his singer friend being dragged out by the two men he had stabbed multiple times the night before. Behind them is a figure wearing a black coat that covers the entirety of his body from the black wrap that covers the entirety of his head save the glasses he wears strapped over his eyes to just above the ankle of his black boots. Walking beside him is an older woman in the garb of Pelor who walks with her head hung and eyes wide in fear. The man darts his glance in Fle's direction just as one of the beggars walks between them.

While Fle had only seen the edge of the man's gaze, a fear arose in him like no other he had felt, and he was certain that had he had a more direct or longer view of the man's eyes, he would have frozen in sheer terror. As it was, he couldn't move until Blaire fell to her knees in front of him and wrapped him in a crying hug. Through her tears, she manages to get out, "It's okay. Everything's okay."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle looks up at Blaire and speaks as softly and calmly as possible. "let go, it is only magic, nothing we cannot handle. Can you use a crossbow? We may need save him again.

Fle intends to follow them for now and make a plan from there.

[Diful Takveh]

Fle intends to follow the man in black but soon realizes he does not need to do that. The two dragging Hansi push their way into the larger crowd surrounding the town center, heading directly toward the same place. The people they move try to push back and tell them to find their own spot, often cursing. As the man in black walks through them, though, they become silent and form a path for him, one that does not close by the time the halfling reaches it. From here, Fle can see that there is some sort of platform in the center of the crowd, on which a man dressed in the armor of some middle-ranked military officer now stands, looking in awe at the two captives now being brought before him.

The meat-named men throw Hansi ever so roughly onto the stage while the man in black carefully walks up the steps with the priestess of Pelor, leads her over to the officer, and whispers into his ear. With that, the man in black looks at the idiots who had thrown Hansi onto the stage, and they run up and join him, picking up the bard and holding his head up. At this point, the officer leads the priestess before the crowd and shouts out to them, "People of Bentwood, many of you may have known this woman as a caring priestess of the god of sun, but today, we found out she is no such thing. She was harboring this criminal, wanted for the destruction of Hillingshire within the walls of the temple. In addition, what they talked of while they were there was their plan to destroy Bentwood, to destroy our town!" With this, the crowd lets out a jeering boo which ends as the officer continues, "It is my duty, therefore, to arrest her." With that, he takes out a wooden plank which hinged open for Valencia's wrists to be held in two holes between them, and he continues, "I know, it is a shock to me as well that one so seemingly good can be part of such a heinous plot." He grabs her chin and turns her face to him, "Have you nothing to say in your defense, priestess?" After a brief moment of silence, he lets go and the priestess falls to her knees and sits on her heels. The man takes a few steps from her and flicks his hand for the meat men to drop Hansi at the front of the stage as well, and they pull him up so that he sits up straight in his unconsciousness. With this, the officer shouts to the people, "Let us show these two how we welcome traitors to Bentwood." With that, the rocks start flying.

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Hansi wakes up to someone punching his stomach, but when he looks, no one is there, only a rock. He looks up to see a crowd, one which surrounds the stage in all directions save one, one path directly in front of him. Whoever had brought him here had neglected to bind him, and as long as he pretended he was unconscious, it would probably stay that way.Hansi takes [roll0] nonlethal.

[sparky9042]

Hansi thinks. There's a gap through the crowd -- he could try making a run for it, but he's not going to leave Valencia up there, and it'd close before they could really take advantage of it. He could draw a dagger and start fighting people. That'd work about as well as it usually does. He could use a couple spells, but it'd be obvious he's casting to anyone smart enough to notice -- surely someone in the crowd would figure it out, or worse yet, someone on the stage.

He inhaled.

Then he looked out at the crowd. "Is this how justice is done in Bentwood? You find someone accused of a crime you know nothing about, then send bounty hunters after him? And I have no idea what Mrs. Cassidy is doing up here, I really don't, apparently you decide that anyone I talk to is guilty of some ridiculous, without taking the time to hear me out, hear them out, or try to come to an independent understanding of what might actually be the case? I know, I know, Grimly and the other men who posted that bounty are quite powerful, and probably have a lot of money and fancy diviners and what not. But I know a thing or two about magic -- and not much more, really, contrary to what the posters would have you believe." At this point, Hansi has made it quite clear that he's not bound to the entire audience. "And you can fake magical evidence if you need to. It's called illusion. I can do some stuff with illusions myself -- granted, not much, since I'm really not the mastermind genius magician the poster makes me out to be...I'm just a bar singer. That's it. I'm a kid who used to sing in bars in Kalnucita, then I decided to travel to Slateport, then I wound up in Hillingshire. So." Hansi looks over at the church of the Cudgel. "Here's how I see it. If I'm guilty, and you execute me now, you've just ended a big horrible evil threat to everyone. Or something like that. But if I'm innocent, and you do that...well, the guys who put the posters out and the guys collecting the bounty might not care..." Hansi points at the Cuthbertine church. "But that guy? He will. And I don't think he'll be pretty happy."

[roll0]

[Diful Takveh]

As the bard starts speaking, the rocks stop flying at both him and Valencia, though not because they are stirred by his words, but that they had frozen in fright as the Caller of Darkness spoke. Shortly after he had started, Hansi can hear a terrified scream from the crowd to his left which is soon joined by the rapid disassembly of the crowd as they nearly trampled each other in their panicked rush away from the one who was trying to enslave them with his voice. Fle and Blaire get caught in this rush and are carried quite a distance away leaving Hansi the only member of the group from Hillingshire anywhere near the platform he now stands upon. Unfortunately, due to the lack of crowd, what would normally be an engaging speech only leaves the bard talking to himself and the others on the stage who would most certainly not fall for his lies.

As Hansi finishes his speech, he wonders why he hadn't been tackled by the meat men sometime in the middle of it. He turns around to look at them to find that Robert had placed himself behind Hansi with his arms stretched out wide. There is only a brief pause before Pork and Beef each grab one of the boy's arms while the officer grabs the bard by the cloak and holds him off the ground, shouting at him, "Have you no shame? Release that boy from your vile control this instant." To make a point, the man slams Hansi's head against the stage.Hansi takes [roll0] nonlethal damage.

-x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-

Having worked out what to do with the books with Anna, the goblin takes his leave to go and tell the others the plan, leaving Anna and Arthur alone with Elastial. During their talk, Bran had woken up and had taken his wolf out the back door, not wanting to interrupt what was surely an important meeting, leaving only Sin Je still asleep in his pile of blankets and straw.

[sparky9042]

Hansi doesn't even bother getting up. "Yeah, I'll get right on that. Gimme a minute to figure out how to mentally control people first." At this point, Hansi attempts to stand back up. "You seem like you're in charge around here. So, what're you going to do without a group of people to put on a show trial for? Maybe you'd actually like to listen to something I have to say for once? Or is Grimly paying you too much for that?"

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi tries to speak, to even open his mouth, but finds he cannot. As he is held on the ground, he can see the small form of Robert flying through the air and rolling a few times before coming to a stop on the dirt floor. The two men of meat grab the bard's arms and drag him to his feet and toward the prison. Valencia only looks on in horror as all this unfolds and doesn't even rush to the young child's aid before the man in black leads her after Hansi.

[Shinovar]

Having facilitated in the conclusion of the conversation about the books, Elastial bows gently to Anna as he departs. "Anna, I am going to check on Bran, but I believe that we will be ready to leave this place when you are. Are your wounds fully healed? Do you feel ready to begin our journey with haste?"

[Saskia]

Anna fidgets uncomfortably. "Thank you, Elastial. I'm more than well enough for the trip. I hate to ask you, but when you get moment will you get Saffron? She doesn't want to talk to us right now." She casts her gaze to the front of the house and adds "Also, how much of that powdered silver is left?"

[Shinovar]

Elastial remembers the night before, thinking it is probably a good idea if Anna and Saffron have some space for awhile.

"Of course. I will go to her as soon as I see to Bran." Elastial reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out the remainder of the silver and tosses it to Anna. "We have about half of one of the bags left. I assume you will make better use of this than I will."

[Diful Takveh]

Elastial heads out the way he had seen Bran walk out as they were discussing the matter of books with the goblin chieftain only to find no sign of the boy. The goblin chieftain approaches him, however, and tells him in Elvish, {Boy went hunt wolf.}

[Saskia]

"Thank you," Anna says with a bow, and buries the sheathed knife in the silver. Next to wake up Sin Je. When she got the chance she'd need to ask Charlize or Elastial to ask the goblins to send a Karuth to Bentwood. She still needs to report what happened while it's fresh in her memory, and if somebody who had seen her doppelganger had reported Anna as having presided over the slaughter it would help to have somebody confirm her standing in the Jasidin hierarchy. Not terribly high, perhaps, but the Witch Goddess sees fit to grant her some small measure of her power. Indeed, Valencia is respected enough in the town that she should have no problem after a couple of simple divinations convincing the townsfolk that Anna is innocent. And if not Valencia, Hubert. For that matter, anyone with a basic grasp of magic should be able to cast detections. At worst she might be detained for a night in jail. The indignity is, in such a case, a worthy trade for exoneration. Traveling with Elastial should help her case, but an extra respectable voice in her corner couldn't hurt, if somehow the town had been turned against her. She had been impressed with her own charm while she was there, so hopefully that would count for something.

She is perhaps putting the cart before the horse in assuming the worst, but Blaire had attacked her on-sight, so the ruse was clearly convincing enough for somebody. In the highly emotive state brought on by seeing your town burned and your neighbors and family murdered would probably not leave much room for even the villagers who knew her to think clearly through whether or not Anna could do such things. Fear wreaks havoc on the intellect, after all, and only placidity and understanding would help.

What would not help, however, was this scarring. After rousing Sin Je from his slumber, Anna pulls Arthur aside. "Arthur, I can't abide being disgraced like this anymore." She presents the magical knife to him from the silver bag and says "My Lady granted her power, and I'm going to use some of it to restore her living temple." This is not easy to say. For that matter, it's not going to be easy to tolerate. "Arthur, I need you to take this dagger and shave the scar tissue from my cheek so I can heal it. It's sharp, and magically honed to cut even more easily than anything you're used to. I don't trust anyone else with this, and I know you love me enough to suck it up and do it even though I know you don't want to. I'd do it myself if I had a mirror, but I don't, so I need you to do it for me. I feel so incredibly violated, Arthur, I can't keep this horrid thing on my face any longer."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle waits until the bad men are out of sight before going to Robert, making a quick check for his companions on the way. Without bothering to check if he is okay, fle attempts to drag the child towards the alley and hopefully out of danger.

would fle know which direction the pcs would be coming?

[Shinovar]

Hmmm...Does that mean he is trying to find his wolf that ran off, or he is hunting with his wolf? Knowing that boy and his gift with animals, probably the latter. Best not to worry yet. "Ok" He replies in elvish. "If you see him, again, can you tell him I want to talk to him please. Do you know where Saffron is? The human girl that is not Anna."

[Diful Takveh]

After a brief word with the jailer on duty, the officer leads the two prisoners to their cells which are on opposite sides of the hallway. As soon as the bard is tossed headfirst into his cell, he can hear the bars slam shut behind him and the lock click into place. By the time he comes to his senses and turns around, Valencia is also locked in her cell, though he doubts she would have gone anywhere anyway as she sits on her heels, hands cupped in her lap, and rocking back and forth ever so slightly. Enough of her, though, someone had taken his cloak and the dagger he had worn at his belt, leaving him with no more than the beggar he had portrayed himself as. He looks around at his stone room, empty save for a thin pile of straw in one corner for use as a bed. The door, something similar to a garden trellis in its design save it was made of iron instead of wood and its hinge was attached directly to the stone wall. There was no window in either the bard's or Valencia's room, and the only light that shone was that reflected from the entrance room at the end of the hall.


-x--x--x--x--x-

Arthur's face changes to one of concern, "Anna, do you want to do this here or would you like to--" Arthur's voice slowly fades as another one replaces it, one which is quite panicked.
<Anna, stop. That's just going to make it worse.>


-x--x--x--x--x-

Fle starts to run over to Robert only to find someone else has already picked him up and is carrying him over to the group. A young woman with short light brown hair and bright blue eyes to accentuate her gracefully acute features stops as she reaches Blaire, and puts the young boy at her feet. "Don't worry, he's fine, just a little out of it from being thrown so far." She gives the older woman a dazzling smile and brushes the dust off the front of her tunic and pants, both made of the same teal cloth which seems to catch the light ever so perfectly, as she stands. She wears a sword at her waist, almost too thin for use as a normal sword, but thick enough that it couldn't be used for the quick strokes of a rapier. The pommel of the sword is a flat surface reflective enough to be used as a mirror, if a rather small and cumbersome one.


-x--x--x--x--x-

The goblin stands confused for a moment, thinking before he answers, {Last master. Not Anna friend, maybe. Confusing. Come, follow.} He leads Elastial back into the house where he can see Anna and Arthur talking about something or other in the corner, and out the front where he can see Saffron still sitting against the wall of the house holding her knees to her chest. She doesn't even look up to acknowledge the paladin as he walks outside. {You talk girl. I not listen. I leave.} With that, the goblin departs once again, heading inside to start cataloging the books that he was to pass out to his tribe.

[sparky9042]

Hansi paces around his cell for a little while, glad they neglected to take his spell components. Hopefully Robert's alright, though with the way things were going, the idiots outside decided to poison him for no good reason too. Eventually, the bard decided to open his mouth once again. "Hey! You! Jailer! I assume you believe the stuff on the posters too?"

[Saskia]

Anna shakes her head in disbelief. It's nice having someone look out for you, but what exactly is the alternative? Walking into town with her face emblazoned with the emblem of her hated enemy, and which has every chance of screwing up her chance of winning the town over. Great. Then how am I going to rid myself of this disgrace, exactly?

[Bladehunter217]

Fle slowly comes closer and finds himself staring at the sword, wondering why someone would want to use such a strange thing. Closer still, Fle's eyes dart from Blair to the new woman he assumes to be a bounty hunter that saw him with them. He looks behind himself before looking back at her sword and waiting for Blaire to get rid of her.

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi's voice echoes down the otherwise silent hall, but his voice continues to be the only reply. After a few moments, however, he can hear the footsteps of a heavily armored figure walking upon the stone floor. Soon, the light from the entry room is blotted out by a large man made larger by the heavy armor, emblazoned with the Cross of Cuthbert, that covers his body in its entirety. With every crash of metal boot upon the stone, Valencia cringes, but Hansi can make out no more than that in the nearly nonexistent light. The man stops in front of Hansi's cell door, blocking Hansi's view of anything but the man who then proceeds to remove his helmet. The most noticeable feature is the man's broad, squared nose which sticks proudly off of the man's face. The nose is the center of his face which consists of two eyes which match the gray of his thick eyebrows and hair which is combed straight back and a mouth which Hansi can tell from the man's wrinkles generally remains in the scowl he now gives.


-x--x--x--x--x-


<I am sorry, my dear, if I had known it had bothered you so, I would have already given you a gift that, while it wouldn't remove the curse, it would cover the markings. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, the only way to remove the curse and the markings they cause is to bring an end to whatever the ritual at Hillingshire began. If you would like, you may find it during your trip to Bentwood.>


-x--x--x--x--x-

Blaire obviously doesn't know how to deal with this young woman. On the one hand, she had helped Robert, but on the other hand, she might be a bounty hunter out for the thousand on the halfling's head. She looks to Fle then back to Robert then to the woman who gives a slight bow, "You don't need to thank me or anything; I just-- it's a shame that everyone's like this. I mean-- never mind. Just take care, both you and your children." With this, the woman turns, and, giving Fle a pat on the head, walks off having answered fewer questions than she had brought up.

[Saskia]

Anna takes Arthur's hands and holds them to her chest. "Alright, Arthur, I won't make you do this. We'll find another way." If he's so unnerved he'll never be able to go through with it. And it's probably best not to destroy evidence. For that matter, it's best not to push him to hurt her when he evidently doesn't see it as a purely utilitarian procedure. "We'll just get Valencia to repair the damage, if she can. It's okay. Let's see if we can help get everyone ready."

[sparky9042]

Hansi hides any emotion in his face. Hopefully, he would have at the very least a few minutes of life remaining to try something. "So. You're here to kill me, then?"

[Diful Takveh]

Arthur lets out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding in as he now realizes he no longer has to harm the one he loves, however temporary the pain. He hands the dagger back to her, holding the blade so she can grab the hilt, so she has no chance to cut herself on the blade.


-x--x--x--x--x-

The scowling man maintains his silent scowl for a moment before Hansi can hear the door at the end of the hall slam closed, removing the only source of light from the hall of cells. Shortly thereafter, Hansi can hear the sound of the man's heavy footsteps, that of rattling chains, that of light feet padding against the stone floor, and finally the sound of his cell door unlocking.

[Shinovar]

Elastial walks over to Saffron, giving the others space. He knows that the goblins, Anna, and Arthur don't want anything to do with the girl right now. Bran would be fine with her, but he is gone, and Elastial hadn't seen Sin Je yet this morning. He was another that should be checked on. He seemed like a reliable kobold, but you never can tell how someone from a different culture will handle things like punctuality.

"Saffron, I am glad that we have found you and that you are unharmed. We still have much to do though. Will you be ready to depart shortly? If you need any help to speed things along, I would be happy to be of assistance."

[Diful Takveh]

The girl turns her head shortly to the paladin, long enough for him to see that the blue had not yet returned to her eyes, making her eyes, red from tears, all that more alien. She quickly returns her gaze to the other side of the road with an "Mmhmm" that, given the state of the girl and the paladin's choice of statements and questions, could mean anything.

[Shinovar]

Elastial goes up to Saffron and grasps her hand gently, like a father would. "Please, Saffron, I am trying to help you. I know that you have only done what you think is right, even though you have been misguided. I was young once, and do not hold it against you. The worst thing you can do now is to clam up. The others will forgive youthful over exuberance. But do not retreat into yourself. You may do more harm than you can imagine."

[Diful Takveh]

The girl's hand is tense, and though Saffron tries to pull it back to herself, some part of her must have desired the paladin keep hold of it as it doesn't leave his gentle grasp. The two sit like this for a few minutes of silence with the tension in the girl's hand lessening as the rest of her body follows suit. She turns her head to the paladin, and though she still wears downcast eyes, she is attempting to connect rather than remaining alone with whatever emotions were running rampant through her. For a brief second, she looks up at Elastial's eyes, but sighs and lets her head fall. "It's not them. I know they'll forgive me because they're good people." She turns her head away, so she is looking past Elastial and down the road, "And even if they couldn't, even if what I did was so awful that it ruined our friendship, I could leave, and they would be free to hate me from wherever they decide to settle down." She swallows the choking feeling that had been building in her throat before she once again looks straight out across the road, "I'm scared that I can't run from myself."

[Bladehunter217]

After the woman is gone, Fle moves to blaire, glaring towards the woman. "Why everyone pat Fle's head? We have look at prison, Fle needs scope out target. Would help if others were here."

[sparky9042]

"So...is this the part where I make my daring escape? 'Cause I've got some work to do, first telling people what really happened at Hillingshire, then getting as far away from here as humanly possible. But if you think I'm going to open the door without knowing what's on the other side... I'm not stupid, you know. Valencia? Do you perchance have any light spells or something?"

[Diful Takveh]

Caitie, who had been watching the prison while Fle and Blaire were focusing on the strange woman comes over, having climbed off of Piers. "Fle, you can't. The men from yesterday and the other two haven't come out yet. And even after they're gone, everyone in town is sure to know your face, especially whatever jailer they have on duty." She looks back to the prison for a moment, "I'll go in and tell you exactly where to find them, but you need to wait for Anna and tell her that it's not safe for her here."


-x--x--x--x--x-

A voice comes out of the darkness, but it is not one that belonged to the stern man who had been the last one the bard had seen, nor did it belong to the cleric of the church of light who now sat in the darkness of her cell in complete silence. No, this was a loving voice, one the bard had heard often as he grew up on the streets of Kalnucita, the voice that had reminded him day after day after day that no matter how horrible the city seemed, no matter how dark the night, no matter what tragedies might befall him, that there was always hope, that, so long as one could find it, there was joy in every moment. Today though, that loving joy deserted her voice, leaving only the vessel of the more mechanical aspects of her voice to carry the sorrow and fear so foreign to her. "You can't escape, Hansi. No matter how far you run, no matter how you try to hide, he will find you. No matter who you find to help you, he will cut them down one by one." There is a clatter of metal on the ground by the bard's feet, and a red light starts to glow above his cell door which now opens to reveal the bard's mother, standing with wrists, feet, and neck held by chains which lead off into the darkness away from the entrance. With her blue eyes wide and lips trembling, she stands in the open doorway, arms outstretched to reveal quite a few holes in the woman's dress, an ugly gray thing that somehow fit her current demeanor. She looks the bard directly in the eyes with tears coming out of her own, "Hansi, he said that if you escape, he'll kill me. Please, if you must escape, kill me first. Spare me his wrath, Hansi. Please, I can't take any more of it."

[sparky9042]

...

The first noise Hansi makes in response is a slight choking sound.

The second, what a trained arcanist would recognize as the verbal components to a spell.

A simple cantrip, one that merely detects the presence or absence of other magical effects in existence. It has limitations, but it also offers hope. Maybe this isn't real. Maybe some part of this is a trick. Maybe...

Detect Magic

Spellcraft: [roll0]

Oh, and also...Sense Motive on my dear old mum, who is iirc talking in a different text color than she was in my dream: [roll1]

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi's magic detection spell had always been different from those of his more arcanely practiced counterparts as, instead of seeing the different auras and their effects, he heard them, and could pick them apart by ear. Each school had its own style of music, whether it be the soft lullaby of an enchantment spell or the ominous chanting of conjuration, but what he heard now was no music. It was a cacophony of metallic screeches, screams, breaking glass, and all sorts of things that make one's hairs stand on end, but underneath it all, it was devoid of meaning, of any sort of sense. It was not that the bard could not understand it, but that it was not something that could be comprehended. The noise was practically deafening, and yet, as it was completely enclosed within his mind, he could still hear the sound of his mother's chains dragging across the stone floor, and beyond that, silence. His mother still stood there in the open doorway, waiting for the bard to make his choice.

[sparky9042]

Hansi draws back from the doorway in shock. "This is a trick, isn't it? You're trying to get me to do something... Using her. Why? What do you want?"

[Bladehunter217]

"No." Fle looked up at Catie, his mind racing back to the warden back when he was in prison, how cruel the man had been and what a man like him would do to her if he knew why she was there. "Get posters, meat men saw your face, think something else. Blaire can wait, see if some leave prison, Fle wait for Mother-Strange and Catie can watch twins, probably safest. If wish Catie and Blaire trade." He accented each instance of Blaire and Catie, obviously having trouble using their names.

[Diful Takveh]

There is a brief moment of silence in which "want" echoes throughout the length of the hall followed by a rattling of chains. Hansi's mother's eyes go wide, and she looks into the darkness behind her, pleading hysterically to the man both she and Hansi knew was there, "Please, don't make me do that. I'll do anything, but please, don't make me do that." There is a great thud and a few cracks followed by Hansi's mother flying into the cell, pulling the rattling chains behind her. She lands next to the bard, impacting the ground with her right shoulder, and a shudder runs through her body as she tries to curl up into a ball, but she can't and lets out a heart-wrenching screech of pain.


-x--x--x--x--x-

Caitie furrows her brow in confusion, but she seems to have gotten the message as she goes over to Elizabeth and gives her a hug before grabbing her hand and walking to her brother. Robert was just now pushing himself off the ground, and before he even stands, he looks over to the deserted stage and takes off, falling down after a few steps and grabbing his right ankle. Determined, he pushes himself back up off the ground, standing fully straight before hopping forward on his left foot. It isn't long before Caitie puts her hand on his shoulder to stop him. When Robert tries to pull away, Caitie picks him up and slings him carefully over her shoulder so as to carry the struggling boy to Piers. She places the boy on the mule but continues to hold him in place so he cannot move.

With that, the children and mule walk over to Fle, "Let's go."

[sparky9042]

"Is this how you do things, you sick bastard? You're going to continue torturing her until I finally give in? Until I do whatever it is you want?" Hansi's voice has started to break, as he knows that right now there's nothing he can do for his mother. "Well? Do you want me to die? Do you want me to kill my own mother for your sick enjoyment? YOU MISERABLE BASTARD, SAY SOMETHING!" Hansi walks outside of the cell door, tears beginning to flow down his face.

[Diful Takveh]

The man stands in Hansi's way, having replaced his helmet in the time since Hansi had last seen him, and as it covered the entirety of the man's face, the bard could not read his expression. Hansi's mother screeches out, "No!" over and over as the armored man pushes the bard back into his cell. As the bard falls back a step, he can feel the pain of something stabbing into his back.Hansi takes [roll0] damage.

[Shinovar]

Elastial looks at the girl, understanding suddenly. If only he were better at reading people. He never know when someone needed a kind word and when they needed a kick in the pants to get them moving. Apparently others couldn't tell that about him. They believed that he was great with people and always know what to say and how to act. And in fact what he did seemed to go over well. A shame that didn't give him any confidence when he was in the moment.

"Saffron, we cannot change the past. We cannot change what he have done, and in fact, what we have done in part makes us who we are. But we are no slaves to our history. Much of the effect our past has on us comes from how we feel about it, what we have learned from it. I have been where you are. No, my actions were not against those that called me friend, but I was no less regretful than you are now. I know what it is like to yearn with your whole being to replace the past with a new version more to your liking. But I also know that dwelling upon that is ultimately selfish. It helps no one. It is merely a self-obsessed way to make the world all about us and what we have done. I know, I have lived it. Please, do not follow in my mistaken footsteps.

All we can control, what all of our focus should be on, is the future. I am not advocating denying the past. Often our path leads us to make amends for past mistakes, but the focus is important here. Our mindset cannot be on what has taken place, but instead on how to care for those that you have wronged. Our mind must be on the cure, not the cause, even though the cure must always take the cause into account.

Saffron, I tell you this. No one is so far gone that they cannot be saved. Even the most evil and vile person can be redeemed, and you are a far cry from that position. But hating yourself is the first step down the path of evil. Few that are evil have enough presence of mind to admit that to themselves, but our actions reflect how we view ourselves. If we think that we are the type of person that kills, or rapes, or steals, then very little will stop us. If we instead see ourselves as one who risks all for others, who strives to uphold justice, then we will give more than we ever thought we had to live up to our beliefs.

There is a reason that you are alive Saffron. That is true for all of us. But you get to decide what that reason is. You are young. Don't make that reason to bring misery to others. Make that reason to spread joy and love and justice. Let this mistake be exactly that. A mistake that leads you on to being a better and more loving person, now that you have seen what the what comes from pursuing your own ends. Do not let it be what defines you. If anything, let your final act in there define you. Saffron, in the end, you ended it. No one forced you. You showed that you care for the others enough to let your fondest dream disappear rather than continue to bring them pain. Your earlier mistakes show your age. Your final actions, and the way you feel right now, show your character."

[Diful Takveh]

Saffron doesn't look at Elastial, but he can tell she is listening as the corners of her lips turn up even as a tear rolls down her cheek from her unblinking eye. She looks at him as he finishes. A soft smile hangs beneath her saturated eyes, and she gently leans on his shoulder and starts crying, not tears of sadness but tears which carried away the wickedness she had placed upon herself. She finishes, and, still leaning on his shoulder, tells the paladin the two words she needed to say more than anything else, "Thank you."

She sits up straight, wiping away the tears that remained in her eyes, and grins, almost laughing, letting her teeth be seen for the first time this morning. The weight she had accepted as her eternal burden had now been lifted, and she was free, not from the shirking of her duty, but realizing that it was not her duty in the first place.

She says, "Elastial, do you think you could do me a favor? I know it's something I should do, but deep down, I'm afraid and ashamed, and I feel it is something that will go away with time, but Anna needs to know as soon as she can, but--" She stops herself there and gathers her thoughts, "Could you tell her that I can't be-- uh... You see Arthur and I didn't-- hmm... I mean--" The flustered girl tries to consolidate her thoughts into an understandable statement but fails. "Um... just tell her that she doesn't need to worry about what she said to me before."

[Shinovar]

Elastial smiles to Saffron as he sees that she was told what she needed to hear. It wasn't often that youth would listen to wisdom from their elders, but Elastial was relieved that this was one of those times.

As Saffron stumbles over her words, Elastial smiles to her again and squeezes her hand before getting up. He had learned long ago not to pry into the affairs of women, so he lets the moment pass uncommented on. "I can tell her Saffron, but I hope that you get to the point where you can face her again sometime soon. Speaking of soon, we needed to be headed out shortly, so gather what you need. If you see the boy, can you send him to me?"

Elastial walks away from Saffron and heads towards Anna. He had been planning on finding Bran first, but Saffron's message seemed urgent and Anna had had enough pains in the last few days. Not wanting to overhear anything private, Elastial makes himself known when he gets close to the lovers. "Anna, can I speak with you for a moment? Saffron has placed a great weight on herself, but I believe that it is one that she can be taught how to carry. She wanted me to tell you that you don't have to worry about the thing that you were worried about."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle nods, following them along to the edge of town. He pulled his hood again, keeping quiet on the walk and kept an eye out for any of the wanted posters.

[Saskia]

Anna blushes faintly and grips Arthur's hand tightly. So she really wouldn't do that to to Anna. Breaking Arthur's free will without any justification is still a sore spot, but at least she didn't take it as far as she could have. That's certainly heartening news. "Thank you so much, Elastial. I'm sorry for making you play messenger in such an undignified manner, but girls of a certain age sometimes need to be handled carefully, even when they've done wrong. I very much appreciate it." Were she speaking to anyone else she'd comment on how she needs to marry Saffron off to some nice young studly nobleman to get her out of her hair, but with Elastial having actually lost his son it would be terribly thoughtless to joke about getting rid of the girl under her own care. The way he talks about his late son he sounds like he'd probably fit the bill, were he alive. She offers silent thanks to whatever ancestor in her line bestowed her progeny with the social grace not to inadvertently twist the knife.

"Do we know when we'll be ready to leave?"

[Shinovar]

"Not quite yet, but I hope to be soon. Bran is out hunting with his wolf, and I haven't seen Sin Je yet this morning. They were my next stop, but Saffron's message seemed urgent."

With that, Elastial bows his head to Anna and heads off to find the others.

[Diful Takveh]

Leaving Blaire behind, Fle, Caitie, the twins, and Piers make their way back out of the town, heading the way they had entered the day before in the hope that they could warn Anna before she made the same mistake they had. Fle grabs a few of the posters, at least one of each, as proof to his claim if his and Caitie's words weren't enough.

The streets themselves were dead as the denizens of night had long since returned to their homes while those of the morn were too afraid to come outside with dangerous criminals about. The doors were all closed, and all the shutters were drawn shut. If the window didn't have shutters, the curtains were drawn instead. On the one hand, it meant all the fewer people to interrupt them on their way out of town, but on the other, the silence was eerie, not befitting of such a town. In addition, the lack of others would bring attention to them, well, if there was anyone around to pay such attention.

There was nobody, though, and the four and the mule walked out of the town without so much as a single person stopping them, telling them that it was suicide to go to Hillingshire as the Undying Witch was still out there. There was nothing but silence as they found a cave about an hour out of the city that provided a good view of the road while keeping them hidden from it. They didn't know how long they would have to wait for Anna, but they would wait for her, however long it took.

Even as the others made themselves comfortable in the cave, they remained silent, barely whispering, and certainly not loud enough for Fle to hear as he had taken on something of a guard duty, standing by a tree just outside of the cave to watch for anyone who might come along the road. As such, when he heard, "It's quite a nice family you have here, Fle," he jumped and turned to see the girl who had patted him on the head sitting against the tree. She looked ahead, away from the halfling, but her sword was pointed in such a way that she could see his face in the pommel mirror.


-x--x--x--x--x-

Elastial heads out the back of the house, hopeful that he will be able to talk with Bran, and as the boy's wolf jumps over to him, he can assume the boy is back. The boy is indeed back, and is in the middle of speaking with the goblin chief using some sort of complicated charades. Due to the frustration in the goblin chief's every move, it can be assumed that whatever is trying to be communicated isn't. After the goblin chief sees Elastial, he points toward the paladin and throws up his hands in the air before walking away.

Now seeing the paladin, Bran runs over and jumps on Elastial, hanging himself off the paladin's shoulders for a moment before dropping to the ground, "Good morning, Mr. Elastial. I hope you slept well."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle was surprised at first, where did she come from this time and if she knew who he was, why didn't she say anything earlier? "Fle doesn't have patience for new faces, if here for bounty, bug off, otherwise state why." HE didn't bother going for his rapier, to tired of all the fighting from earlier and the fact he would have to fight later to fight now.

[Diful Takveh]

She lets out a tiny laugh and speaks, mimicking the halfling's speech patterns, "Fle needs to mind his manners. If Greta wanted to collect Fle's bounty, Fle would be in prison and Greta would be feasting." Fle can see her smile turn to a frown in the mirror, "But I don't believe any of the lies on those posters, and I want to help you."


-x--x--x--x--x-

Hansi turns around to see that it was his very mother who stood there with a dagger in her hand and tears in her eyes. "Hansi, I don't want to hurt you, but I can't control myself. Kill me, Hansi, please."

[Bladehunter217]

"Why, what would woman with mirror want help Fle?" He sighs and thinks about her offer, vague as it is. "Fine, if Greta has a plan for Fle, Fle would like to hear."

[sparky9042]

"I'm not going to kill you...you've done nothing wrong...just...just give me the dagger and I'll try to get us out of here...You're not going to die here...you don't deserve to die here..."

[Diful Takveh]

Greta continues to look at Fle in her mirror, "Well, the first thing we need to do is break Hansi out of prison, but we can do that when the ones you are waiting for arrive." She pauses for a moment, "It says you used to be a common thief before... well... and I was wondering if that was true. You see, I need someone to pick the lock of his prison cell, and I don't know how much of those posters is false."


-x--x--x--x--x-

The woman speaks in a panicked voice, "I can't, Hansi. He won't let me. Please, I can't bear the thought that I'm going to kill you." She continues to face the bard, but her eyes are downcast as her hand mechanically shoots forward and cuts a gash into the bard's armor halfway down the side of his chest, but not into his flesh. She gasps at the sight, fearing she has wounded him, "Please Hansi, you don't deserve to die here, and if he won't let the two of us live, it is better I die than you. I've already lived my life and made my mistakes. Please, you need to live."

[Shinovar]

Elastial can't help but smile. Bran's attitude, especially after his life, was infectious. "I slept just fine lad. I hear you were off hunting with your wolf. How did that go? Also, we need to leave soon. Are you and your wolf ready to go?"

[Bladehunter217]

"Fle was thief, but then fle use have dominant arm." He goes for his poster to check how accurate it was.

[sparky9042]

"I'm not going to let either of us die...and I'm not going to ask you to drop the dagger either..."

First, 5 foot step backwards out of reach.

On the dagger.

Reflex DC 14

[Diful Takveh]

Bran smiles and replies with a tone matching his expression, "Gray and I caught a few squirrels for him to eat, and I gathered enough berries for myself, so we're ready to leave right now."


-x--x--x--x--x-

Fle's poster reads as follows:

Fle Greenfire, Left Hand of Darkness - 1000
Fle Greenfire was once simply a great thief of Kalnucita, breaking into homes as he saw fit to satiate his lust for gold. He was to have been executed after his capture during a raid of the house of Lord Malvone Quisintar, but was broken out of prison by Hansi, Caller of Darkness. The halfling now follows the dark priest of Erythnul both as a debt to the one who freed him and to satiate his new lust, the lust for blood.

The poster is signed by the same six as Hansi's, and Fle recognizes one of the names as belonging to the man who had put him in prison all those years ago, Malvone Quisintar.


-x--x--x--x--x-

Not even trying to hold the dagger, Hansi's mother drops it and lunges, instead, for the singer's throat. As her hands are still oily from the dagger, her fingers slip, and she falls into Hansi crying as the top of her head rests on her son's chest.

[Bladehunter217]

"Fle is going to kill that scrawny noble. Fle broke himself out of prison, had to, damn jailer was going kill Fle. Fle just stole because is what Fle do. But soon, Hansi hold debt to Fle, be fun, that will. Not worries, Fle was indeed thief, Fle pick locks, though not well as past." He smiled and pulled his pack, retrieving his thief's took from it.

[Diful Takveh]

A light breeze blows through, gently brushing Greta's hair from her brow as she lets out a short laugh that sounds like a well-made set of bells. She looks at the halfling in her mirror as she encourages him, "That's the spirit!" Her laughter turns into a slight frown, "But first, we need to get Hansi out of prison. Nobody deserves to be treated like that, imprisoned for no crime whatsoever." She looks down and shakes her head before darting her eyes to the side, "And nobody deserves to live in a world where a friendly conversation must be viewed with suspicion. Wouldn't you agree?"

Now, Fle couldn't see her from where he stood as she was on the far side of the tree he leaned against, but Caitie stood with the bard's foil held up as though it were a weapon for slashing instead of stabbing. The two children had stayed by the bard's mule as Caitie had gone to investigate the other girl who couldn't be much older than she.

[Shinovar]

"Wonderful. I am glad that you had a successful hunting. Now we just need to find Sin Je and make sure he is ready, and then we can be off." Elastial pauses for a moment, then continues. "And Bran, I would like to hear about your time when I was away, if you are willing to tell it."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle chuckles, glancing back to notice the armed Catie. "Put away, now is not time start fight with weapon woman not know how use. Lets see what this one really wants before woman hurt herself." He turns back to Greta and eyes the sword. "What call it and why help Fle and company?"

[Diful Takveh]

Bran smiles widely at Elastial, glad that they will be able to head out soon. The house was strange, and was not quite comfortable with the goblins, not from any sort of prejudice, but due to the sheer number of them, it was overwhelming for the boy. When Elastial brings up the topic of what had happened in his absence, the boy's smile becomes hollow, a simple shape stretched across the boy's face that slowly deflates into an open frown accompanied by tearing eyes. At the same moment, the boy's arms come up to grasp opposing biceps as his breathing becomes heavier. He glances up at the paladin for a short moment before snapping around and running. He trips once, but immediately pushes himself back up to continue his flight from the paladin.


-x--x--x--x--x-

Greta turns her attention forward, eyes lost in days long since past, or at least what counted as long since past for one of her age. She is so lost in thought that she forgets to keep a loud enough tone of voice to speak with Fle, imparting a haunting quality to her next thoughts, "The same thing happened to me when I was younger. If I can keep someone else from sharing that fate..." Her voice trails off with a sigh, and she stands up and turns to the halfling, "But enough of that for now. We can relax until the others arrive. Don't worry, I was the only one who followed you, so we can assume your identity is still unknown."

[sparky9042]

Hansi steps away. "No. This isn't real...this can't be... Are you having me kill someone to frame me with another crime, or are you just going to kill me now?"

[Bladehunter217]

Fle thought deeply before frowning and looking back at her. "Fle not remember last time eat, maybe werelax by meal?" He offered, gesturing for Greta to join them inside.

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi pushes his mother back, and she stumbles back a few steps before she licks the palm of the hand that had held the dagger and looks at the bard and berates him, "Huh, I guess you finally figured it out. I'm not your dear old ma', just a simple bounty hunter with a grudge. And the best part is that I can kill you and still keep the reward money." As his mother speaks, her hair begins to fall out followed by her skin and clothing peeling away to reveal the man who had nearly broken the bard's back the night before. Instead of the sloppy farmer attire he had worn, however, he wears only a loose pair of black breeches, exposing his well-sculpted torso which was diminished only by the man's stance as he drew close to the ground from bending both at the knees and at the waist with his arms stretched to either side. On the ground between them lay the dagger Hansi had made him drop when he was still his mother.Roll for initiative:[roll0]
You too, Hansi.

-x--x--x--x--x-

Greta smiles once again and giggles before saying, "Thank you. I'd be glad to join you for lunch so long as it's not too much of a burden." With Fle's and Caitie's affirmation, she joins you and walks to the mouth of the cave where everyone had set up to wait for the others.

[Bladehunter217]

Fle motiioned to clap his hand, forgettting it was gone again before gesturing towards the cave. "Excellent, meet woman calling self gator and boy and girl Fle forgets name of. He drops, landing seated comfortably, using gravity and grace to avoid any awkwaed crouches. Fle then pulls the other posters and reads them.

[Diful Takveh]

Caitie smiles and does her best to laugh off Fle's forgetfulness, but she is not quite successful as there is a slight twitch in her eye as she reintroduces the group, referring first to herself and then to the children, "I'm Caitie, and these are Robert and Elizabeth. It's nice to make your acquaintance, Greta." Greta smiles as she is introduced to the children and sits down with her back to the wall, laying her head against the stone and closing her eyes. She opens her eyes for a brief moment to ask Caitie, "Could you keep watch while Fle and I take a short nap? We do need to be fully alert for tonight's operation." She turns her glance over to the rogue who sat rifling through the wanted posters, "And it would be best if you took a nap as well. Besides, Caitie can wake the both of us if anything were to happen."

[Bladehunter217]

"Yes, point valid, rest good idea. He nods to Catie And rolls over, rolling his cloak and putting it under is head.

[Diful Takveh]

As Anna sits up against the wall with Arthur, thinking, not just about the day to come, but of how she would rescue Rachel from Eli and what she would do with Saffron, worrying about Caitie and Lizzie and Robert, planning everything she could from what she knew, a goblin walks through the back door followed by yet another goblin, and another until a total of ten goblins walk through the door. The first one to walk in carries a small porcelain jar, just large enough that it fit nicely in the goblin's cupped hands. He places it down in front of Anna, bows, and turns and continues walking to stop and turn to face the wall Anna sat against. The second, third, and fourth goblins walk in front of her, in turn, bow, and walk to form the start of a line in front of Anna. The fifth and sixth approach together, bow, and each put a single glove by the jar for a total of a pair of gloves before taking their places in line. The seventh, eighth, and ninth do the same as the second, third, and fourth, and the tenth bows and presents a piece of paper folded in half before taking his spot at the end of the line.

The goblins stand as though waiting to be addressed.

[Saskia]

It takes a moment to register that something is even going on. Magical calculations don't come as easily for her as she suspects they would for somebody with a more logical mind rather than relying as she does on intuition, but to solve all the problems that need solving and keep everyone alive, the group is going to need more magic than she's got, so she'll need to build things. Mending wounds appears to be a high priority, given the dramatically increased risk she and her companions have faced over the last couple of days. A simple shelter to amplify natural healing would be a good start. Tai'shar could probably carry a tent in his saddlebags. A tent shouldn't be too heavy for a horse, surely.

When she realizes the goblins seem to be making some sort of offering she sits up and looks at Arthur for a moment. Gingerly she takes the paper, not quite sure what they're expecting. "Thank you," she says, and opens the paper. It's doubtful she can read it, but it couldn't hurt to see.

[Diful Takveh]

Anna opens the piece of paper, and while she can read it, the first words make her wonder if she truly wants to. In a beautifully flowing script, it reads:
Dearest Anna,

The porcelain jar contains the substance of which I spoke, a concealer for the marks on your face. It applies itself to the first skin it touches, however, so I have also included a pair of gloves which will magically keep themselves clean. While I could have left this anywhere for you to pick up, I figured you might desire to know a little more about me. As such, I have devised this little puzzle for you, and if you can solve it, I shall tell you something of myself.

These ten goblins have exchanged the four items ie. this letter, each glove, and the porcelain jar, and it is your job to figure out which four of these were originally given the items, though you need not figure out which had which. In addition to not telling you about their first exchange, these four will each lie once more about a single exchange, both about the one from whom it received the gift, and the one to whom it gave it. No more clues shall be given save those by the goblins themselves, and know I shall be watching throughout the entirety.


Forever yours,
The Friendly Magician.

[Saskia]

Great, a wizard game. As endlessly irritating as he is, he could have been a man of some appeal if he put that psychotic obsessiveness to task on something useful. Not enough appeal to pull her from Arthur, but enough that maybe some nice young lady with more sex appeal would find him and drag his attention away. But no, of course he's a raving lunatic.

Well, she's got to play the hand she was dealt. As much as wizards and other people far smarter than she loved these kinds of games solvable purely by numbers and logic, she has no interest in them. Unfortunately she's got even less interest in dealing with another of this wizard's temper tantrums because she doesn't feel like playing his games. The possibilities are horrendously complicated, though, and she's got no idea where to even start.

[sparky9042]

Hansi begins by attempting to disable the man.

Will DC 14.

Is the grease worn off the dagger yet? If so, I'd like to pick that up if this guy's affected by the spell.

[Diful Takveh]

While the man does not burst into uncontrollable laughter, he sneers at the bard, "Did you really think that would work, boy?" He slaps his chest, causing a resounding thud to echo through the room, "Come boy, come show me why you are called the Caller of Darkness."Rolled offline because my dice were finally returned to me by my brother and I didn't want to make another post OOC.

[sparky9042]

Hansi engages the man. "What, are you stupid? You realize that the guy in the armor out there was responsible for making everyone think that about me. If I kill you, he'll probably just off Valencia here and make everyone think I killed her too. I've got no real interest in killing you, just in getting out to fix the mess this jackass made, and right now? You're. Not. Helping."

Hansi dismisses the grease spell on the dagger, then picks it up.

Yeah I'm going to do that. Are you sure the grease hasn't expired though?

[Diful Takveh]

The man smiles as Hansi picks up the dagger, "Do you really think that tiny thing is going to hurt me?" He thrusts his arms out wide and stands up straight, exposing as much of his body as he can to the bard's attack, "Come, try to even cut me with that butter knife of yours."

[Shinovar]

Oh crap. Why did you have to do that Elastial. You really do need to get better at reading people.

Elastial freezes for a moment, wondering if it would be better if he chases the boy down or gives him space. He has had enough space in his life, true, but maybe feeling chased will make him feel worse than feeling cared about.

"Bran!" Elastial shouts at the top of his voice "You don't have to tell me. Come back to me when you can. It is safe here. I won't abandon you, but I'll give you your space"

Eventually, it came down to the fact that the boy was not his son. Elastial needed to stop treating him so much like a replacement and more like what he was. A strong boy who had made his own way in the world so far. Elastial had to respect him for what he had accomplished, not treat him like he would have treated his own son at that age.

[Gem_Knight]

"Ro Ki! Put down that flint!" The clutchmother rushed over to snatch the potential fire hazard away from the potential fire hazard with a budding talent for the arcane.
"Ah but Marl Qi."

Marl Qi glared at Ro Ki, "We are not having a repeat of the Desk Incident," she said sternly.

Sin Je almost felt sorry for her Clutch Mother, Sin Je learned she was the youngest of the Clutch Mothers, and his was one of the largest Clutches in several generations.

"I was in complete control of that fire, it was no where near catching Rark Bark, I would never- do you have any idea how much burnt fur stinks?"
"Maybe you should listen Ro Ki, there'll always be other occasions for fire play, like tomorrow after The Test. I'm sure you'll have Arcane Talent, I've seen your sparks."
Ro Ki couldn't resist once the complement was thrown in, and he knew it. He relented and let Marl Qi take the flint from him. "Don't worry Sin Je, I bet you'll pass too."

Sin Je shrugged, "I don't know, my family line isn't known for it."
"But you're special Sin Je, because you're my friend," he gave a dashing smile.



Sin Je awoke with a smile. Though it turned sour only moments later. He sighed and pulled himself up. He packed up his blanket and stretched in the sunlight before moving around.

Eventually he got up and sought out Anna.

"Lady Anna," he called out, "Forgive Sin Je but Sin Je forgot to give this to Lady yesterday." With that pulls out and hands over the letter from his Clan Head.


and just a small tease for the early childhood story i had in mind

[Diful Takveh]

When Elastial calls his name, Bran stops, but he doesn't turn around, at least not until Elastial is done speaking, at which point, he slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder, but as soon as he does, he jerks it back around forward and continues his flight into the forest. Once he reached the first row of trees, it became impossible for the paladin to attempt to track him as the boy was very light of step and, even in his distraught state, left as many clues of his passing as a songbird a it floats from tree to tree. The boy would have to come back on his own terms.

In the meantime, Elastial could tell the goblins were packing up and readying to leave soon, and as the boy had gone, the chieftain walked up to Elastial and bowed, waiting to be addressed.


-x--x--x--x--x-

Sin Je wakes up to see Anna and Arthur sitting up against the wall, the female of the couple reading some sort of paper while a line of ten goblins stands in front of the pair. The goblins are not hostile, and Anna is soon done reading the note, at which point, she looks at Arthur, then at the ten goblins in front of her, then at Sin Je who is walking toward her. The young kobold excuses himself as he walks through the two center goblins who speak as he walks through:
"I am five. I first received the jar from ten and gave it to three. I then received the letter from three and gave it to two. After that, I received a glove from three, but I immediately gave it back. Finally, I received a glove from three and gave it to you."The second goblin touched then begins to speak:
"I am six. I first received a glove from seven, and I gave it to two. Then I received the letter from two and gave it to eight. Eight immediately returned the letter to me, and I gave it instead to the one who had given it me originally. After that, four gave me the jar, and I gave it to one. Finally, nine gave me a glove, and I gave it to you." After they had done that, Sin Je gives Anna the letter he had received from the Clan Head.

[Shinovar]

Elastial breathes deeply, trying to control himself. Letting Bran go was his hardest moment since watching his son die slowly in front of him. Still, there was nothing that he could do. Bran would find them when he was ready. For all of his years, he was a man, not a boy, and he was not Elastial's to father.

After many moments of getting himself under control, Elastial turns to the chief. In Elvish "Hello chieftain. Is there anything I can help you with?"

[Saskia]

At least a letter she can make sense of. "Thank you, Sin Je," she says, and opens it to read.

[Diful Takveh]

The chieftain comes up from his bow to look up at Elastial. In his broken Elvish, he says, {Znalosť ready leave. Go with you. Better travel together. Roads sometimes dangerous.}


-x--x--x--x--x-

Anna opens the letter to find that besides the letter meant for her, it contained a small piece of paper written in some other language, probably draconic as it was written by a kobold. Putting that one aside for a moment, she reads the one in Intuneric:
Anna:

Let me formally and humbly apologize for your treatment within the tunnels of our clan, not only for the way my clanmates treated you but for our inability to protect you and your daughter from a man we all thought was good, a man with the spirit of kobolds. I will spare you the details, but the man had saved my life on two occasions, when I first became clan head, and again this night before you arrived. On top of that, he promised us a way to subsist on something besides the raiding we had stooped to since The Oppression of Ratark. I say all this to give you perspective into why we trusted him, not to glorify him for now I know what kind of man he is.

When you had fallen into the pit, I heard his voice in my mind. It was deep and gravelly, but I knew it was still his voice. He told me to kill you, that if we did, he would overlook our attack on Hillingshire, that we could become citizens within the constructs of his guild. One person who had saved my life asking me to end that of another who had done the same. When I heard you shouting, I understood exactly what kind of man Eli was, what kind of kobold he was trying to turn me into.

I ask you, then, to let me and my people join you in your quest of revenge against this man who has destroyed both of our families. Sin Je shall travel with you in my stead as I am unfit for battle and you will certainly see much of that before I am well enough again. Do not worry, for though he is little more than a hatchling, he is quite competent and understands much more than he lets on. I have also given you a short note for him and desire you give it him as soon as you are finished with this letter.

Do not worry yourself with the crocodile as it was a simple guard even though many of my clanmates took to it as though it were a dragonling we were to guard until it was older.

Clan Head, Rak.

[Saskia]

The oppression of Ratark? That's not a paradigm she had ever considered. Well, of course not. Victors' justice dictated that history would be written with the approved interpretation of events, not necessarily the events as they actually occurred. It can be strange sometimes how the smallest details can stand out in such a way as to alter perspectives so dramatically, but simply with that phrase, the oppression of Ratark, he had called into question her understanding of the conflict. Not that her understanding was particularly deep, but even so.

But it's good to have his support. Sin Je's aid is tremendous, but to be assured, among other things, that he wouldn't be called off on a whim is fabulously reassuring. She breathes a sigh of relief and hands the letters to Arthur, just barely smiling. What else id there to do, after all? "I guess I've got a thing to figure out."

[sparky9042]

Hansi moves in and attempts to stab the man with the dagger.

Dodge bonus vs that guy. Also have Mobility.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Diful Takveh]

Arthur takes the letters from her as she turns to the goblins who stood across from her and thinks how strange it was that her false fiancé had not interrupted her as she had read the letter from the kobold clan head. It didn't matter though. She still had to figure out this puzzle and had only partially remembered what the two had already spoken had said as she read the letter from the kobolds. The goblins stood, all looking to her for an indication that they should speak what they had to speak.


-x--x--x--x--x-

Hansi's dagger slips between two of the man's ribs to plunge into his lung, but as he goes to pull it out, the muscled man snaps his arms in and grabs the bard's wrist in both of his strong hands. He pulls the blade out of his chest to allow the bard to see the muscle and skin stitch itself back together. With a hearty laugh of defiance, the man proceeds to force the bard to stab him twice more, once to the stomach and once to his neck before throwing the bard backward to watch in horror as those wounds stitched themselves closed as well. Whatever the man had laughed at now seemed to bore him. He nonchalantly walked past the bard, pushing him aside as he made his way to leave the cell which was no longer guarded by the armored man.

[Shinovar]

Elastial nods respectfully to the chief. "Very well. I shall inform Anna."

With a final sigh, Elastial walks back over to Anna. He was still mentally Kicking himself for his blunder with Bran. Elastial's mind goes to the stick that Bran had given him. Hopefully he would come back. He should be able to find Elastial when he was ready.

[Saskia]

She's not entirely sure what to make of everything going on, but calls out "Sin Je, I think this is meant for you," standing and following him with the slip of unfamiliar text. Next, she stands in front of the goblins.

Well, they talked when Sin Je pushed past them. Such strange behavior, maybe it's a goblin thing. Or a possessive, creepy wizard thing. She looks at Arthur and back to the goblins, and touches the first one in line on the head, not without some hesitation borne out of fear of looking utterly ridiculous.

[sparky9042]

Hansi looks around the prison, hoping he can find a way to get Valencia out of her cell.

[Gem_Knight]

Sin Je receives his part of the letter with a nod and a thanks, then looks down to read it.

[Diful Takveh]

The bard watches on in horror as the man who had just forced Hansi to stab him makes his way ahead of the bard, pulling open Valencia's darkened cell with no resistance. Her cell hadn't been locked, and now there was an unkillable man making his way inside. He was taking his time though as though he was taunting the bard to come at his back, confident no real damage could be done, even if the bard's intentions were noble enough or his emotions strong enough. Whatever the man's intentions, he stopped walking after he had opened the door giving Hansi only a brief window of time to think of some way to stop this monster from doing whatever he was going to do to Valencia.


-x--x--x--x--x-

After the group is ready, they start the long journey to Bentwood.

As they depart, the goblins walk away from the burning skeleton of the house and move into a formation around the party, one goblin thick with whatever leftovers marching behind the main group. Two scouts went out on either side of the formation, one forward and one directly out to the side. As each goblin carried some form of weaponry, it made the group much safer than it would have been, but at the same time, it limited the positional dynamic of the group, forcing those that weren't exactly comfortable with each other into a smaller space than they would otherwise be constrained to.

Speaking of the group, there was a new addition, the old woman who had invited Elastial's group inside who walked near Charlize in the center of the formation, no longer hunched over nor carrying her thin cane she had used to feel her way around, though, her form was slightly hunched as a tribute to her years walking hunched over with her cane. Her eyes carried the same hue as Saffron's, pinning her as a previous owner of the house. Throughout the entirety of the walk, she was having an involved discussion with Charlize, pausing the conversation here and there to glance at the others, most often Anna and Saffron, sometimes Arthur or Elastial.

Saffron walked in the back of the formation, almost a part of the goblin line, keeping out of sight, and any time someone did look toward her, she jerked her head down to prevent eye contact. While he had initially opted for one of the point positions, after about a quarter hour of travel, Bran took up a place at Saffron's side. He had not yet talked with Elastial, but appeared to be doing better than when he had run away.

The sky was a deep orange by the time Elizabeth and Robert ran from the cave calling out Anna's name. The twins were chased by Caitie who told them to be quiet, and she by Fle and some young woman who looked like some combination between a female Hansi and a grown up Rachel, wearing a smile almost wide enough for the both of them. The goblins stop and point their crude weapons at the approaching group, and as Charlize is about to call for them to stop, the new woman speaks in the goblin's language, but everyone can hear her say Anna and Sin Je's names. The goblins argue for a little bit, and she raises the volume of her voice as she speaks with them, though with the way her face stayed calm and the impossibility of those unfamiliar with the language to interpret its intricacies, it was impossible to say if she had done it in anger or not. The goblins parted, however, and two walked on either side of her.

As the woman approached, she dug into the pocket of her cloak and pulled out a few sheets of paper as the front two goblins turned around to guard Anna while two others approached from behind. The unknown woman hands the papers to her, and while it is dark enough where they are that she can't make out much, Anna can read at the very top: Undying Witch, Anna Blackstone - 1500 with some sort of image, probably of her, beneath. Below that is more text, smaller than she can make out in the current light. The new woman explains to her, "You're wanted for the destruction of Hillingshire along with a few others. Hansi's one of the others, and they have him locked up in the prison at the center of town. I have my reasons to doubt what they say and more for why I want to rescue him, but we don't have time for that. If what I know is accurate in any sense, Hansi won't last past tonight."

[Saskia]

The tension of the trek melts away at the sight of the children. Anna kneels and holds them both tightly. "You two were good while I was away, right?"

Anna tightens her jaw seeing the poster, though. Undying witch? That craven little piss stain of a man...

It's not unexpected, though. That thing wouldn't have called her that back in Hillingshire if they didn't intend to ruin her reputation. Clever enough, but all the clever in the world won't save him now. How fitting though, that she doesn't get the chance to even get a nice bath before going off to crush somebody.

"Your trust isn't misplaced, Miss. It never is, with a Karuth, especially after you've taken care of her family. I know who destroyed my home and my friends, and his time in this world is short. Your singer helped me protect my family though, and I won't let him down. Tell me what you know and I'll," she pauses, reminded that she's not working alone. "We'll get him to safety."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle jumps up with the arrival of the others, he has stories for them, such wonderful stories where he rescued hansi from a huge man. But unfortunately those stories aren't as wonderful with hansi in trouble again so he found his way around the goblins and tp Anna. "There was man with scary face, magic scary. Meat men were with him, Fle can take obe, but not all. Hansi in prison, miss cider was watching, waiting. We not have time, jailor cruel man."

[sparky9042]

Hansi thinks about jumping the man. With a running start, he might even be able to make it, but - no, that won't work, this guy's just too strong.

Instead, Hansi tries something different: A rather calming, arcanely tinged song. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnLXzSNtQ8c)

Perform: [roll0]

[Shinovar]

Elastial stands back, his concern growing. Why is there a reward for Anna? Elastial could only think of three options: 1) These rewards are not official. 2) The local authorities are misinformed about what actually happened. 3) The legal rulers were corrupt to a dangerous degree.

To rule out the first, he would have to take a closer look at the posters, maybe talk to those who issued them. Assuming they were indeed official, Elastial may have connections to clear up the truth of the matter. His House may have declined, but his name still commanded a modicum of respect. And if that were not enough, then perhaps Lord Grimly could help. The third option was the one that he most feared, and wasn't yet certain how to handle. He would have to see how high up this goes, and make decisions as he went.

As for a more pressing problem, Elastial detects evil

[Saskia]

"Alright, Fle. Let's go, and then I'm going to have a chat with the magistrate. Miss, can I have that poster? I'll need to know what exactly I'm accused of having done before I go to the courthouse."

[Bladehunter217]

"No, bard try talk, not work, with people that, have speak in their way, only answer is run."

[Diful Takveh]

The man looks over his shoulder at the bard, his eyes hidden by the darkness cast over the upper half of his face. His mouth, in contrast, contorted in a horrific grin that was fully lit by some unseen source of light. He passed the threshold of the cell and slammed the bars shut behind him, and the sound of the cell locking joins that of the slammed door and the song of the bard echoing down the hallway, then all that is left is the song of the bard, continuing, hoping it can stop this monster, and even as he tries to stop, he continues, letting the song continue on even as the door to the office opens and a jailer walks toward them to see what was the cause for all the ruckus.

As the guard approached within a few feet of Valencia's cell, the darkness lifted, letting the bard see what had happened. Valencia lay with her back on the ground, arms and legs spread as though she had been knocked down. Above her, on the wall opposite the entrance in full view of the bard, the lyrics he had just sung had written themselves in tall but narrow letters of dripping crimson. As Hansi looked on, the words continued writing themselves, and the song continued on even though he had stopped singing it.

Worst of all, his cell door was open, he had no way to close it, and the guard had pulled out a well-made wooden club and a whistle which he put in his mouth but didn't blow. His eyes dart to the side of the bard's cell then back to the bard with an even more hostile expression plastered on his face.

[Diful Takveh]

The woman nods, giving a nervous smile as she was taught to use a smile when introducing oneself, but the situation doesn't really call for it, "It's Greta, and Fle is right. Having a chat with the magistrate won't do you any good unless you mean it in a much looser sense than you're stating it, in which case, you wouldn't want to have a chat with the magistrate, but the head jailer and maybe a few others." She lets her hands fall to her belt, and opens the top of a round tube and pulls out a paper, revealing it as the wanted poster for Hansi, "I gave you one of each: one for you, Hansi, Fle, and Sin Je, and I have many more where that came from. They were posted all over town, so I don't know if my taking of them was little more than spite." She looks around at the small army of goblins, and, turning back to Anna, says, "It might be wise not to bring the goblins, given the charges they have against you, but it is your decision." She reaches down to her belt and pulls up a pouch, and turns it out to reveal a light, bright as a torch but just as cold as the evening air which Anna uses to read:


Undying Witch, Anna Blackstone - 1500

Below that is a picture of Anna, the symbol of Erythnul glows red on her face as her eyes convey a rage that might have been explainable given the circumstances, but the shapes on her face deny that explainability, turning what was rage of motherly protection into something more feral, a rage coming from a delight in slaughter. The poster continues after that:
Anna Blackstone, daughter to Alisa Blackstone, the one responsible for hundreds of deaths in the Stalewater area over her fifteen year reign of terror as priestess and cult leader of Erythnul, has now followed in her mother's footsteps and set Hillingshire to the torch during our land's oldest and most respected festival, killing or enslaving the entirety of the population in a ritual claiming the marriage of Erythnul and Wee Jas. She operated as a priestess of Wee Jas for a few months before the massacre to gain the trust of the people and to gather information on the strengths and weaknesses of the town. She is a very dangerous person, not only due to the strength given her by the Many-Faced, but because she employs devious tactics to achieve her goals, not hesitating to kill an ally who questioned her judgment. Half the stated reward will be given to any parties who give information on her whereabouts so she might be apprehended, split fairly among all who brought forth unique information that results in her incarceration.

The poster is signed by six: Baroness Cleopatra Draksdotter, Lord Malvone Quisintar, Lord Albert Grimly, Count Garth Thunderborn, Annaliese D'Merdion, and Duke Morgrave Quisintar.

[sparky9042]

He really should have seen this coming. No, that's not right. He did see this coming. Well, not Valencia, exactly, but the framed murder. Hansi had already been framed for one crime, why not another?

And now there stood another guy with obvious intentions, who got suckered in by the frame-up, no doubt just doing his job, nonetheless very likely to kill or maim Hansi.

Hansi could try to talk it out with this guy. That got him places today.

Alternately...alternately, he could just use the dagger. That would work. But what if he killed the jailer?

Best not to think about that now. There were more important things at stake. Like surviving. And telling everyone about what machinations Lord Albert Grimly has in store for the nation.

Or just getting somewhere far away as fast as possible.

Hansi sprints towards the guard and thrusts with his dagger.

Charge.

Dodge vs Guard
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Saskia]

"Blackstone." The way the name flits off her tongue connotes some vulgar profanity more than filial affection. "In terror cry the masses, 'Blood for blood! True death for true death!', clamoring not for justice, but for a body on the gallows, a head on the block, knowing not that by these acts, they do His work. So grows the cult of the Many, whose number knows no end while men make of themselves the monsters they mean to slay." Anna spits on the ground after quoting her mother. The bitch may have been crazy, but she knew what she was talking about. With terrible crimes the public pressure isn't on punishing the guilty party, but on just making sure somebody hangs for it. And if the murders keep going? Well, just find some other poor sod for the headsman's block. And to keep face, the'll concoct some villainous conspiracy to assuage their guilt over murdering innocents in the pursuit of their blood sacrifice. Justice means nothing to fearful, and neither does truth; only the illusion of safety from the object of their terror. And in the maintenance of that illusion they'll construct a labyrinth to hide the monsters they must on some level recognize having become.

Just like Stalewater.

A heavy sigh escapes Anna's lips. It would be so much easier if her mother's psychosis didn't bear such striking clarity, and she can almost hear her smug laughter reaching across the veil. "Maybe you're right, I shouldn't expect much from him. The worst this magistrate's probably dealt with is an uncommonly lewd comment to a serving girl, he won't know a thing about how to handle a genuine atrocity like Hillingshire, so I guess it's straight to the jail. Elastial, can you please tell the goblins this is where our paths diverge? I don't trust they'll be safe sticking around here, and they aren't headed that far, anyway."

[Diful Takveh]

As Hansi rushes out of his cell, something catches his foot, pulling his entire momentum to the side, causing his thrust to miss what would surely be a life threatening eye injury. He doesn't have time to look at the other assailant because he is hit in the face with the jailer's club, knocking his head to the side. It was then that he saw the unknown attacker, a man on the ground with a bloody piece of cloth tied around his shoulder and a thread extending from his right hand, hanging loosely over his leg. The thread is broken, but the other end is tied around the bard's foot, no doubt what pulled him off balance for a moment. The man on the ground looks up at the bard in fear, but even close to death, he struggles to stand and do his duty.

As the bard turns back to the guard who had clubbed him in the face, that guard blows his whistle thrice before letting it fall from his mouth to allow him to speak, "Back in your cell, you! The entirety of the city guard is on their way, so there is no chance of escape. If- If you try to run again, I will continue to use whatever means necessary to keep you in this hall. The- the doors at the ends of the halls lock by themselves when they are closed, and only the warden or people outside can open them."


-x--x--x--x--x-

Having seen what is going on, Caitie walks up to the group, the goblins part for her, and she heads straight over to Saffron. The reason she didn't bring the children over becomes apparent as she punctuates her walk with a slap to the face. Saffron doesn't look up at Caitie even when the latter speaks, "Don't you dare run away ever again." There is a brief pause before Caitie speaks again, this time in a softer voice even as she puts her hands on the younger girl's shoulders, "Saffron, I-" "I'm sorry!" Saffron interrupts her senior and wraps her in a tight hug with Caitie responding by putting one hand around her head and the other over her shoulder.

Back in the land of the less insane people, Greta nods, and turns to walk back to the cave they were using as a base of operations. She takes a few steps before she turns back, "What of the noncombatants?"

[Bladehunter217]

"If goblin safe, so cave. Stay cave." Fle shrugs as though the answer is perfectly obvious before remembering something important. "Fle picked useful things when attacked, who good crossbow?"

If the goblins are trustworthy, leave them all in the cave with non combatants. Fle took a crossbow from attackers, who is the best with one?

[Saskia]

"The noncombatants will stay here and keep a low profile. After we've left they'll enter town as refugees if we deem it safe, but they won't be trusted if they're with me. Eli's already seen to that, so I'll be sure he gets a month in a dark, damp prison cell for every night of cave-huddling they have to endure." Under her breath she adds "The Cuthbertines have one job..."

That's not a bad idea Fle has, she thinks. "Good call, Fle. Hubert's a wizard, he might be able to make sense of those books, too. It'll be a shorter and safer trip than heading off to a rural convent without being able to communicate with anyone along the way."

[Bladehunter217]

"Wait, Mother strange, why gobs here, who Eli and who Hubert? Wait, Fle has many calls, which refer? He stopped and looked over his shoulder, blinking several times. "Ah, cave, yes? Fle with new face and thought of- er, maybe if, oh, Fle has idea, how follow gobs?

[Gem_Knight]

Sin Je closes the letter with a smile (behind that a hint of confusion, but mostly a warm smile). Hetakes a moment to track down Anna, "Lady Anna?" He begins, "Sin Je want Lady Anna to know Sin Je appreciates her patience and understanding in Sin Je's conflict. Sin Je and tribe grateful for help, and Sin Je grateful to find Lady Anna and Sir Hansi, otherwise Sin Je probably be dead- along with most if not all of clan." He smirks, "If Lady Anna desire, Sin Je can teach her Sin Je native Draconic, then perhaps Sin Je better express himself," he gives a quick wink.

[Saskia]

"Eli Sharpe is the man responsible for the slaughter at Hillingshire and he made the fatal mistake of kidnapping Rachel. Hubert is a friend of mine who lives here, he's a wizard and a Jasidin layman. I presided over his father's funeral just three seasons ago, and the goblins... The goblins are a long story and we'll have time for that later when we're reasonably assured that one of our compatriots is not about to face an unjust execution. We have to go."

[Shinovar]

Elastial looks through the bounty poster, reading all of the signatures. 6 names. That is not good. That means that all of the adults were somehow convinced.

"Anna, this poster is not good. I know these men, at least by reputation, and Grimly is my liege. There are seven that sit on the council, and six signatures. Only three are needed, so the presence of an additional three names means that they are convinced that the threat is serious. I would not be at all surprised if there were seven signatures if the young princess were of age."

Elastial breathes deeply, knowing that his next words may not be popular.

"I notice that my name has no bounty, whether that be because it is difficult to accuse an active paladin of evil, or Grimly simply didn't want his vassal implicated. This means that I may be able to talk to the council and clear your names. It will be no help if they are in on whatever this is, but if that is true, then we have more serious problems then some simple bounties. However, if they are merely misled, I may be able to use my position and experience to get them to reconsider. I wouldn't say that I trust Grimly, but he has always done well by me and has not been known to abuse his power in the past."

[Bladehunter217]

"Wizard, huh. That was not answer. Oh-" Fle turns to the goblins and grins wide, speaking hurridly in their tongue. *"Was goblin good at trap or kobold? Can make trap to slow, not harm? Non goblins break sing man from prison, mischief help."*

[Saskia]

"I wouldn't place much confidence in that, the way things have been going, but I'm more than happy to give the proper channels a shot. A few simple divinations can exonerate me of any charge of complicity in the deaths of my friends, and certainly dispel any charges of working with Erythnul." Again she spits on the ground. "And demonstrating my innocence seriously weakens the charges against the others. Remember though that if these princes are in on this, a false charge in these circumstances probably constitutes treason. I hope you're prepared for the possibility. If they're in on this, they'll do anything or tell any lie to avoid the headsman's block, and they've got the advantage of aristocracy."

[Diful Takveh]

The goblins around the little man with one hand turn at least their heads to him while the closest few turn to face him completely. The one directly in front of him speaks to him slowly and deliberately, {Even though you speak our tongue, you speak much too quickly for many of us to understand. If you are a friend of Anna's, which you seem to be, we shall assist you in your rescue of the 'sing man' from a prison you believe is not deserved.}

[Shinovar]

"I understand that Anna. I am no stranger to corruption. However, we cannot assume such corruption and use this as an excuse to do whatever we wish. It is possible that they are merely misinformed. You say this Eli is powerful. He may be powerful enough, both in magic and influence, to convince the council of whatever he wishes.

Our course of action also depends on the level of corruption. If it is something minor, such as political favors being traded for their signatures, but they don't have any personal interest in you, then I may be able to make enough of a hassle for them to change their minds. Our only real problem is if they are fully in on whatever this scheme is.

I have known Albert for a long time. We have fought and feasted side by side over the decades, his father helped my father to keep our House intact after the orc raids, and he himself ensured that my son would have training and equipment that I was unable to provide He will meet with me if I request it, and he won't be able to hide his involvement in something like this."

Elastial pauses, letting it sink in. He knows that the others will not share his view, but he had seen too often that the young are wont to charge in, jumping from assumption to assumption, trusting only themselves. He had learned the hard way that many problems could be fixed by merely talking to those in charge. At least if you bring gold. Elastial himself didn't have much, but it would hopefully be enough to get some information.

"I know what you are thinking though. You needn't worry, I am with you on this. As far as I know, Hillingshire was not under the authority of these lords, which means that the conflict that they have with you all, representatives of Hillingshire, is not cut and dry. I have met my obligations to Albert, so my time is my own, and I choose to use it working for you. In my eyes, you are the closest thing to an ultimate legal authority I have in regards to this mission. That does not mean that I will be willing to go around breaking local laws for the sake of convenience, but it does mean that I will side with you when laws contradict, as may be the case here."

Elastial turns away from the Anna and addresses the group as a whole.

"I am all for getting Hansi out of prison, but we can't stage a hasty prison break, not as a first resort. If it comes down to it, I will help in freeing him, but let us see if we can clear his name and get him out without stepping on the toes of the local leaders.

First thing is first, is Hansi in any immediate danger of lasting physical harm?"

[Diful Takveh]

Greta shifts her weight and spins to face Elastial to tell him exactly the caliber of person with whom they are dealing, "The bounty hunter who captured the bard is known as The Godslayer and is known to take a particular delight in bringing in cult leaders and other religious or pseudo-religious figures. Someone must have thought Hansi was going to take refuge in the temple of Pelor because he was there, and he brought back both Hansi and the high priestess, Valencia Cassidy, to some thrown together stage in the center of town where the crowd started stoning them. They fled when Hansi tried to defend himself with his words, so... Yes, I think two innocents are very likely to be subject to lasting physical harm if we do not intervene. If I haven't made it clear already, the people of this town are not operating on rational thought." The young woman shifts her weight every few syllables in a combination of nervousness and anticipation.

[Shinovar]

Elastial looks Greta in the eye as she finishes, pausing as he goes over what needs to be done.

"All right. Let's go then. But I still say that diplomacy should be our first option. Who in this town would have the authority to keep Hansi safe until we can get this sorted out? We would need the council to get him released, but someone should be able to stay execution or torture while I work on trying to set up communication with Albert. I may even be able to get them to release Hansi to me by promising to take him to Lord Grimly. It seems unlikely, but worth a try."

[Saskia]

Just like her mother. Is this chance similarity of two psychopaths, or did Eli learn from the best? The thought makes her shudder. There's no other way. She doesn't look that different from when she was a child, he must have recognized her.

No, no, no. You're drawing lines that might not even exist. But how else would anyone know who she is? No, who she was. That Anna is dead. Nobody would have known who she was except Ruby, and she wouldn't have abandoned her promise. "They're working under the rationale of terror. This is the stuff of werewolf hunts. A charismatic leader can sway the terrified to do horrendous things to themselves and each other in the name of keeping them 'safe', especially if he's got magic. I suspect the best way to shut the collective psychosis down would be strict martial law and a lot of very patient diplomacy. I'd very much like to make sure Hansi and Valencia aren't hurt, though; I really don't want to have to preside over an execution for murder today."

[Bladehunter217]

"Excellent!" Fle clapps his hands together and turns to Anna. "Goblin agree help with free song. We may proceed."

[Saskia]

"No, the goblins have sensitive information. We can't risk getting them killed, and the racial animus isn't going to help Elastial make a case for us. The goblins stay here for now."

[Diful Takveh]

The party starts out on the last part of its journey to Bentwood, a quiet journey through the darkness led by Greta and the inverted bag of light which she fastened to the hilt of her sword which remains in its scabbard at her waist. The sun had long since retreated beneath the horizon while the moon had yet to make its entrance onto the ever revolving stage of the celestial dome leaving only the stars to try to shine onto the road through the empty patches in the canopy of trees above. After many minutes of walking, the branches gave way to the ever-present curtain of stars above, and the town of Bentwood was revealed in the light of the newly-risen moon.

A fog has descended upon the town, scattering the moonlight to illuminate the otherwise lightless city. From out of the silence of the sleeping town, a single shriek of terror makes its way, leaving the world even more abruptly than it arrived. In response, Greta undoes the bag of light from her sword, puts a rock in it, tosses it to Fle, and dashes into the darkness, ready to draw her sword. Without turning back to them, she shouts, "Focus on freeing Hansi. I'll meet up with you after I take care of this."

[Shinovar]

Elastial, mounted on Tai'shar, grabs his lance tightly and raises his shield. He scans the empty land between the group and the town, wishing that Pelor had blessed him with the vision of elves. Well, Pelor had given him something better.

Elastial detects evil. He doubts that anything will be close enough, but it is worth a try.

"Hopefully she can handle it, but if not, we need to be careful. We can't afford to cause trouble here and then hope to rescue our friend. Still, if we can help someone in the town, it can only aid our cause with the townfolk."

[Saskia]

"Agreed. We can only handle so much at one time."

[Bladehunter217]

"Mother Strange, mind help Fle tie belt." He gestures from the bag to his belt, not certain if he can tie it on without sealing the opening completely. After that problem is dealt with, he removes the rock from the bag and grins. "New lady likes Fle best.

[sparky9042]

Hansi spins the dagger around in his hands as he backs up a bit. Casting a simple spell, the bard creates a few sharp objects in his empty hand, and shatters them. "You know...I am quite the versed arcanist. Are you really willing to take me down? Do you honestly think that you, or the city guard, for that matter, could take me down? I have allies coming for me, you know. So whatever you think you can do...it's not going to matter. Now. On to more important questions...first things first, what happened to that guy?" Hansi points at the man on the ground.

5-foot step back.
Prestidigitation.

Bluff: [roll0]

[Diful Takveh]

The party continues its walk into the town with the only audible sounds being those of their footfalls against the dirt, and even that seems to be muffled. The fog lays low against the ground that the mounted Elastial can see above it while the rest can barely across the street. The view doesn't offer the paladin much. All the doors are closed, the windows with shutters are shuttered, and besides the party, the street is completely devoid of life. As they approach the center of town, there is a crossroad extending to both sides, and Elastial can tell they have a slight curve, as if they were on a circle with the center being the center of town.

Farther ahead, Elastial can see the faint glow of an artificial light at about the same level he is riding at.


-x--x--x--x--x-

The guy on the ground is most certainly not on the ground anymore, and he now stands behind the guard who had hit the bard. The latter stopped mid-swing as Hansi started to talk, too focused on the bard's magic to do anything but stare awkwardly with his club raised slightly above his head. His wounded partner, however, answers for him in a weak voice, "Even if you try to feign innocence, everyone will know that you were the one who cut me, but it is only the least of your crimes, even those you committed in this town."

[sparky9042]

Hansi's response is exasperated. "How could I have cut you if I've been in here since this morning? Unless it was...no, you'd never believe that. But if I could have escaped, I would have done so already."

[Shinovar]

"There is a light up ahead. We seem to be moving towards the center of town, and it makes sense that the center is where the officials will be. Unless any of you have a better idea, I suggest that we go to the light. There doesn't seem to be much else around here that offers any promise. I wish that Greta hadn't left. She knows the town and could at least point us in the right direction."

[Saskia]

It galls her to do so, but Anna pulls the hood of her cloak down. Best not frighten anyone unnecessarily. The Taker is a goddess of prudence as much as pride. "It's for the best. Being seen in my company won't help anyone right now. Let's proceed."

[Diful Takveh]

The group continues through the fog toward the center of town, toward the light that Elastial sees. Soon enough, the buildings, one on either side of the group, give way to the space at the center of town. Elastial can tell that the source of light he had seen was a candle, about as wide around as his forearm, the type of candle used in religious rituals of light except, unlike those candles which were almost entirely white, this one was a deep crimson. Near the point the candle descends into the fog is a patch of white before it continues in its blood-red hue. As with the rest of the town, the surrounding buildings are dark with closed doors and shutters, and even the temple of Pelor, known for its light even in the darkest of times is darker than the weak light of the candle in the center of the center of the town.

[Bladehunter217]

"That not good light, Fle doesn't trust it, probably evil or magic or evil magic. Pali, put it out." Fle shudders and pulls on the bag of light, hoping the light from it would put him at ease.

[Diful Takveh]

Though none had been able to see it so far, due to the fog, Fle remembered that there was a stage in the center of town, so he had run ahead to see if he could get a better look at the surroundings by climbing atop it. Close as he is, Fle can tell that the white band on the candle is actually a piece of paper about an inch tall wrapped around the candle and held in place by four needles spread equidistant about the circumference.

Hearing Fle, Elastial focuses on the candle, and indeed sees evil about it, but at the same time, he can feel a subtle evil behind and to the side of them, in the direction of the prison.

[Saskia]

Evil light? Is he rambling again? Anna instinctively draws her dagger and holds it with her arms behind her cloak. She pauses to look at Elastial before moving up to Fle's position for a better view. Whatever it is, it's probably not related to retrieving Hansi, and she's got very little patience left for any distractions.

[Shinovar]

"You're right Fle, the candle is evil." Elastial dismounts, readies his weapon and his shield. He looks to the others "I do not know what this is or what will happen, but any evil we can rid this town of, the better." Elastial goes up to the candle and blows it out.

"Now quick, we must leave here and find those in charge to talk to. I hope that this act won't hurt our efforts, but if extinguishing evil hurts us, then our negotiations never had a chance."

Elastial looks around at the building in the town center, trying to determine which would be most likely to house someone of importance and power.

Knowledge nobility and royalty: 1D20 + 7

[Diful Takveh]

As Elastial extinguishes the candle, a great cold wind blows through the city from the south, clearing the fog from the streets, increasing visibility dramatically. As everybody looks around, they notice a light that wasn't lit before shining out of the barred prison windows at the street level of one side of the building. Elastial also notices that the evil which had been lurking in the prison has now become much stronger.

The wind seems to have brought on much more than the chill of the night air, but a sense of dread for what was to come.
As Bestow Curse's second function except it is -2 penalty on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks (instead of four) and a -4 penalty to initiative rolls for quite a while.

[Saskia]

Disgusting. The town's authorities might burn just for this horrid black magic. And Anna might well be the one to burn them. "Never do that again, Elastial. When you're dealing with Erythnul's psychopaths, you must always make the assumption that whatever it is, it is a trap that will kill you."

She looks at the candle again before turning to the jail. "Come on. I doubt we have much time."

[Bladehunter217]

Fle shudders with the curse, holding tight to the bag. Move is good, away from stage bard was stoned at is good, Fle not want get stoned too." He moved his stump to draw the rapier and sighed remembering he was still missing the arn. Let know Fle when can bring out light. He moved his left had away from the bag and drew the rapier.

[Shinovar]

"My apologies Anna. I have often been to rash when confronted with evil. I am a straightforward man who likes to face my enemies head on. I have no mind for traps. I vow to you that I shall be more careful in the future. When I blew out the candle, the evil in the prison surged. We should head there now, for Hansi's sake." With that, Elastial starts towards the prison, looking back to make sure that the others are following.

[Bladehunter217]

'Yes, traps are for Fle, Pali leave traps for Fle, that spell though, not for Fle." He giggled, finally something he knows on mind and follows Elestial to the prison.

[Diful Takveh]

The four of you make your way to the entrance of the prison, and the door creaks open ahead of you, and a brief gust blows against your backs, ushering you inside and closing the door behind you with a loud slam. Though none of the party can see the source, a beam of crimson light shines down, illuminating a disembodied hand holding an open book. Both items are held to the wooden desk by a ritualistic knife which keeps the front cover and the few pages before the current one from closing, a bookmark for those with no care for books.

Elastial's evil sense fails to notice anything about the desk ornament as the prison had been saturated with evil to such an extent that he can only sense its source, and that is further within the building.

[Saskia]

Anna hums a derisive tone and walks toward the table to idly examine the book, the hand, and the knife, though she doesn't touch anything just yet.

"Sin Je, I expected other priorities this morning and didn't prepare any divinations, is any of this magical? And shall we make our presence known or hunt for Hansi in silence?"

[Diful Takveh]

Anna walks over to the table to examine the lovely desk ornament, and while the right hand on the table cannot be placed beyond it being the right hand of an adult human. The knife, however, Anna recognizes immediately as the same fashion of knife that she had used ever so long ago when death meant something very different to her. The book, not much larger than a journal is held open to a familiar page:

A Simplification of Transaction
A Handbook for Members
issued to:
Eli Sharp Beyond the change of name, there is a note written at the bottom of the page in crusted red letters, "A gift for my daughter at the request of my granddaughter."

[Gem_Knight]

Sin Je looks around as if lost in thought, "Sin Je sorry, Sin Je just a little worried. Sin Je will see." He takes a moment and casts Detect Magic and begins looking at the items Anna directed to.


Spellcraft [roll0]
Spellcraft [roll1]
Spellcraft [roll2]
Spellcraft [roll3]
Spellcraft [roll4]
Spellcraft [roll5]
Spellcraft [roll6]
Spellcraft [roll7]

I should only need a couple, but better safe than sorry >.>; I'm sure there are other auras around too- and hey- why not wonder about that rapier I've got to. (Though I think you told me out of character what it was and I've already forgotten)

[Shinovar]

Elastial looks at the others examining the items they have discovered, uninterestedly. "Fle, unless those are trapped, I suggest we keep moving. The evil is up ahead, not with these trinkets. For our own sake as well as Hansi's, the less time we waste the better. You can always come back, or take them with us, if you are really that interested."

[Saskia]

Anna nods slowly. What kind of sick creature is behind this, exactly? Eli can't be the only one, unless he was a survivor...?

No. Cross that when you get to it, Anna.

"Yeah, let's go."

[Bladehunter217]

"Fle has idea, tie bag to arm, Fle not do often, but Fle know few trick in scare. Might help not have fight. He offers his stump to reinforce the idea.

[Diful Takveh]

Elastial leads the group toward the source of the evil, walking down a hall of empty cells to a staircase to the upper floor, a floor that was more administrative than penal. Whatever it was, the evil was strong, but quite possibly more disturbing was that it was moving, not letting the party catch a glimpse of it as it moves about the prison.

After a minute or two of pursuit, it stops moving, and Elastial leads the way toward it. He stops outside the door to the warden's office, for that is where the evil has decided to halt its flight.

[Shinovar]

Elastial whispers to the others as he gets his weapon and shield ready, being careful to stay out of earshot. "It's in there. Be ready for it. This is an evil I have not sensed often, and it needs be dealt with now. Get yourselves ready, and we can all go in at once. If we are lucky, we can all be on it before it realizes we are here."

[Saskia]

Anna nods, ready with her shield and her recently-acquired magical dagger. Untested in combat? Maybe, but the extra assurance of a magical weapon in mortal combat against an unknown foe can't hurt. Magic exists to be used, after all.

[Bladehunter217]

"If plan go without check for trapped, even bell, Fle stand back here." Fle backs up a few feet and keeps his rapier by his side, just as expectant to sheath it as need it.

[Diful Takveh]

Elastial opens the door to the warden's office to reveal a demonic rat with flesh peeling away from its face and limbs sitting in the middle of the desk. After staring at the party for a moment, it turns around, revealing a glowing symbol of Erythnul carved into its back as it runs and jumps out the open window. As it impacts the ground, its evil dissipates, but what is obvious to those gathered is that another evil is about to take its place. Two altars pulled from the earth are arranged perpendicularly to the edge of the stage, and a person is bound to the top of each. On the left altar is Hansi, on the right one is Eli, and on the stage between the two altars, stands a woman whose brown hair and black dress blow in the breeze. The woman's hands rest upon the shoulders a young girl, and the pair of them look at the party in the window. The former, Anna recognizes as her mother, and the latter all recognize as the kidnapped Rachel.

[Bladehunter217]

"Poison man!"Fle shouts, knuckles white upon his sword, already rushing and looking out. If it is less than twenty feet down, he returns the rapier to its home at his waist and leaps out without a second thought, otherwise hesitating first.

[roll0] tumble to reduce falling damage.

[Diful Takveh]

As Fle falls, a sadistic grin flashes over the woman's face, reciting, "The man who fights unknowing of his enemy can only lose his life." As she speaks, Fle's mind starts to work against him, and, even as he falls, his body becomes stiff, corpselike, though that stiffness does not translate to numbness from the pain as his frozen legs hit the ground. Even the shout of pain that might have otherwise escaped his lips is held at bay.

The woman, who had followed the halfling's descent, now looks back up at Anna, "Anna, darling, Rachel was just telling me about how you've grown up, and I must say, I am impressed. You've attracted quite a few interesting people to your coven, but surely, you need to train that one better. This one, however," she pats Rachel on the shoulder, "she reminds me of you when you were young. In fact, I think she's ready, don't you?" With that, she puts a knife in the young girl's hand and turns her to the altar where Eli lay.

[Saskia]

Anna's blood boils at the sound of her mother's voice, and her stomach flutters even as she feels her body lighten in preparation for a beating—or retreat.

Control your fear, girl. Rachel can't rescue herself. Hopefully her companions have sense enough to know what she's doing. She takes a deep and uneasy breath and calls back with an exasperated and slightly dementedly sweet tone "Yes, mother dear, she's quite ready. The man Eli Sharp belongs to me already for killing the rest of my coven, however, and an itinerant singer is hardly a viable first communion. I'll be down promptly, just wait a moment."

With that she closes the window shutters and walks swiftly out of the room, where she stops briefly to catch her breath. "Elastial, don't underestimate that woman. She's already died once, and there she is anyway. She's a priestess and there's a good chance the powers Erythnul grants her can kill us all, but she cannot be allowed to disgrace the world any longer. If I should die, tell Arthur I love him, and tell Rachel I'll always watch over her. And also tell," She pauses as she chokes on the words, but she swallows her gall and continues "And tell Caitie to take care of Arthur for me."

With her arms and armor ready she continues on to retrieve her daughter from the hands of a psychopath.

[Shinovar]

"Noted, Anna, but I plan on no one dying here save the evildoers. Come, we must act quickly, I fear what will happen to Fle and Hansi if we tarry." With that Elastial rushes off through the building, taking time to make sure that his arms and armor are at the ready. When he gets to the exit, he pauses to make sure that he and Anna are ready to charge in a coordinated manner.

[Diful Takveh]

When Anna closes the shutters of the third floor window, Alisa turns her attention back to the halfling who had jumped but prevented from a soft landing by the halting of his voluntary bodily control. The pain from the fall continues to plague him, seeming to grow in intensity as he lies in the street, unable to shift into a position that removes his injured portions from direct contact with the street.

All the while, Alisa muses, much to Fle's expense, "A short man with a shorter temper and flaming red hair to match... You are certain to have an even shorter life filled with all sorts of pain, and it would be almost merciful for me to kill you this very night in the name of Erythnul."

"You do, however have your talents, and it would be a waste for me to kill you right now." Although Fle cannot look up to see it, Alisa's sadistic grin grows even wider, "Actually, Rachel told me that she wanted to be sure to make Eli suffer as much as she could, but she doesn't know how."

Fle can feel the paralysis depart his body and pushes himself up to see Rachel standing about ten feet from him, dagger held between them with the point to the sky. She utters a dark incantation, and the shadows of the night wrap themselves around the blade as a cacophony of the final screams of all those whose lives were ended by the blade are brought forth. Though the shadows were brought in from the night around it, the light surrounding the now black blade is darker than the ambient light. The girl's eyes are lifeless, but the expression of her mouth lies somewhere between Alisa's grin and that of a ravenous beast craving sustenance and only grows wider when the screams reach her ears.

"It would be good for her to practice with you. I do not expect you to triumph, but if you do, you may do whatever you wish with Eli."Fle's turn. There will be some fighting between Fle and <Rachel< before the rest of the party makes it down.

[Saskia]

Anna follows Elastial closely. "Nobody plans on dying. I just prefer to be prepared for it."

[Bladehunter217]

"Fle will not bring harm to strange child. Fle also not torture poison man, crime warrants death, nothing else." He drew his rapier and held it, tip pointing to Rachel's face.

total defense action