[D&D 3.5, Low level/Powered] Tales of Taldaria IC

[Ghost49X]

Chapter 0: Before it all started

Mari - Two years ago...
She was surrounded by the roar of battle, her mercenary brothers fought with the ferocity of beasts as they were trying to push back the enemy charge. While she stood back and tended to the wounded and the dying, the last couple months had be a rapid change of pace as she was hired on by a mercenary band that called themselves “The Bloody Eagles” to work her art as they fought against a religious war. It wasn’t much, but this company of mercs had become her family over the last few months and as the war raged on she managed to limit the casualties. But she also knew each and everyone that slipped away, those whose lives she couldn’t save. Each of these lives had a personality, a story…
Battle range around her and with an epic effort the mercs were able to push the enemy back, smiling they looked at each other. Baldwin, a large man holding the rank of Sergeant in the company kneeled beside her.

“Mari, we’ve pushed them back for now... can I help?” He applies pressure on the bandage she was holding to a grievous wound, freeing up her hands to do more. She was almost done when the shockwave hit her.
Deafened by the bang, the last thing she remembered was Baldwin being thrown onto her, knocking her unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she was buried under a pile of bodies. Digging her way out she turned around and saw that the fighting had stopped, but all her friends were dead. Shrapnel from whatever made that explosion had torn through the ranks and wiped out everyone she knew. She was only lucky that Baldwin had been there for his body must have shielded her from the worst.

Melgor - Three weeks ago...
It was a stormy spring night when he first had the dream, a beautiful dark haired human woman with pale skin screamed out a plea, her hand outstretched towards him. He looks around and realizes he’s in his village, but something is wrong, it is in ruins. He stumbles towards what remains of his family’s house, finding two corpses at the door, his sister cradling her young son, his nephew. He kneels down, paying his respects as tears of grief waters his eyes. A Raven caws and as he looks up at it, perched on a fencepost it looks back at him. After a moment, it caws again, then takes off and flies towards the east. As the bird disappears from sight, Melgor then feels a chill creep up his spine as the shadows from behind form tendrils that reach towards him. Thunder Cracks! And Melgor wakes up with a cold sweat, looking around he sees his family members sleeping peacefully nearby. The drumming of the rain from the storm outside provides a comforting reminder that what he saw was only a dream. He tries to go back to sleep, yet as he lies in his bed, his mind wanders back to his dream. It felt so real...

Muldric - One year ago...
A bright spring day, Muldric was traveling in between villages, hoping to use his skills to earn some coin when something catches his ear. Listening intently he picks up a soft melody coming from off the road, down into the forest. Investigating out of curiosity, as he gets closer he can not help but feel his woes subside as the sweet melody of a voice like honey soothes his aching soul. Soon enough he comes to a river, and sees what at first he believes to be a dream. A young woman, with golden hair in a pure white dress kneels by the water, singing as she takes clothes from a large basket near her to wash them in the river. Despite wanting to listen and nothing more, it all comes to stop when he moves and clumsily loses his footing. By reflex his hand shoots out to try and steady himself with a tree, only to shake the tree making some noise. He stops unsure of what to say, afraid he'll scare her off like everyone else he met until now. She grabs a staff and stand up, turning towards him.

"Who's there?"
The spark of fear in her voice is faint but audible. She waits, seemingly unsure of her senses, despite Muldric being clearly visible and directly in front of her. She taps the ground in front of her with her staff cautiously and as she makes her way towards him, he realizes she is blind.

Milo - Six Months Ago…
The University of Karth was a large older building with plenty to explore, especially the lower levels that forbidden to students. The faculty claims that some of the tunnels are unstable and for safety reasons wants to keep students out of them. However this only serves to make them more interesting to young students like Milo. On once such exploration session Milo found a tunnel he had not visited yet, out of curiosity he followed it and came to a large collapsed section of the floor. Getting close to take a look, his foot slipped on some loose rubble and he ended up falling through to the next floor. Luckily for Milo he didn’t get injured, though he wasn’t able to climb back up. Exploring around for another exit he came across some voices, chanting for what sounded like a ritual in a chamber up ahead.

[achinca]

Muldric

Muldric first reaction is wanting to apologize and run away but he notices the beautiful woman is blind. He stands there, knowing that she cannot see his disfigured face. "May be she will be willing to have some company and talk...

He clears his throat and speaks "Hello Mylady. My name is Muldric and I am lonely traveler. I am sorry if I scared you but the melody of the song you sang totaled enchanted me. I should have made myself heard. Can I help you with your duties to make up for scaring you?"

[gallagher]

Milo, a little stunned from his fall, looks around the room to see if there might be some way to climb back up that hole. Surely he wont be able to fix the damage, and his little adventure would be found out eventually, but getting to the main floors is all that really counts for now.

Milo begins to explore a little, alert of anything that he might be able to use to get back. As he walks about the stone floor of the tunnels, he begins to hear voices. Chanting! What in the... Milo thinks to himself.

His curiosity triggered, the halfling creeps forward with the intent to figure out this strange chanting.


Listen: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]
Hide: [roll2]
Move Silently: [roll3]

[dextercorvia]

"Baldric!" Mari felt for a pulse. So much death. She went from body to body confirming what her eyes had already told her. Stupefied by this turn of events she stumbles toward the command tent. Someone must still be alive.

[dmmd]

Unable to sleep or shake the feelings the dream had drummed up, Melgor decides to see for himself that everything is ok in the village. As quietly as he can he rises, grabs his flail, and goes outside to survey the scene. Not noticing anything out of place at first, he forces himself to laugh, though it is an insincere and stifled chuckle that would betray his lingering fear if anyone was around to hear it.

"I'll punch that stupid dream in its face," he mutters to himself, still trying to rediscover his courage, but all the while stuck on the image of his dead family that feels more like a memory than a dream...

[Ghost49X]

Muldric

"Oh Hello Muldric, I am Kyla and I could always use a friend."
She smiles as warmly, as she makes her way to him guided by the sound of his voice until she taps his leg lightly with her staff. She reaches with her hand to feel him as she continues to talk.
"I used to live nearby with my father until he passed away. Now it's just me" she smiles again "Thank you for the offer but I'm almost done, with laundry. Though if you want you could help me carry it back."

Milo
As Milo moves through the tunnels he sees torchlight coming out of a doorway, creeping up to the doorway he peers in. Inside he sees a hooded wizard in dark red robes standing in the center of room, surrounding him are several other figures prostrating themselves before him chanting in unison.

"Ogthrod ai'f geb'l-ee'h yog-sothoth 'ngah'ng ai'y zhro"
Milo had read about demons and devils and the rites used to summoned them, though their legality depended on what the ritual entailed. This particular chant seem dark and tainted with madness, the words not coming from Abyssal nor Infernal or any other languages Milo had ever heard. Though there was something mesmerizing about it.
The hooded wizard grabbed a ceremonial knife and two of the other hooded figures brought forth a third hooded figure, this one bound and gagged. The hooded wizard threw back the hood of the prisoner to reveal a young half-elf girl Milo had seen in passing around the university. He cut her cheek and she was pulled off to the side. The Hooded wizard raised the knife towards the center of the room and the chanting continued.
Milo had read about many different types of summoning rituals and even seen a few, but this was something completely new. The space in front of the wizard slowly tore open as something ripped open reality to reach through from beyond. The horror was like a mass of flesh with eyes and mouths gibbering with a thousand mad voices. As it reached out the figures threw the prisoner towards it, offered as a live sacrifice to be eaten. Watching in horror as the entity pulled the the girl through and tore her into pieces as it devoured her with several mouths at once, he found himself paralyzed. What sort of madness was this?

Mari
Mari searches around, going from body to body she only finds more death. Until she stops by a young lad, barely old enough to fight. His right arm and leg torn from his body, he had lost too much blood but was still breathing. He was crying as Mari approached him.

“I don’t want to die. Please, Pelor I beg you, I’ve promised Isabel I’d marry her after the war.”
He sobs, obvious to Mari approaching him, possibly due to the shock.

Melgor
A torrential downpour blankets the village, lightning and thunder flashing above as the storm rages on. Through the darkness Melgor sees a figure kneeling at the edge of the village, near the ridge. He faces away from Melgor unmoving in the rain.
As Melgor approached he recognized the old shaman, still fit and strong despite his age, meditating in the rain. They say he had once been a great warrior in his youth but that was another age, probably long ago as Melgore had no memories of him not being old.

[dextercorvia]

Mari

There is nothing she can do for the limbs. Using the man's own knife she cuts strips of cloth from his tunic and ties them around the stumps. As she works, she lets a trickle of magic flow into his wounds, slowing the bleeding. Triage might be the hardest part of healing, she thinks as she works. Saving the magic for those with the greatest chance of survival, but only if they get the help. That lesson was hard.

Cure minor wounds, healing him for 4 hp.

[achinca]

Muldric

Muldric smiles at Kyla even if she cannot see him. He lets her feel him, worrying her hand will go to his disfigured face. He moves towards her basket and says "I am carrying your basket of laundry. Why don't you lead the way to your cottage. Are you worried about leaving by yourself in these woods?"

[gallagher]

Milo nearly jumps out of his skin at the sign of the sacrificial knife, and wasnt prepared for what happened next. The poor girl, the horror in the rift, the chanting... Milo's senses felt overloaded after witnessing this ritual.

[dmmd]

One so old and experienced might know a thing or two about the warnings of dreams Meglor thinks to himself as he walks slowly toward the figure in the rain. As bothered as he is by his nightmare, he doesn't want to disturb an elder's meditation either, so he approaches gradually and with care at first.

Once he's next to the shaman, however, Meglor's youthful impatience gets the better of him, and after a few moments of anxious fidgeting he says, "Hello, honored shaman. Since you're sittin' out here, I'd like to tell you 'bout this crazy dream of mine. See if maybe you can make sense of it."

[Ghost49X]

Mari
Her healing spell slows the bleeding and speeds up the clothing, but sadly this lad is crippled for the rest of his life. Mari searches for more wounded but survivors are few and far between, and with each minute that passes even less remain.

After a couple hours of tending to the wounded, as the sun starts setting, Mari hears the howling of dire wolves off in the distance. A decision must be made fast, it would take at least a dozen able men to stand up to a single dire wolf. She looks at the small group that she has managed to save, most of which can't even walk much less put up a fight.

Muldric

“I’m not too worried, I’ve lived in these woods my whole life. I don’t know where else I’d go if I were to leave.”
Kyla leads off, tapping her staff in front of her to avoid obstacles. Leading Mudlric down a path in the forest.

“So Muldric, tell me what brings you to this part of the woods? We don’t have strangers come through very often.”

Milo
Several men, wearing midnight blue cloaks step into the room from the doorway at the far end. Their leader holds a bastard sword as he charges.

“Die traitors!”
The cultists leap up to fight the newcomers as a spell battle ensues, while Milo barely registers the the development, due to his mind still trying to cope with his traumatizing experience. However throughout the chaos of the fighting, he recognizes several of the blue cloaks, his teacher among them.

Melgor
The shaman frowns, but remains otherwise expressionless.

“The night is rife with omens. Tell me of your dream young warrior and I will share what wisdom I possess.”
The shaman takes a deep breath. Waiting...

[achinca]

Muldric

Muldric follows Kyla, amazed she can navigate the forest and avoid all the obstacles. When asked about his reasons for wandering, he hesitates before adding "I just want to see the realms and meet new people and culture and learn and experience new things. I can heal the wounded if needed so I go around, helping people that need my care."

Even knowing that Kyla is blind does stop him for taking his Raven Holy symbol and putting it under his clothing.

[dmmd]

Melgor

Melgor takes his own deep breath and forces himself to remember his dream. "There was a pale-skinned human woman calling for me, and then the whole was village destroyed. I saw..." he chokes back tears, refusing to let himself look weak in front of an elder. "I saw my sister and her child dead. Then a black bird screeched at me from a fence and flew off that way." He points east. "I woke as the shadows were reaching out to grab me."

Finished with his story but unsatisfied with how odd and broken it sounded when described out loud, Melgor shifts his weight uncomfortably and awaits the shaman's response.

[dextercorvia]

Mari

Mari listens for the direction of the wolves. "We need to get clear of the battlefield. Wolves will scavenge the dead given the chance, and not hunt to hard for mobile prey." Mari had no idea whether that was true or not, but these people needed hope. Sometimes lying to a patient was the best way to heal him. "We'll head that way," she points in the direction opposite the wolves. "If you see a bow or a quiver, pick it up, just in case." These people were too injured to put up much of a fight, but with so much easier prey about, Mari hoped that no creature would be too determined to hunt them.

[gallagher]

Seeing Professor Balin relieves some of the shock, but Milo is still too shaken to act on this situation.

At least I am still hidden Milo thinks to himself, as he observes the battle from his "safer" spot. Milo is tempted to call out to his professor, but does not wish to cause distraction. Nonetheless, Milo mentally prepares to jump in if need be, his mind already considering the spells at his disposal.

[Ghost49X]

Muldric
The cottage was just over the hill. It was larger than what Muldric expected for two people to live, with walls of white stucco and a thatched roof. Inside was fairly spacious and well kept, bookcases lining the walls, with what must be over a thousand books. Kyla leads Muldric to a table.

"Let me get you some food. The villagers bring most of it over, you see my father was a scholar” She points at the books “The villagers often sought his wisdom. After he past away they continued bringing food and other supplies, out of respect for him. Occasionally someone asks to read some of his books.”

Kyla brings Muldric some meat pie and tea and they talk. The conversation does go on for a little while, until Kyla asks a rather personal question.

“Muldric, this may sound weird, but would you let me see you?”

Melgor
The Shaman frowns deep in thought.

“Dire omens indeed. Come with me, I wish to confer with the spirits on this matter.”
He stands up and heads towards his lodge, Mentioning for Melgor to follow.

Inside the lodge, the old man kicks the flames in the fire pit back to life. He mentions for Melgor to sit in front of the fire pit while he gathers some of his tools used to communicate with the spirits. The old orc sits across from Melgor and pulls out a mixture of herbs and spices from a pouch and throws it into the fire. Melgor watches as the smoke raises and twists. The shaman throws another handful for good measure and starts chanting a shamanic mantra, the light from the fire reflects in his eyes making them seem like they were glowing faintly in the dim light. As he talks the smoke gathers and thickens, seemingly animating to his words.


"This was no ordinary dream young warrior, it was sent to you with for a purpose. I see coils of darkness threatening this world from another realm. This lady in white you dream of, is a sorceress. One who carries powerful blood in her veins. You must go to her as she calls for you. The raven points you to the east, where you must seek out his wisdom in these matters."

Milo
The cultists are beaten back and the tear in reality is forced closed but not before snatching two of the blue robes and dragging them screaming into it’s realm of madness. Afterwards as the blue robes take prisoners of any survivors and gather evidence, Professor Balin spots Milo by the doorway. He walks over towards Milo with a stern yet caring look.

“Milo, what are you doing here my student? How much did you see?”

Mari
She spent the next few days leading the survivors back from behind enemy lines and the rest of the war tending to them and others that joined them. While no official peace treaty was signed, the enemy eventually left and went back home. They seemingly had no interest in taking their land, they had accomplished what they sought out to do and felt no desire to prolong hostilities, even if it left a lot of people unsatisfied with the conclusion.

[achinca]

Muldric

The cleric is impressed at the book collection. Your father must have been quite a scholar. He must have taught you a lot. You are lucky. He really enjoys the conversation with Kyla and deep inside, wishes that this moment would frreze in time forever.

When she asks him about "seeing" him, he freezes. "You cannot escape the monster you are." He takes a deep breath and says "Of course Kyla. But I must tell you that you will not like what you will see. I am a book whose cover not reflective of what is inside." He resigns himself at the girl touching his face and screaming in fear.

[dmmd]

Melgor

While the uncertainty of the situation made Melgor uncomfortable, the shaman's words carried the promise of great adventure and danger, which suited Melgor just fine. "Thank you," he said somewhat quietly to the old man, "I will leave first thing tomorrow."

Melgor left the shaman's lodge and returned home. He still found it difficult to sleep, but now it was because of the anticipation of departing on this mysterious quest, rather than the fear of the dream. That fear lingered still, it was just overpowered by the new excitement he felt.

After a rather restless night, Melgor woke and bid his family and friends farewell. He did not divulge the details of his dream or his conversation with the shaman to anyone, explaining only that he felt it was time for him to venture beyond the village and prove himself as a warrior. He gathered his few possessions in his pack and headed east, sad to go yet eager to see what was in store for him ahead.

[dextercorvia]

Mari was relieved when the war ended. What started as the aftermath of that battle had ended up with her running a small hospital by the end. The administration of the hospital kept her away from her patients. So, with the war over and only a few stable patients left, Mari gathers her few belongings and leaves. Somewhere there was injury and disease that she could fight. No more ordering bandages or filling out requisition forms -- Mari needs to be where she is needed.

[gallagher]

Milo starts responding meekly, looking down at his feet - I saw everything, the rift, some monster, the fight... I feel... And then starts to babble a little bit, showing his nerves I feel strange for some reason. After seeing that - I dont know what else to call it but monster. What was going on, Professor?

[Ghost49X]

Muldric
Kyla stands up and keeping her hand on the table to guide her she walks around to Muldric. Once she reaches him, she slowly puts one hand on his shoulder, then the other. She takes her time feeling his shoulders, neck and eventually his face. When she does her expression changes to a frown of concern
“So sad...”
Tears of empathy form in her eyes and slowly fall down her cheeks as she feels the deep sadness within him. After a moment she draws close, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. As she cries on his shoulder, sharing the pain he carries inside of him, Muldric feels his own emotions rise up to the surface.

Milo
“Come here my student.” The old man says calmly, as he walks over towards Milo. The man with the sword also starts to make his way towards Milo until Professor Balin raises his stand.

“It is a long explanation and there are those who feel that the less you know the better. However I know your curious mind would eventually seek out answers so it is better if I explain things.” Reaching Milo, he holds down his hand to help Milo to his feet.

“You have taken cosmology courses last year, yes?” Balin takes a breath
“This realm, this world isn’t the only one as you know. We are surrounded by the inner planes, including the elemental planes, a bit further you have what we call the Abyss and the infernal hellish realms, the celestial realms as well as the planes of positive and negative energy. Beyond that there are many other realms of all shapes and sizes. All these realms float in the ether, which some call the Astral Sea. But even the astral sea has boundaries, beyond the Astral sea lies the psudo-realms, the realms of madness. They are inhabited by strange creatures, stuff of nightmares that seek only one thing. To enter our reality and devour it, to turn it into one of theirs. They must not be allowed to do this, as it would mean insanity and annihilation for us all. Some people don’t feel the same, and actively work against us towards this nihilist goal like these cultists we fought here tonight."

[achinca]

Muldric

Muldric cringes when he feels Kyla 'hands on his face but let her continues. When she draws him close and starts crying on his shoulder, a flow of emotions takes over. Every memory is rushing back with a vengeance; the fire, the beam falling on him, his parents abandoning him, the temple chasing him away, the fear he inspires in children and weak minded people, all of the curse of his life is in his mind and he loses it. He starts sobbing like a little child, holding Kyla very tight and saying "I am sorry..... I am so sorry ....I am deformed but I am a good man inside ....."

[gallagher]

But..But..but... Milo starts to mutter, but the shock from the horror and the surety with which his professor spoke effectively silenced any further questions. Instead, Milo responded in an attempt at bravery: What must I do?

[dmmd]

As Meglor puts more distance between himself and his village, he finds his confidence quickly returning. Yes, the dream had shaken him, but it also gave him purpose. I'm an important orc, and now I've got something important to do. he thinks to himself, cracking a smile for the first time all day.

There aren't too many others on the paths he travels, at least not at first, but he pays close attention to anyone he sees, looking for the pale human woman, hoping against hope that he'll simply run into her out here on the road. Of course, as an orc, he does draw a few mean and/or fearful looks from passers-by, but in those instances he just puffs out his chest, smirks, and stares them down, avoiding any actual trouble by making it clear he's happy to get into trouble if needed.

And so he passes his time, traveling ever eastward, unsure of where he'll land or what he'll find there...

[Ghost49X]

Muldric
Kyla, holds on to Muldric.

"Poor Muldric, it is not how you look on the outside but rather how you are on the inside that counts. And a kind and compassionate soul is worth a lot more than whatever deformity you believe to be afflicted with on the surface.”

There was a lot to be done around the house that was difficult to do for someone lacking sight. When Kyla offered Muldric a spare room he took the opportunity to help out around the house where he could and what originally started as a temporary accord, lasted much longer as Muldric grew close to Kyla and the weeks turned into months. Kyla even introduced him to some of the villagers who were distrustful at first, but eventually warmed up to him and soon came to see him for healing. This time, while the happiest of Muldric’s life, wasn’t without trouble. It worried Muldric when Kyla left the house alone, he had heard wolves howl at night and was concerned for her safety. So one day when Muldric came back from the village, the house was empty and Muldric panicked. Grabbing his mace he rushed out to look for her. He found her by the river, a large wolf creeping up to her. Before Muldric could act she put out her hand and the wolf rolled over onto his back in submission. By the time Muldric got to her, she was scratching the wolf’s stomach innocently. Only to be interrupted when the wolf sensed Muldric’s presence and fled. Muldric had also seen Kyla get along well with other animals such as birds and chipmunks. She even brought him an injured bird once, hoping that he could mend its wing.

Professor Balin smiled, trying to comfort Milo.

“You must continue your studies, if you want to join us in our fight I will put in a good word for you. But you should be warned that you risk your sanity if you decide to do this. If you don’t, forget what you have seen here. And should you see something similar, notify me and we will take care of it. Oh and you should really stay out of the lower levels of the University, nothing good can come from you being down here.”

[achinca]

Muldric

The days became weeks become months as Muldric became a "tenant" in Kyla's cottage. He was very happy to help the blind woman, finding finally a positive purpose in his life. He remembers fondly how the villagers changed their attitude as they got to know him. At first, they used to whispers behind his back "Poor Kyla is lucky she cannot see how ugly he is" but over time, the whispers switched to "Aren't the gods mean to take such a beautiful soul and disfigured like that? May be he is destined to our Kyla."
Muldric said nothing but smiled inside his hood. He always kept his hood on when he dealt with children to make sure they would not get scared but even children got used to him. These were the best days of his life, especially the friendship with Kyla. He starting to see her as more than a friend but she never seemed to feel the same so he respected that. He just enjoyed making her happy. He remembers when he healed a little burn with a broken wing. Kyla was so happy. He knew that she had something with animals but he did not know how powerful she was until he saw her tame a wild wolf. As he saw her rubbing the wolf's belly, he smiled "Kyla, I never knew you had such talents with animals. May be they can see through her heart and see how nice and kind of a person you are. I think you have a wonderful relationship with nature and its inhabitants. I was worried you would be in danger but i was mistaken. You are safe among these beautiful creatures."

[gallagher]

Milo agrees to continue his studies, but after seeing the rift and learning of these cultists, Milo became very distracted as he continued his studies. He had already been slipping from the top of the class towards the middle of his peer group, but he began performing even worse with the added stress and loss of sleep. Milo's confidence in his own magical acuity started to wane.

A few short months later, his rival, Elin Vanelon, insisted that Milo was not fit to be a wizard, and that he should save himself the trouble and quit. Always a bit brash, Milo shouted back that he was planning on leaving the college to become an adventurer, and that he would become far more powerful that way than by studying in safety. This conflict led to a bet, and Milo gathered his belonings before wishing his friends and Professor Balin goodbye. At first light, Milo bought a crossbow, and headed out in no direction. His bat, Bennie, was asleep in his jacket pocket while he bade goodbye to The Free Council of Alaran.

[Ghost49X]

Chapter 1: Blood and Prophecies
The forests of Illium were old with tall trees and only sparsely inhabited. It was one of those nights where the fog settled down amid the trees, blocking sight beyond twenty or so feet. Despite the dangers of traveling by night, your rations were running low and you were supposed to have reached the inn by sundown. Obviously that didn’t go as planned, perhaps you didn’t walk as fast as you thought or maybe you took wrong turn. Up ahead another path crosses yours and you start making out a form walking towards you in the fog. It could be another traveler? Looking down the intersecting paths you spot more humanoid figures, one from each path. If this is fate, you are at its crossroads.

[gallagher]

The last time Milo ran into a bunch of strangers in a place he did not belong, he stumbled upon a cultist conspiracy. Milo shortens his pace so that when he arrives at the crossing, that these strangers will have already passed.

[dmmd]

It's been a while since Melgor saw this many people on the roads at once, let alone coming from so many different directions. This feels like an important moment, and so his excitement gets the better of him. Before the figures are even fully in view he begins to hustle toward them and shouts out, "Hello there! I'm Melgor Thragg, of the honorable Thragg clan! Are any of you the pale human sorceress I'm supposed to be looking for? She needs my help."

[achinca]

The memories of that day are haunting him. He came back from healing a boy's broken arm to find Kyla's cottage in a complete mayhem. He looked for her but she was nowhere to be find. It was obvious to Muldric that she had been taken against her will. He gathered some information for the villagers about some strangers going and went after them. He had no idea who they were, what they look like or where they were going but he had to search for Kyla. She was the only person who had treated him like a true human being and he craved that feeling. He will make it his goal his life to find Kyla's whereabouts and nothing will stop him in his quest, how futile it looked.

He had marched and marched and not make any progress on finding Kyla but he refused to despair. He will find her or what happened to her and will avenge her if needed. He slept very little and walked and walked and walked as much as his broken body allow it.

One night, he arrived at an intersection with 3 other humanoid reaching that intersection. An orc mentions his name and his search for a sorcerer. Kyla was not a sorceress but who knows what an orc thought a sorceress was. The orc looked friendly enought. Muldric kept his hood over his head and replied. "I am Muldric. What is the name of that sorceress you are looking for?"

At the same time, he noticed that one of the humanoid had slowed down his pace. Muldric kept an eye on him.

[dextercorvia]

Mari shifts the amulet from one delicate hand to the other -- a fortunate benefit of the amulet's warmth on a night like this. I've seen no one on the road but you for some time. I'm called Mari. She hesitates before adding, "I'm a healer." Most cultures respect healers and allow them the freedom to work. She has heard of healer's being kidnapped and forced to work for a warlord or group of bandits, though. So, she is always cautious around strangers.

[achinca]

Mari reminds Muldric of Kyla and how much he misses her. "Name is Muldric. In your travels, have you heard or seen a young woman, with golden hair in a pure white dress named Kyla? She might be held against her will."

Her trail had been cold for so long, he was ready to try anything to get a credible lead.

[dextercorvia]

Mari can hear the pain in the man's voice -- pain that her magic could not alleviate. "I'm sorry. I have not."

[dmmd]

"I don't actually know the sorceress's name" Melgor says, "Just saw her in a dream. Don't know a Kyla, neither."

Just the fact that these strangers are willing to talk so openly about themselves makes Melgor feel at ease. He's encountered so much fear and suspicion in his travels so far, this is a refreshing change of pace.

"I'm more a hurter than a healer," he says, pointing proudly at his flail and grinning at Mari.

Finally, noticing that one of them isn't approaching as quickly as the others, Melgor thrusts his chin out at the figure and yells, "Who're you, then?"

[dextercorvia]

Mari wonders, "Have any of you passed an inn? I was planning to stop near sundown, but I haven't seen it yet."

[achinca]

Muldric looks at the woman and the orc but cannot make who the 4th humanoid is. When none of the mcan help him with his search for Kyla, he feels more tired and depressed than ever but no one can see him as his hood hide his face. "Thank for the help. I will keep on going." He takes a step and is ready to leave when he hears Mari's question "I don't know. May be. I am not sure. I have been walking for longer than I remember. I must find Kyla. Then I will rest."

[gallagher]

Milo, seeing that the other three are unfamiliar with eachother but still talking, decides to walk up. Halloo there! Milo shouts at the group. Walking up to them so that he can talk at a normal tone, Milo continues - Do any one else among you happen to be lost? I have been looking for an inn but havent known which way I am going for some time.

[achinca]

Muldric looks at the latest newcomer, an halfling, who is also looking for an inn and seems lost like the rest of them. "I think it is the fog. It is confusing, at least to me. I have not seen an inn, at least I do not remember seeing one. But I am not lost. In order to be lost, you need to have a destination and I have no idea what my destination is. I just need to find Kyla."

He moves to the center of the crossroad and looks at all 4 directions. "Which way? Which way to find Kyla? Each second passes and only the Raven Queen knows what horrors she is going through. Which road do I take?"

[dextercorvia]

"Perhaps," Mari suggests, "Since some of us are lost, and some are weary, this is some sort of omen." Mari doesn't give much credence to omens normally, but coincidence has never been one of her favorite things either.

"We appear to be at a crossroads of some sort, and none of us will find our goal tonight in this fog, be it inn or lost love. There is some safety in numbers. If I continue on, likely I'll end up walking all night." She sighs. It wouldn't be the first time.

"We could set up a small camp and wait for the fog and night to pass. Things should be clearer in the morning." She gestures to the side of the road where it appears more than one traveler has stopped a wagon for the night.

[dmmd]

This human sure has some fancy words Melgor thinks to himself.

Out loud, he says, "I haven't seen an inn or any other people in a long time. And since it was an omen that brought me here, I guess it makes sense for another omen to keep me here for tonight."

Besides, he thinks, if I am to wander, I may as well do so when I can see the path ahead of me, instead of stumbling through this damnable fog.

[gallagher]

I am not sure I can disbelieve omens and signs anymore, but you are right that setting up camp looks like the best idea. I'm Milo, by the way.

Milo looks around, looking for a flat spot off the side of the road to make camp

[achinca]

Muldric looks at the strange group and shakes his head. He addresses Mari in a very respectful way, still hidden behind the hood of the cape. "It is not a lost love. It is more than that. It is rescuing the only person that treated me like a real being versus a ......" he stops talking, saying the word monster only in his head.

He then focuses his attention to Melgor and Milo. "I do not believe in omens. We see what we want to see and give the interpretation we want. I believe I should keep on moving to find Kyla but I honestly don't know where to go and I am tired of walking ...." once again he finishes the sentence in his head "alone".

He is surprised of how much information he is giving to these total strangers but he has been lonely for so long, so used at being shunned that he is truly enjoying the human contact. "I should take advantage of it now because as soon as they see what is under the hood, they will be on their way."

[Ghost49X]

“Caw, Caw”
Everyone’s attention is drawn to the raven sitting on top of a the old signpost marking the intersection. They all look up at the raven for a second, when it caws again and flies off the path into the woods. The silence that follows allows the faint sound of metal on metal can be heard in the distance, which just happens to be in the same direction the raven took off.

[dmmd]

"Now THAT'S an omen!" Melgor says excitedly, "Forget camping! We've got to follow that bird!"

He pulls out his flail and heads off hurriedly in the direction the raven flew, calling "Come on!" over his shoulder as he goes.

[achinca]

Muldric looks at the overeager young orc and shakes his head "This is not an omen. It is a crow. And it smells blood and bodies because of a fight. May be it is Kyla's abductors who ran into troubles. May be this is my chance."

He follows the orc "I do not think it is an omen but it is the sound of battle. May be someone could use our help...." and finishes in his head "and may be know about Kyla's whereabouts."

[gallagher]

Milo, not sure what to make of the orc, decides to follow. into the unknown, I guess. Though have I not been in the unknown these past several months?

Wait for me! Milo calls out, as he pulls out his shortbow and begins to run after his new acquaintances

[dextercorvia]

Mari is unclasping her cloak as the raven flies through. "Well, I suppose I can rest later. Perhaps that metallic clanking sound is from a village with an inn." She follows the others after the raven.

[Ghost49X]

As you tear through the dense woods, the sounds of battle get louder and you start hearing voices. Some high pitch screeching in an unknown language and others in a deep yet human voice.

“Stay away from us you runts!”
Breaking through the trees into another path, you see a hand drawn cart up ahead, piled up with stuff surrounded by goblins screeching in encouragement as they stab a downed man with spears. A man and a woman still stand, waving their weapons at the goblins. A slightly larger goblin with metal studs in his armor wields a longsword and directs the others. As the party steps on to the path he turns around and barks out what sounds like orders.

[dmmd]

Melgor is thrilled to see a fight in progress, eager to have a chance to prove himself in combat now that he's out in the world. He grins at the rest of the party as they emerge from the woods and says, "Who thinks they can kill the most goblins?" Clearly he believes the answer is him.

Taking in the scene before him a bit more, Melgor notices the goblin giving orders to the others, and his grin becomes an open-mouth smile. "Also, the one with the sword is mine," he says, wrapping both hands tightly around the hilt of his flail.

[achinca]

Muldric first reaction is to see if the woman is Kyla. To his disappointment, she is not. "Some travelers, ambushed in the middle of the night. it could have been me."

He sights as the orc starts bragging and wants the leader all for himself. "Another one that will meet the Raven Queen sooner than he expected"

He gets ready to charge the goblins facing the fighting man, hoping to flank them with him.

[gallagher]

Milo scans the scene before responding to Melgor in a whisper - I believe you will, new friend

Milo takes a pinch of iron powder from his pouch, and grinds it between his fingers as he focuses Melgor and calls out with a deep and resonating tone that seems to echo through the trees Dúbailte ar airde agus meáchan, agus ansin dul a mharú duine éigin a bhfuil Ní maith liom. At that instant, the orc doubles in size. Milo then pulls out his crossbow.

[achinca]

The frustration of all these days and weeks of looking for Kyla and still have zero idea if he was going in the right direction finally erupts and in a rare mark of anger, Muldric charges the goblins facing the man with the sword. He releases all that frustration and anger and hit a goblin. Unfortunately, his weak condition has not changed and he barely scratchs the monster.

"What are you thinking idiot? Do you want to get killed? Who will save Kyla?"

[Ghost49X]

Seeing the opportunity the man swings his sword as he yells out.
“Ah ha! Reinforcements, run while you can runts!”
The goblins duck and weave out of the sword’s path while the one with the big sword steps in to with a vicious swipe that the man sees coming, sending the sword wielding goblin back with a kick.
Meanwhile the girl tries to fight off her assailants with her mace but she is hard pressed and fails to wound any of them, they laugh at her and continue their assault.

[dmmd]

Melgor takes in his newly increased size and lets out a bellowing laugh. Looking at Milo, he says, "This I like! Thanks, little guy!"

He then turns back to the battle, and sees that Muldric has already moved in. Melgor's demeanor changes to a much more serious one, as he thinks to himself, I like his bravery, but I won't be outdone by a human.

"Goblin scum!" he shouts, "I am Melgor Thragg, of the honorable Thragg clan! You have clearly wronged these humans, and for that..." At this point Melgor breaks into a sprint, making a beeline for the goblins' commander. "You will pay with your lives!" he screams and he closes the distance.

He swings his flail in an upward arc and catches the goblin hard in its chin, sending blood and a few teeth flying.

[Ghost49X]

The flail crashes down on the goblin’s head denting his head and snapping his neck in the process. He drops to the ground, unconscious and probably dead.

[dextercorvia]

Mari ducks around the much enlarged Melgore. "Stop Fighting!" She makes a flinging motion in the direction of the goblins and the people being attacked. Sparkling dust flies from her hands expanding to a full rainbow of light.

Using her Color Spray ability from being Half-Fey. She will attempt to affect the three goblins in the NE corner, both humans, and the goblin leader. DC 14 will save.

Unconscious Blinded and stunned for [roll0] rounds
Blinded and Stunned for [roll1] rounds
Stunned for 1 round

[Ghost49X]

The Goblins turn towards Mari as she runs towards them, expecting a charge. They are surprised when the rainbow of light flashes over them. Two of the goblins rub their eyes and manage to shake it off, while the third falls backwards on his back, completely unconscious.

[gallagher]

Milo surveys the skirmish in front of him. My remaining magic will not be as effective as the more mundane path, and with that Milo steps off the path to get around his new allies for a better shot. He takes aim at the nearest goblin and fires his crossbow, hoping for a kill shot.

[Ghost49X]

The Goblins turn towards the new arrivals and shift around to avoid getting surrounded. Two goblins jump onto Muldric, and pain shoots through his torso as the goblins stab him with spears. A similar assault assails Mari and Milo, though Milo nimbly jumps out of the way.

[dmmd]

Melgor yells at the goblins attacking Mari, "She asks you to stop fighting, does nothing to hurt you, and still you go after her? And not me, who bested your leader? Pathetic, honorless cowards! I will grind you into the ground!"

So swept up is he in his insults and taunts, however, and so careful not to hit Mari, his swing goes wild, and he misses both goblins completely. He growls in frustration.

[achinca]

Muldric feels the spear piercing the armor and entering the flesh. The pain is immense but the cleric stays focused. He moves a little away from the goblins and looks at the ones who hurt him. "Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid." He makes the sign of death in the air with his arm while saying "By the power of the Raven Queen, may the evil of your heart appear in front of your eyes."

A sudden supernatural chill envelops the goblin as Muldric is trying to use the monster own evil to scare him. Other next to him can feel the wave of unnatural cold.

[dextercorvia]

Mari retreats a step under Melgore's protective arm. She retrieves her crossbow and loads a bolt into it. "I really don't want anyone to die today. That includes you. But, I will defend myself and these people."

[Ghost49X]

The girl steps over her unconscious friend holding her mace and buckler in a threatening way towards the Goblins. While they are focused on Mari keeping her eyes on them she reaches down and checks on her friend, a look of growing concern covers her face.

"Hagrid! We need to get your brother to a healer quickly or he won't make it."
"We can't do much while fighting the runts!" Hagrid yells back. Moving towards the goblins he takes a swipe at them in futile effort as the goblin parries and deflects the blow with the haft of his spear screaming back at the man.

"Aaaaiiieee!"

[gallagher]

Milo, suddenly aware that he is rather exposed to several goblins, chooses to retreat safely behind the giant orc. Before any goblin has a chance to stab at him, Milo swiftly dashes about twenty feet away.

[Ghost49X]

The Goblins spread out and wave their weapons angrily. With a glance and a nod at his ally a goblin jabs at Mari’s legs, which she aptly doges but the goblin uses his spear to hook her leg throwing her off balance. The other goblin sizes the opportunity and stabs towards Mari’s side scoring a painful flesh wound.

Keeping pace with Milo, his adversary moves to follow him, taking care to avoid leaving his back exposed to the giant orc and his allies.

Fighting Melgor and Hagrid, another goblin screams in a high pitched voice.

“Samkineun geuneun ulileul wihae wassda!”
He turns and makes a run towards the woods in panic. The Goblin besides him twirls his spear like a staff keeping both Hagrid and Melgore at bay. He spins around and swings his spear at Melgore, causing a nasty wound.

[dmmd]

Melgor watches the goblins spread out, continuing their assault on Mari. Suddenly, one of them sticks him in the side with its spear, and he lets out a furious roar. His eyes go wide, then very narrow, and he winds up with his flail before swinging hard at the goblin in front of him. He smashes it full in the face, crushing its skull and watching with a twisted sense of pride as it flops onto the ground, dead. Melgor roars again, this time in triumph:

"RAAAAAARGGGGHHHH! Keep coming, you whelps!"

[dextercorvia]

"Ow!" chirps Mari as the blade bites into her unarmored flesh. Seeing one goblin go down to Melgore's blade she makes a break around the other, rushing to the aid of the fallen man. "I'm a healer, I can help!" she exclaims to the woman standing over her comrade. Bending down, with a murmured lifegiving invocation, Mari dips a finger into the man's blood. She traces a sigil over his heart, and his wounds begin to knit shut.

[achinca]

Muldric realizes that he has enemies all over him. He picks the one that looks the most injured and smiles as he extends his arm to touch it. "Feel the kiss of the Queen I serve"

[Ghost49X]

Maneuvering around to put the goblin between him and Melgor before taking advantage of it’s split focus to swing at and wound the goblin, causing not much more than a flesh wound.

The girl nods at Mari and puts herself in front of her, dropping to a defensive stance providing Mari with some security while she works her craft.

[gallagher]

Milo begins to fret with discomfort. His first battle is not going as smoothly as he had hoped; the savage goblin continues to keep pace and Milo begins to corner himself with the wild growth along the path. Milo attempts again to step back and pierce his enemy with another bolt. Steady, steaaady... Milo says to himself as he rushes to take aim.

But Milo's shot is not true, and Milo misses his target as his crossbow disappears into the thicket on the opposite side of the path.

[Ghost49X]

Milo tries to jump away he trips and momentarily loses balance for a few seconds. Fortunately his opponent is distracted by the rest of the battle and fails to take advantage of this opportunity. Seeing Milo’s attempt at escaping he follows, swirling his spear and cutting Milo deeply with a vicious slash.

On the other side one of the remaining goblins thinks Melgor momentarily distracted and jumps at but misses his opportunity to wound. Unfortunately the same can not be said of the goblin to Melgor’s left as his deftly maneuvers around Muldric and uses the chaos to score a blow at his knees, knocking him down to one knee.

Gasping for air, the man at Mari's feet jerks and his eyes open. "What? Happened, where am I? and who's this angel?"

[dmmd]

Melgor, still wild with anger, finds himself surrounded by goblins on all sides. Suddenly, he feels the sharp pain once again of a spear in his sides. He rears back and swings his flail at the enemy who struck him, but the goblin ducks under it deftly.

Melgor bellows, "DIE!" But for now, at least, that command goes unheeded, and the goblins laugh at Melgor's fury, which only causes it to grow.

[dextercorvia]

"You were wounded, but I've healed much of it. We aren't out of the fight yet. Are you well enough to help?" As she reassures the man, she lines her crossbow up to the unconscious goblin at her feat. I warned them. She pulls the trigger and the bolt goes through his eye socket with surgical precision.

Enraged at her own actions and the circumstances that lead to them, Mari shouts at the remaining bandits. "STOP fighting! You are outnumbered. If you throw down your weapons and run, we will not follow. If you stand and fight, you will all die like this one."

[achinca]

Muldric feels the pain of the goblin's weapon entering his flesh and he falls to one knee. He screams in pain and his eyesight his getting blurry as sweat is dripping from his forehead. He takes a huge breath and gets hug and swings mace with all the energy he has left. He yells "FOR THE RAVEN QUEEN" but the mace flies high above the goblin he is facing.

[Ghost49X]

“I will try” says the wounded man as he stands up only to almost lose his balance and faint again. He tightens his grip on his battle axe and uses it as makeshift crutch. Despite this, he seems ready to swing it at any goblin who comes close.

Hagrid shifts and almost seems to grow taller, adding to Mari’s intimidation despite his wounds.

[gallagher]

Milo hears his new friend's words, but does not wait for the goblin in front of him to react. The halfling quickly hops from his toes backwards to get out of the reach of his foe, and as he lands, points two forefingers at the goblin and cries out deoch beag d'aigéad

From between his hands, a jet of acid shoots towards the goblin.

[Ghost49X]

“Ra’getityduncha”
one goblin calls out, withdrawing into the woods a safe distance. The others follow suite, each going in a different direction.

(will edit this post further when I know whether Milo hit or not depending on whether he counted the firing into melee penalty or not)

[dextercorvia]

The goblins fled, Mari falls into the all to familiar pattern of tending to those wounded in battle. "Muldric, right?" She lays a hand on his arm. "Light bolster your resolve and restore your body to health."

She moves on quickly to Melgor, who is more wounded and even exhausted from the combat. "I'm going to heal you, but I need a drop of your blood." She traces the same sigil as a few moments earlier, restoring vigor to the Orc.

[achinca]

Mulric let the strange woman heal him "Does she knows I am a cleric? Does she know that I can focus the divine energy of my Raven Queen and heal myself?"

He feels some of his wounds close and smiles for a second before his face turning sad "How tragic is it that they don't even know you serve the Raven Queen? How can you rescue anyone if people don't even think you can help yourself. With your face, what else do you expect? Yes the villagers started to respect you but it was because of Kyla. She vouched for you. Now, what are you without her?"

Absently minded, he let a "thank Lady" escapes his mouth before getting ready to continue his search for Kyla. He looks around and cannot seem to know which way to go. He is tired and hurt but he cannot stop looking for her. He looks at the other people around him, trying to figure out which way he should be going.

[dmmd]

Melgor, still catching his breath after the thrill of his first real battle, sees Mari approaching and shoots her a smile. As she heals him, he says, "That was pretty impressive how you scared them off. Ruthless, too, with the crossbow to the face. I like it."

Once she's finished closing up most of his wounds, Melgor takes a minute to revel in the scene around him. The bodies of the goblins he killed give him an intense sense of pride and accomplishment, and he even allows himself to laugh a little. "Well fought, everyone!" he says to the group, not looking at anyone in particular.

Finally, after he's had a chance to really savor the feeling of victory, something dawns on him. Turning to the humans, he says, "So...what was all that about, anyway?"

[dextercorvia]

"Ruthless is one way to look at it. When a wound has gone bad and a limb needs amuputated, you have to cut into the healthy flesh in order to save the rest of the body. If the fight had continued, the four that fled and likely one or two of us would be dead right now. Healing magic can only do so much." Mari retraces her steps to the goblin with the bolt sticking out of his eye. She removes the projectile with a squelching sound as air rushes into the cavity and places it on his chest. She straightens his limbs and whispers a prayer for his soul.

"We need to be moving. Those that fled will come back, and word of this will spread like cancer. There will be more next time."

[gallagher]

Milo emerges from the woods unscathed, but certainly shaken, given his general ineffectiveness in his first combat. This, he says aloud to nobody in particular, holding out his unloaded crossbow, this I need to get better at. Milo adds in his thoughts, else I die the next time we face an enemy...

Turning to his allies, and surveying the area around him, After being congratulated by Melgor, Milo responds I think you all did a fair bit better than I. Next time it will be my turn to show you all up! By the way, new friend, you should return to normal size shortly. That spell I used on you has only a short duration.

To Mari, Milo nods his head: That sounds accurate, we should move in the hopes of finding a safer spot. I do not care to face any more goblins before I have a chance to rest and prepare some new spells.

Finally, Milo turns to the humans, but says nothing as he awaits their response to Melgor's question

[Ghost49X]

Hagrid pulls out a rag from a belt pouch and wipes his blade clean.
“Thank you for you help my friends. I am Hagrid, this is my friend Rolf and my sister Thalia.” he waves at his companions. “To whom do I owe this timely rescue?”.
Rolf and Thalia both nod as they are introduced.

[achinca]

Muldric shakes the hands of Hagrid, Rolf and Thalia, while making sure that his hood covers as much as possible of his disfigured face. "Name is Muldric. Glad I could help. I have a question for you. During your travels, did you happen to meet or see a woman named Kyla? She is medium height, wearing very unpretentious clothes, blonde hair and she is blind. She might been held against her will."

He looks at them and waits for the answer but deep inside, he knows that won't be able to help him.

[dmmd]

Melgor steps forward, his chest puffed proudly.

"Melgor Thragg, of the honorable Thragg clan! No need to thank me. Killing slimy, cowardly little snots like that is its own reward."

[dextercorvia]

"I'm called Mari. It seems our poor fortune of getting lost was to to your benefit."

She looks around at the corpses, "Such poor souls. If they had chosen better than banditry..." Snapping out of it, "Hagrid, where were you headed? The four of us managed to independently miss any decent place to rest around here."

[gallagher]

And I, Milo states while slinging his crossbow over his shoulder, am Milo. He says nothing more to that end, but holds out his hand for a handshake. While the rest of the group discuss their situations, Milo begins to search the bodies of the fallen enemies for money and valuables that might be of some use.

[Ghost49X]

Nodding to each of them as they introduce themselves in turn, Hagid walks over to his cart and picks up the handles.
“I see, well my village, Stonewood is not too far away. I suppose the least I could do is provide shelter. I own a shop, I was making a supply run to Ironfel, the next town over for supplies.”

[achinca]

"Stonewood? Ironfell?" Muldric had no idea where these villages were. "I am completely lost. I will never find her. I will not stop looking but how can I find her if I have no idea of where I am."

"Hagrid, thank you so much for your hospitality. As a servant of the Raven Queen, I will provide clerical services if needed in exchange for your lodging. Just let me know what you need."

[Ghost49X]

Thalia and Rolf walk behind the wagon keeping an eye out in case they are followed by more bandits, while Hagrid pulls his wagon forward. Hagrid responds to questions and small talk as they make their way along the path.
“Krom is our god, though if you wish to talk about the gods, I can introduce you to his priest. And no I haven’t seen a blond girl lately that I don’t already know. I’m sorry for your loss friend.”

[achinca]

Muldric helps Hagrid pulling the cart the best of his weak abilities.

"I have to keep on looking. I will find her or die looking for her. She is the only person who saw me for who I am and not what I am. I know who my Goddess and she accepted and embraced who I am. I am at ease with it, even if the Raven Queen is misunderstood by a lot."

[dmmd]

Melgor sticks to the back with Thalia and Rolf, meticulously but inefficiently cleaning the blood and gore from his flail. His mind wanders a bit at first, but eventually he remembers where he is and actually helps keep a lookout. He also occasionally throws out a question or two.

"This shelter, does it come with food, do you think?"

"Or at least a stiff drink?"

"Did you see me flatten that goblin with the sword?"

And so on throughout the walk.

[gallagher]

Milo mainly stays near the orc; his best contribution to battle was, after all, doubling the orc in size. Maybe he had no such spells left prepared for the day, but the rest of the group need not know it. What mattered is that Milo look calm and prepared for any challenge ahead.

After quite a bit of walking, Milo responds to Melgor: I did see that, you put on quite the show! You took to my spell casting quite nicely.

[dextercorvia]

Mari walks beside Muldric and Hagrid. "Thank you for the offer of shelter, Hagrid. Muldric, I would like to help you look for your friend in the morning." The guilt of her ruthlessness weighs heavily on Mari. As usual for her, she defends against the darkness by offering light to others.

[dmmd]

At Milo's comment, Melgor grins. "Yes, thanks again for the boost! I liked the view from up there. Let's stay close, little guy." He gives Milo what is meant to be a friendly, encouraging punch on the arm, but is probably just a tad too hard. Still, his appreciation of the halfling is genuine, and he chuckles as they walk, excitedly anticipating the next time his new friend can make him so big.

[gallagher]

To Melgor, the jab to the arm must have seemed light, but Milo was nearly knocked over all the same. Still, Milo understood the intent, and he grinned all the same - Watch it, Milo shot back jokingly, I can sap your strength just as easily as I can increase it

For the rest of the walk to town, Milo smiled easily, happy that he seemed to be making new friends easily.

[achinca]

Muldric nods at Mari. "Thank you. I would appreciate that. Frankly, I am starting to feel lost and losing the hope I will ever see her again. I have so little to go but I know I cannot give up. I will searching for her."

He thinks to himself. "Poor, I wonder how she will react when she will learn how little infomation i have about what happened to Kyla."

[Ghost49X]

Chapter 2: The Iron Conqueror
The walk to Stonewood Village isn’t much further, about an hour by your best estimation.
It’s fairly late when you arrive at the village and by then most of you are tired. No walls surround the village though the more perceptive of you can spot a lone sentinel keeping watch from a small tower in the middle of the village. Hagrid leads you towards his home, a large single room communal home. With a side building that Thalia points out as the shop run by Hagrid. Bringing the cart in he leaves it near the door. “Tis late my friends, You may sleep where you will and we will talk in the morn.”

Thalia and Rolf motion to different members of the party, pointing out good spots to sleep in the rafters. They briefly mention not having enough beds for everyone though they do offer blankets if anyone wants one. All in all it is fairly comfortable, especially for most of the party who haven’t sleep under a roof in several days.

[gallagher]

Milo, grateful for the roof over his head, accepts the offer for a blanket. Thank you for the hospitality, you are truly kind.
Given that it is late, Milo lets the hosts go to sleep undisturbed.

Not quite ready for his own rest, Milo pulls out the silver and potion that he had gotten from the fallen goblins and turns to the rest of the party. Spoils of war! he whispers to his new friends. He uncorks the vial with the potion and gives it a smell, before handing it to Mari Might any of you be familiar with a potion of this type?

[achinca]

Muldric unrolls his bed roll and his blanket. It has been so long since he has sleep under a roof and without having to worry about danger. He sees the halfling giving the potion to Mari to smell and a sad smile appears on his face. "Of course, he will ask someone with a normal nose to smell a potion. He probably think I cannot smell with such a deformed nose."

He lays down but sleep is hard to come by as he feels guilty staying here, wondering what horrors is Kyla going through.

[dmmd]

After accepting the silver Milo offers with a small grunt of gratitude, Melgor lays out his own bedroll as close the entrance of the house as he can comfortably fit. "I'll stay by the door just in case any danger decides to find us inside tonight."

He sits there but does not go to sleep immediately, ostensibly watching Milo and Mari discuss the potion but really just replaying the day's fight over and over in his head. He smiles to himself, remembering the victory.

As everyone else finally begins to settle down for the night, Melgor does the same, removing his armor and setting it aside, but keeping his flail in hand even as he goes to sleep. Rest comes easily to him, as he is quite comfortable in the afterglow of a battle won. He snores deeply but softly into the night.

[dextercorvia]

Mari thanks their hosts for the blanket and stretches out near a wall. She assumes that sleep will quickly come after the long day walking and everything since then. However she lays there for a long time, unable to get the goblin's pierced face out of her mind.

[Ghost49X]

Mari & Milo
The vial reminds Mari of a standard issue among the different mercenary bands. A quick sniff confirms it, a healing potion, standard issue in healer’s kits and an often requisitioned item among soldiers.

The next morning
A restful night passes, probably due to the exhaustion of the previous day. You wake up around mid morning. Rolf is sitting across the room, bent over a boot he is busy mending while a heavily pregnant woman sits on a chair near a table not too far away, peeling an apple. She smiles when she sees some of you wake and sit up. When the more curious of you step forwards she introduces herself.
“I am Mira, I should thank you for saving my husband. I keep saying he should take some of the lads in the village with him but Hagrid never listens, stubborn as a mule he is. Please have a seat, we have some nuts and bread for breakfast”. She mentions to a tray of bread and a large bowl of nuts. “Tell me, where do you come from?”

[achinca]

Muldric helps himself with some nuts and bread before sitting down. "Thank you for your generosity, Mira. May the Raven Queen grants you a long a prosperous life. I am Muldric and I am from every where and nowhere. I am looking for a friend, a blonde, green eyes blind woman named Kyla. Did she come through the village?"

[gallagher]

Not much for social graces, Milo sits down next to Muldric, and grabs a handful of nuts and begins tossing them in the air before catching them in his mouth. Name's Milo, he says between chewing. I am from Alaran, and fell in with these folks last night.

Milo pauses for thought briefly, before turning to Muldric. You have been asking about this Kyla, might I ask why you are searching for her? I stumbled across the rest of you and never had the moment to ask. All my friends seemed to stay in one place, to study dusty spellbooks instead of going out on adventure.

[dmmd]

Melgor grabs the biggest handful of nuts he can, and the largest piece of bread. "No meat, eh? You humans and your funny little foods." He says this with a smile but there is a bit of a bite to his tone as well. He then proceeds to overfill his mouth with nuts and bread, chewing loudly and quickly as if to show off how strong his jaw is and how big his mouth. After gulping down the food, he says, "Not bad, though, not bad!" and laughs lightly.

Finally, he introduces himself to Mira, saying, "I'm Melgor Thragg of the honorable Thragg clan. I come from the Northern Reaches, of course. The best part, too!" After that, he fills both his hands with more nuts and bread, not paying particular attention to whether or not he's leaving anything for the rest of the group to eat (but not intentionally taking everything, either) and goes back to his spot by the door to eat, listen, and watch.

[achinca]

Muldric watches Melgor eat a lot and raise an eye brow but says nothing. "I guess when you are that big and strong, you need to eat a lot."

He looks at Milo when asked about Kyla and stays silent for a while before saying "As you might have noticed, Milo, I am deformed and disfigured. As a result, I have been a wanderer all my life, going from village to village, trying to bring comfort to the dying and healing to the healthy per my Raven Queen wishes. About a year ago, I met Kyla and she is the first person who saw me for who I was and not what I was. She took me under her roof and got the village folks to at first stop of being scored of me to trusting and respecting me. She disappeared suddenly and I suspect foul play. I have made my life goal to find, even if I have no idea where she went and who took her or even how to track her."

At this point, his voice starts to break and nods, then get up and go to the window as silent tears run down his cheeks.

[dextercorvia]

Mari takes a small portion of the food and smiles her thanks at their hosts. "I am Mari, also a healer. I'm on a bit of a pilgrimage. Being a battlefield medic can be trying, and I needed a change of scenery." She takes small bites of food and follows it with a sip of water. "Many thanks for letting us stay the night. Are goblins usually so much trouble in this area?"

[Ghost49X]

Mira smiles at Muldric
“I am sorry but I do not know. Though you should ask Krowan, the Chieftan’s son. He’s been left in charge while his father left with a band of warriors over a month ago. Krowan makes it his business to know what goes on not only in the village but also in the surrounding forest.”

Mira puts a hand on her belly and stiffens up slightly “The baby is kicking” she smiles and lets out a small laugh.” After a moment she looks up at Melgore and lowers her head in apology “I’m sorry, we don’t usually have meat in the morning. Though I will be cooking up a goose for dinner, as well as apple pie. If you are still with us, you are welcome to share our meal.”

Wrinkling her nose in thought, Mira looks at Mari sideways. “Hmm, I’ve heard of occasional goblin attacks but I don’t know much about them, though Krowan would definitely know more”

[achinca]

Muldric swallows hard and wipes the tears under his eyes.

"Thank you Mira. I will go talk to Krowan. Where can I find him?"

[Ghost49X]

Mira turns towards Muldric and replies uncertainly... “Hmm, at this time he might be somewhere in the village or he might be out hunting…”

[dmmd]

"Goose and pie! Now you're onto something!" Melgor bellows.

Turning to Muldric, he says, "You don't look so bad to me. Besides, humans are all pretty ugly in their own special way!" Melgor laughs hard at that, very amused and pleased with his own joke.

Once his laughter subsides, he stands up and addresses the group. "Sounds like this Krowan is the person to see. Maybe he can help us all find our way back to the paths we were walking before this goblin mess got in our way."

[gallagher]

Joining in the laughter, Milo replies to Melgor - If only humans were gifted with the beauty common among halflings, Muldric need not risk exclusion over his looks! Though I could say the same about orcs! Milo teases, sticking his tongue out at Melgor

Still, Milo felt awkward over bringing up a topic that surrounds Muldric's insecurity over his appearance. In an attempt to apologize, he walks over to Muldric, and given that he is too short to rest a hand on his shoulder, instead pats him once on the back. Speaking softly, so that Muldric knows that these words are sincere, Milo offers what he thinks might comforting for Muldric to hear: Where I have been training the past few years, it is not the appearance that counts. Wizards care only of the greatness of mind and resolve of the heart. Yesterday, I saw not an ugly man charging into battle, but a brave man willing to risk his own life to save a stranger's. I promise to help you search for Kyla, and might be that this Krowan fellow can point us in the right direction.

[dextercorvia]

"I'll leave the rest of you to meet this Krowan. I'm not searching for any information, though I'll keep my promise to help you find Kyla. I would like to take a look around and see if anyone needs my services." When the men leave, she starts with Mira. "How far along are you? If you've been having any troubles with the child, I could take a look."

[achinca]

Muldric looks at the orc and the halfling and realizes that regardless of their jokes, they truly did not see his disfigured face as an issue, the way the villagers did once they got to know him. He forces a smile as he remembers the many long discussion he had with Kyla about what is true beauty and what is real charisma. He is touched by Melgor and Milo pledge to help him find Kyla.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I could use a lot of help given that I am not even sure I am going the right way. Let's go talk to Krowan after Mari has made sure everything is ok with the baby."

[gallagher]

If you'd like me to come with, I merely need an hour and a few extra moments before we go. I had not yet prepared my spells for the day.

Milo looks around the room for something soiled that needs cleaning. Milo notices that Mari is to perform a medical examination, he uses Prestidigitation to try and clean up the area a little better. No resource should go to waste! he says, before pointing a finger and calling out Tá mé an mó.

Now it will only be an hour! Milo says excitedly.

Milo then goes back to where he had slept, and pulls his spell book from his bag and begins to study. As he opens the book, he recalls what Professor Balin had taught him in his introductory classes. It is not enough to simply observe the glyphs that grant you power. You must study them, and truly understand the nature of the spell you are attempting to cast. With the equipped knowledge, you will be able to transcend the very natural laws of which the rest of the world must abide..

He prepares a new set of spells for the day, deciding to forgo Mage Armor for Grease, among others.

[dextercorvia]

"Just about a month left, I'd say. It would help your ankle swelling if when you got the chance to sit, you propped your feet up on a crate." She looks meaningfully at the men that just a moment ago were set to leave and have decided to stay during her exam. "Perhaps we should go into the other room."

[achinca]

Muldric pays absolutely no attention to Mira and Mari, totally oblivious the two women as all he cares about is to go talk to KROWAN.

He bites his lips when Milo asks for an hour. "Why does he learn his magic before going to bed. My Raven Queen is always ready at midnight when I renew our relationship."

He gets a little impatient and finally asks Melgor "How about we spent the our sparring. I have seen how much of a fighter you are and I would love to learn a trick or two for the next time we are faced with goblins."

[dmmd]

Melgor chuckles and slaps Muldric on the back approvingly, but with a tad too much force. "I'm always game to wrestle. But I won't go easy on you, human!" With that, he runs outside and begins stretching, jogging in place, and other seemingly random exercises, clearly eager to go a few friendly if aggressive rounds with his new companion.

This human seems so serious and sad, he thinks with a secret smirk, Maybe I can jostle some of that loose for him!

[achinca]

Muldric shakes his head. "I am more interested in learning how to improve my melee fighting skills that wrestle. I am a weak man and wrestle is not something I can get good out. However, I know that the art of using a weapon has nothing to do with size or strength."

[dmmd]

"Ah, so we let the weapons do the wrestling! Even better!" Melgor takes his flail out and gives it a few enthusiastic spins in the air. He smiles at Muldric and beckons him to come closer. "Show me what you've got then, human."

[achinca]

Muldric lifts his heavy mace and trying to remember how the orc fought, takes a defensive pose. "Remember, this is sparring. No need to hurt each other."

As he faces the giant, second thoughts come to his mind "What are you doing? He is twice your size and he is crippled." He shakes his head and replies to the voices "I don't care. If I am ever going to find Kyla, I need to learn to defend myself."

[Ghost49X]

Melgor and Muldric
Outside the sky was clear and the sun shined down with warm rays, while one could no doubt come up with superstitions about the weather it was just a really nice day especially for a few sparring bouts.

Mari
Mira nods
"Thank you Mari. I am usually the midwife for the village, I have been teaching Thalia but I would welcome more experienced help when the time comes"
She stands up, holding her stomach and slowly leads Mari to her bedroom.

Milo
The clanking of weapons outside with the orc's bellowing laughter made his chosen studying spot a poor choice. Looking around Milo spots a door on the far end of the room, opposite from where Muldric and Melgor were sparring.

Outside an adjacent building with a sign proclaimed it as a store, after investigating curiously Milo found it to be the store run by Hagrid. Inside Thalia was dusting, noding to him in greetings. The room was some what small for a store front, though it had a larger storage area behind the counter. The counter itself had what look to be a comfortable chair and with the counter it would provide a quiet and comfortable spot for studying his spells.

[achinca]

Muldric rushes Melgor in a totally disorganized way. He is swinging the mace with no style but passion, trying to avoid putting weight on his damaged leg. The style is very unorthodox but totally useless again an experience fighter. All Muldric has is energy and passion, swing like a mad man but incapable to develop proper form or being efficient in his attack. The only thing that is not questionable is his desire in his eyes. He is focused and wants to learn, even if he looks like a total fool to a neutral spectator.

[gallagher]

Milo thanks Hagrid and Thalia for the quiet spot to study, and gets right to it. He wanted to be of some use in finding this Kyla person, after all.

It took an entire hour, and left his eyes and mind aching a little from the intense focus required in preparing spells. When he got to his cantrips, however, he is able to hold light conversation with Thalia while studying. Eventually, Milo divulges a bit about what he intends to do for the day: We were recommended earlier to find some man named Krowan. Would you know where he can be found this morning?

[dmmd]

Melgor admires Muldric's energy and enthusiasm, if not his form. Melgor's own style is fairly loose; he is not a highly trained or precise combatant, but one who relies on brute strength and bloodlust above all else. Even still, he is considerably more in control than his sparring partner, and more comfortable & capable with his weapon.

But as they practice, Melgor find himself very taken with Muldric's passion. "You've got a warrior's spirit, human!" he says with a laugh, "Now let's see if we can get you the skill to match!"

As their faux combat continues, Melgor soon begins to fight more defensively, hoping to make himself a tougher target for Muldric and thus improve his proficiency. After all, he remembers how quickly Muldric rushed into the battle with the goblins, so Melgor figures if Muldric is always going to be this gung-ho about fighting, he should probably sharpen his skills. So while at first Melgor saw this friendly match as yet another way to prove his own superiority, he quickly shifts his focus to actually help Muldric get better.

No point in crushing him if he's not going to give me a challenge the young orc thinks to himself. May as well build him up for now. I can always knock him around later once he's learned to wield that thing.

[dextercorvia]

Mari examines her thoroughly, making small talk as she does so to put Mira at ease. "Have you tried horseradish? Chew a root once a day -- it helps strengthen the blood. I'll leave you my recipe for Mother's Milk Tea -- a godsend if your milk is slower to come than the child's appetite." She lays her hand on the woman's abdomen and smiles when she feels a kick. "So strong and healthy."

[achinca]

Muldric realizes quickly that Melgor is not trying to hit back at him but fighting in a defensive mind. He swings and swings and tries not to trip or fall on his weak leg. A few times he thinks he will make contact but at the last second the orc evades or block it. After a while, Muldric stops, painting and extends his hand "thank you Mulgor. I am not sure that it is visible but I believe I learned a thing or two. Although divine magic is my Goddess gift, I want to be able to rely on my own fighting skills if needed. I hope one to be able to give you a challenge."

"I got to get better at this. I will need it when i even find Kyla." A sudden veil of sadness covers his eyes as he thinks of his blind blond friend. "I wonder what she is going through and how much she is suffering. I need to find her."

[dmmd]

Melgor shakes Muldric's hand with vigor and maybe more strength than is needed. "I'd like to see you challenge me one day, too, human. It would certainly be a surprise!" With that Melgor laughs and slaps Muldric on the back, genuinely enjoying the companionship of this strange, quiet, serious man.

"Let's go see if the little guy is ready to talk to Krowan yet. I've got a thing or two to ask him myself..." In a rare moment of contemplation, Melgor's voice trails off as he remembers the real reason he's out here, on this journey, in this place. He is following omens, and as much fun as it's been squishing goblins and making new friends, Melgor quietly reminds himself that he must not lose track of the task at hand. He must find the sorceress and give her whatever help he can. He must seek the raven's wisdom. He must fight the shadows that reach out for him and his family.

With a sudden solemnity, Melgor mutters, "Come on," and heads back to the house.

[Ghost49X]

Mari
Mira smiles
"Thank you, I do have my own recipes for most of those things. Like I said I’m usually the one helping expecting mothers with their own babies. Though I don’t suppose sharing knowledge will hurt"

Muldric and Melgor
Milo is nowhere to be seen inside the house. Asking Rolf gets them little more than a shrug as the man concentrates on the task in front of him.

Milo
Seeing Milo study his spellbook intently Thalia takes a peak as she carries something to the counter "What kind of book is that?"she asks innocently.

After he mentions magic, her eyes light up in interest. She occasionally asks a few more as she works questions but it’s almost as if she is holding back, no doubt to avoid pestering him. Milo is almost finished his study session when the sunlight dims noticeably, probably the sun dipping behind a cloud or something. As Milo ponders the drop in light, a woman with a deep hood hiding her face steps into the store, Milo assumes the dirt on her boots and leather armour means she’s been travelling. While her slim build and dark armour makes her stand out perhaps she isn't from the village?

"Well hello there! I hope you've been having a good day!” Thalia smiles and nods at the newcomer "We’re always happy to welcome new customers, how goes your travels?"
"Just get me what’s on this list" she pulls out a folded piece of paper and hands it to Thalia. While Thalia gives it a quick read over the lady pulls out a small coin bag and taps her hands on the "counter impatiently. "We should have just about everything on this list, if you’ll give me a moment I’ll get everything ready for you." Sensing her impatience Thalia went into the back room without waiting for a reply.

This close Milo could make out the lady's facial features that were previously hidden under her hood. Black cosmetics covered her lips and enhanced her dark almond shaped eyes, with otherwise pale skin and a sense of something creepy about her sent shivers down Milo’s spine.

[dextercorvia]

Mari

"Just remember." Mari says with a wink, "Healers make our own worse patients. All jesting aside, you are doing a wonderful job taking care of yourself and your child. If you think of anything you need assistance with before I leave, just ask. I know you have to get about your day, pregnant or not, and I should probably catch up with those men I came in with. Some odd twist of fate brought us together just before we found your kinfolk, and I'd not like to tempt that fate with an unwilling spirit."

Goodbyes said, Mari goes back toward the sound of brawling. Hopefully those two didn't hurt each other too badly with their sparring. Men can be so odd as they get to know each other -- testing to see which is best at this and that. Always testing each other.

[gallagher]

No way I am fortunate enough that this is Kyla before me... Milo thinks to himself, though the thought does cause him to smile. I am finished with my spells, no sense in letting a good stranger go to waste!

Milo stands up from his study area, puts his spellbook back into his bag, and begins to approach the newcomer. Standing up, however, he gets a better view of her visage - her makeup clearly outlining her already severe expression - causing Milo to feel anxious over approaching her. Now now, Milo, you left school to be an adventurer. Talking to strangers is part of the job.

Milo approaches the counter area where the strange woman is drumming her fingers. Hello, traveler. Have you been in town long? Milo gets a better look at the woman from up close, and tries to cover his trepidation with an honest smile.

[achinca]

Muldric looks at Melgor. "I wonder where the little one went. Who knows? I do not think I will wait for him. Let's go talk to that Krewan and learn if he has heard or seen Kyla."

Although it was strange to have a companion, it felt good. Muldric had the feeling that Melgor was a kind hearted man that genuinely cared about others. "I forgot how nice it feels not to be alone"

[Ghost49X]

Milo
“Oh great, a chatty halfling.” she rolls her eyes in contempt “Tell me how you can be of use to me or keep to yourself and stay out of my way” whether this girl was arrogant in nature or something had simply caused her mood to sour, she clearly wasn't in the mood for enjoying small talk. Though something was off about her, Milo had met several half-fey in his life and this girl reminded him of them.

Mari, Melgor and Muldric.
The men came in with scrapes and bruises but nothing serious, though Mari had to wonder if their pride would allow her to treat what little injuries they had. Rolf speaks up when Muldric mentions Krowan.
“He’s probably wandering around taking care of business, check the village and ask if anyone has seen him and you will probably find him soon enough or he will find you if word gets out that you’re looking for him.”

[dmmd]

"Ah, a man of action. I like this Krowan already." Melgor was eager to meet this leader and see what kind of man he'd be.

But first, Melgor had to honor his new friend's wishes and make sure Milo didn't miss out on the meeting. "Mari, have you seen the little guy? I think he wanted to come, too."

[gallagher]

Oh, a half-fey. I thought I left them behind at the College - Milo thinks sarcastically. But too late to back out now. Milo continues to talk with this newcomer, hoping to uncover a few more details.

Of course, of course. Time is always of the essence, and you do seem to be in a hurry. Milo attempts a different approach, one that this half-fey might find more useful. I am a magician of many talents, you might find me helpful in all sorts of ways - maybe if you told me what you need help with, I could offer a better idea of how I might help.

[achinca]

Muldric is looking impatient. "I am not sure where to look for Milo. How about we find Krowan and then tell Milo. If he has any information about Kyla, and I sincerely doubt, I want to find out a soon as possible. The rest can wait ..."

After that, the limped cleric starts moving towards the general area he expects to find Krowan.

[dmmd]

While eager to get going, Melgor did not want to simply abandon Milo. "We don't need to look for him if he knows he should be looking for us."

Melgor steps outside of the house and inhales deeply and slowly, closing his eyes and focusing. All of a sudden, his eyes pop open and his head snaps back and he bellows at the top of his lungs, "MILO! LITTLE GUY! WHERE ARE YOU?" He repeats this process a few times over, hoping that wherever Milo is, he's close enough to hear the call.

[achinca]

Muldric stops as he hears Melgor then smiles. The dedication of the orc was touching. He turned around and walked back toward Melgor. The smile disappeared as anxiety took over. "What is the few lost moment are critical between finding Kyla or forever looking for her? I got to keep on going and going but as the same time, did I meet these strangers by accident or was it an omen? I need to keep praying to the Raven Queen for a sign."

[dextercorvia]

"Suppose we look for Milo and Krowan at the same time. If we find Milo first, we'll have our answer." Mari is relieved that neither is hurt more than superficially.

[Ghost49X]

Mari, Melgor and Mudric
It’s a really nice day outside, nice big blue sky, with only a few small clouds. Walking around the village they spot a few villagers going around their daily business. The sounds of a dispute catches their attention by the time they reach the center of the village two brawny men are arguing with a third between them trying to talk them down.
"“He said my fish ain’t fresh!”"
"Well that might be because it isn’t!"
The first man wore a fishmonger’s white apron and tools while the other carried a blacksmith’s hammer wore a leather apron. The man in the middle wore a green cloak, an unstrung longbow and a large sword on his back.
"Calm down gentlemen, we’ve been over this before..."

Milo
“Tell me, halfling” she whispers as leans forward and pulls out a ceremonial knife “could you divine the location of it’s previous owner?” a chill creeps up Milo’s back at the coldness of her voice.

[achinca]

"The eyes!" Muldric interjects. "You can see it in the eyes. A fresh fish eyes are shiny. An old fish eyes are blurry."
He stops and looks at Melgor and Mari "That is what Kyla taught me" as if apologizing.

[gallagher]

As Milo stares at the blade, he holds out his hand and asks, May I take a closer look?

To the half-fey, it may be a dagger, but the much smaller Milo would have trouble calling it such. The curve of the blade, the ornamental gold trim, reminded Milo of one he had seen before. It couldn't be, he thought to himself. Muldric carries a similar blade, but he does not seem like the type to commit any sort of transgressions. This may belong to someone Muldric is associated with, does this all run back to Kyla?

Either way, Milo could not let this woman get to Muldric, at least not in the agitated state she presently displays. Stalling for time to think, Milo inspects it much more closely, going so far as to study it with Detect Magic. Without handing it back, Milo attempts to politely get her in conversation - Might I ask why you are seeking that person out? If you have gotten close enough to the previous owner, the spell Locate Creature should prove useful to you.

[dextercorvia]

"The eyes? That makes sense. You can tell quite a bit about the health of a creature from its eyes. I suppose that could extend to freshness. Muldric, I would wager that the man in the middle is Krowan. The others respect him as Mira said. You should ask about Kyla first."

[achinca]

Muldric looks at the man in the middle between the fish seller and the blacksmith. He covers as much of his face as he can with his hood, clears his throat before saying "Excuse Sir, are you Krowan, the leader of this distinguished village?"

He waits for the man to confirm his identity before asking "I was told that you know pretty much of anything unusual happening in or around your village. Did you see or are you aware of someone seeing a young blonde, blind woman going by the name of Kyla? She might be with other companions against her will."

He stops and gives the man a small bow but deep inside he expects the answer to be no. "I have been asking this question for so long and it is always the same answer. Am I even looking for her in the right place?"

[Ghost49X]

Mari, Melgor and Mudric
"I am Krowan" stepping through the two villagers he addresses Muldric directly “Though my father is our leader. I’ve only been keeping the peace in his absence”. He takes a breath listening to Muldric’s description of Kyla.

"So anyways your fish isn’t fresh and that’s that!"
"Why you!"
“Gentlemen…” Krown crosses his arms and holds a hand up to a furrowed brow, one could guess at the sort of headache the two villagers were giving him.

When Milo asks for the dagger, the lady tosses it onto the counter. She takes a moment to spy on Thalia working at gathering her supplies, then looks back at Milo. “The owner took something of ours, we want it back.” The look in her eyes doesn’t leave much doubt that it would probably end badly for the ‘owner’ of the knife.

[achinca]

Muldric waits for Krowan's answer about Kyla and starts to get annoyed as the two men fighting about the freshness of fish. He bites his lips but does not intervene at the moment. However, if Krowan takes too long to settled the issue, he will step in.

[gallagher]

Milo tries to shrug off the intimidating stare of his new acquaintance, studying the dagger further. He knows he saw it on Muldric before, but had trouble remembering if there was a story behind the dagger. Either way, based on the intimidating way this half-fey conducted herself, Milo knew that he could not lead her to Muldric. But he needed an excuse to leave her to contact Muldric and meet back up later.

I do not know the owner of this specific blade, nor do I know the individual significance of this kind of knife. I'd venture a guess that a blade is ceremonial, and to that end I know someone who might be able to better guess it's significance. You seem rather busy; if you'd let me know where I can find you this evening, I'd gladly see what I can find out and report back to you.

[dmmd]

From the moment he hears the word "fish," Melgor becomes distracted by thoughts of food. He hasn't had much good, fresh meat of any kind since leaving home, and fish wasn't a very common a meal even there.

He forces himself to pay just enough attention to hear Mari suggest that Muldric ask about Kyla first, which seems a fair enough idea. After all, Melgor hasn't even decided exactly what he wants with Krowan. Deep down, he was mostly just curious to see what kind of person the humans of this area see as a leader.

So while Muldric and Krowan introduce themselves to one another, Melgor allows his attention to turn entirely to the argument between the other two men. Without even consciously meaning to, he slowly breaks off from his new friends and walks right up to the fishmonger.

"Greetings! I am Melgor Thragg of the honorable Thragg clan, and I think I can settle this little fight. I'll eat as much fish as it takes to prove whether or not it's fresh!" With that he smiles wide and nods a with perhaps a bit too much energy, eager to demonstrate how serious and excited he is about his offer.

[Ghost49X]

Mari, Melgor and Muldric
The fishmonger turns towards Melgor with a big smile "Sir you won’t regret this!" he waves Melgor towards the stall across the street and points out the different varieties available. As he does so the blacksmith brings his palm to his face. "I wonder if I need to call the healer?" he mutters to himself.

Listening to Muldric’s description, Krowan furrows his brow and scratches his chin. “That sounds worrisome, though I’m sorry but I have not seen or heard of her. Unfortunately I can not spare a ranger to help you hunt her down at the moment as we aren't without our own problems around here either. You look like a hardy lot, perhaps we might be able to help each other?"

As the argument dies down behind him Krowan looks relieved as he looks back at Melgor and the fishmonger. “Give my thanks to your friend, those two families have been going at it for over a generation and though It’s unlikely they’ll ever stop, a moment of relief is appreciated."

Milo
Her eyes narrow as she weighs Milo’s option “I won’t be staying around till the evening. Take me to your acquaintance now and I’ll return for the supplies.”

[dmmd]

Meglor takes his meals seriously, especially when treating himself to something special. So he very carefully considers all the fishmonger's offerings, leaning in to peer at them closely, taking deep inhales of their various smells, etc. He makes a big show of it, acting like some kind of fish expert because he enjoys having the fishmonger so eager to please him.

Finally, Melgor takes a big, faux-contemplative sigh, and says with false authority, "The best test of freshness would be to try some of the delicacies."

Then, no longer able to contain himself, Melgor pulls out a gold piece, tosses it to the fishmonger, cracks a smile, and says, "Bring on the oysters! And some of that magic-sounding one you mentioned."

[achinca]

Muldric's first instinct after hearing Krowan's answer is to just continue his search for Kyla but he remembers something Kyla told him several times "Sometimes, we cannot find what we are looking for because we are searching for the wrong thing but we are not aware of it. I realized that helping others or animals is always a good way to open one's mind."

He looks at Krowan, streches his hood above his head before saying "If helping you with your problems allows you to help me if my search, consider me ready to help you. What kind of troubles do you need help with?"

[Ghost49X]

Melgor
The Fishmonger catches the coin, as a reflex he bites it and his eyes light up. He waves the orc over to his shop excitedly. “Merrida! We have a customer who would like a few samples!” inside the shop the heavy scent of fish abounds. A small 5 foot human woman about the same age as the fishmonger steps out of another room. The fishmonger mentions the oysters and magikarp and she disappears again. Meanwhile the fishmonger relates Melgor with stories about the high quality of fish that he imports. According to him they aren’t comparable to the fish in the nearby river. Merrida sets a grill over the fire in the oven and adds a few logs before stroking the fire into a blaze. She returns with a bucket of oysters and when she’s satisfied with the fire sets them on the grill. As the oysters are cooking she gets a bag and sits down at the table, pulling out a potato she starts peeling.

Mari and Muldric
Krowan nods “Come let us find shade and talk” waving for them to follow he leads them down a side path. Not too far from where they left Melgor with the fishmonger they arrive at a large and ancient oak. Under the tree are stone slabs and chiselled cylindrical boulders that act as benches and tables. Krowan sits at one of the tables and motions for them to sit.

Krowan clears his voice as everyone sits down “The region is being raided by a gang of bandits under the leadership of someone who calls himself ‘The Iron Conqueror’. About a month ago my father, our village Chieftain gathered most of our warriors and left to challenge this so-called Conqueror. We haven’t heard from him since and this worries me. We only have a few men who were left behind to protect the village. I can’t spare them, but I need to know what became of my father and the others. If you can scout out this conqueror and figure out what happened to my father and his band it would allow us to see our options. If on the off chance you can deal with the conqueror yourself then that would solve our problem that much quicker. Once the Conqueror stops his raids we can afford to spare someone to help track down your friend."

[gallagher]

In a rush I see? Milo responds coolly, understanding her situation. Very well, I will take you to him. He is looking for Krowan somewhere in the village, but one of the people he is with is rather easy to spot. I met this acquaintance on the road on the way here, and I think he may know what group uses this kind of knife. You will have to go... Milo pauses to choose the right word... Gently with him, he is looking for a lost friend and is rather distressed by it.

[Ghost49X]

She smiles what seems like an attempt at a friendly smile but it comes out rather… creepy. “Lead on halfling.” Turning towards the back door she calls out “Have the supplies ready when I come back.”

She follows Milo out of the door. Milo leads her through the village looking for Muldric when it dawns on him. It seemed as if an ever present shadow was damping out some of the sun’s brightness. Yet there were no clouds or anything that blocked the light or rather nothing Milo could see.

[achinca]

Muldric listens to Krowan and once the man has finished talking, the cleric of the Raven Queen stays silent. He looks at Mari and finally speaks, summarizing what Krowan said. "So this "Iron Conqueror" has been stirring up trouble and you need help finding out what happened to your father and his men and you want us to possibly eliminate that bandit threat. Once the area is safe, you will help us try to find Kyla's trail."

He stops and thinks about what Kyla taught him or would do in the situation. Finally he extends his hand "If stopping that brigand increases my chances of finding Kyla, I will stop him. I do not know about my companions as I met them yesterday on the road but they seem to be good people ready to help. I am not sure they will be satisfied with only the use of a scout as motivation but it works for me. Which way did you father go when he went looking for that menace?"

[gallagher]

Of course of course, Milo says, still tentative about bringing a woman of this stature around Muldric. Hopefully, this goes smoothly, and she doesnt start accusing him of being the thief she is after.

Milo leads her out into the town in search of his new friends. Melgor was easy enough to spot in the distance, and upon approaching them, Milo shouts out Ahoy, Melgor, Muldric, I have someone here with a couple of questions about a fancy knife

[dmmd]

Melgor half listens to the fishmonger's stories, but mostly focuses on the woman who is preparing his meal. He finds a chair and settles right in, slouching a bit and sticking his legs out, taking up more room than necessary in the already not-so-large space. At some point, when the fishmonger reaches a pause in his excited chattering, Melgor gives his host a playful but powerful punch in the arm and asks, "Any chance I can have some alcohol to wash this fish down with?"

As the fishmonger and his wife continue to serve him, Melgor takes in the shop, trying to get a sense of this small human town in which he finds himself unexpectedly.