CH. 4: False Gods

[JadedDM]

When morning arrives, the party awakens to find they had accidentally drifted off to sleep in the mageware shop. The exhaustion of last night's battle and the warmth of the blankets Tulbas spread out were too tempting, and even those who did not mean to stay, drifted asleep.

Daxia is already awake. She closes her spellbook, having finished memorizing her new spells for the day. Kynaston, likewise, is up and about. He's bandaged up and seems a bit more hale this morning as he prepares his gear.

Likewise, Kendra, Gregeddin and Darga feel better now having rested, although all are still wounded to some degree or another. Indeed, all three of them still bear wounds from the mine excursion, nevermind any new ones acquired the previous night against the Ergothians.

There's still a chill in the air, making it all the more difficult to get up and out from those blankets. It is only the beginning of autumn, too. It's going to be a harsh winter at this rate, that is to be certain.

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It is now Autumn Harvest 17 at Second Watch (8 AM).

Kynaston regains 1 HP. His status improves from critically wounded to seriously wounded.
Kendra regains 1 HP. Her status improves from near death to seriously wounded.
Gregeddin regains 1 HP. His status improves from moderately wounded to lightly wounded.
Darga regains 1 HP. His status improves from near death to seriously wounded.

[mgbevan]

Gregeddin has been quite content dozing buried in the blankets on Tulbas' floor, but the unmistakable snap of Daxia's book closing prompts him to begin the day in earnest. Rising wearily he asks Daxia, "Do you read every morning?" as he makes his way to the window to check the weather outside. He turns back to Daxia, now with daylight and safety, he takes a closer look at her trying to discern her age, "May I ask how long it took you to learn what you did last night?"

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra slowly opens her eyes as she curls up a little tighter under her blanket. She didn't have any desire to get up, but she knew she had to considering that she wasn't where she was suppose to be. Norris was going to kill her, or at least give her a stern lecture, which wasn't something she was looking forward to. "I guess you are all ready to leave?" she asks.

[Haahque]

Haahqae rolls over contently, despite the unideal conditions here, it's still a step up from the rundown room at the Steel Tankard. When he opens his eyes however it's a whole different story. Haahqae jumps to his feet, discarding the comfy blankets and dawning a somewhat worried look. "Shi.. I slept in, where am I? Ohmygoodness! I hope I didn't miss breakfast, the Tankard's lunch menu kinda sucks. And I left stuff in my room. Sorry guys gottago. Good luck with your lives and stuff, should we meet up back here in an hour?"

[JadedDM]

"Do you read every morning? May I ask how long it took you to learn what you did last night?"

Gregeddin had heard that elves can live for hundreds of years, and barely age at all in that time. Half-elves, the offspring of humans and elves, do not live as long as elves, but much longer than humans. Their age, likewise, can be difficult to discern. If she were human, Gregeddin would guess she wouldn't be much older than him; perhaps in her early 20s, at best.

"Not reading, studying," she says, smiling at the bard. "When I cast a spell, it is ripped from my memory, and I must rest and then memorize it again. As for my flame arrow, it's one of my more powerful spells. It has taken me many years to reach that level of power. I started when I was a child. My father hired a wizard to tutor me, at my own request. I've always wanted to be a sorceress, for as long as I remembered. Magic is frowned upon in Ergoth, much like it is here. But then again, half-elven bastards are frowned upon, as well. So my father obviously didn't care at that point what other people thought. He loved me, and all he cared about was making me happy."

"I guess you are all ready to leave?"

"Sorry guys gottago. Good luck with your lives and stuff, should we meet up back here in an hour?"

Daxia nods. "Yes, we should be on our way, as well. By now, the Ergothians waiting in New Ports have realized something has gone wrong and are probably sending people to investigate now. I dare not stay any longer." She packs up her spellbook and gets to her feet.

Kynaston stands up and shoulders his pack. "It's been great fighting alongside you all," he says. "I wish you luck with your future endeavors. Maybe someday, we'll all meet again."

[mgbevan]

Started when she was a child? Looks like I'll have some catching up to do, and where would I find a tutor, let alone the steel to recompense them...

"Mmm... Your story is touching, Daxia, at both ends of the spectrum. The prejudice that has befallen you throughout your life is not enviable, though this is outshone by the happiness which now fills me to once again see you free. If you can call it freedom that is. Farewell Daxia."

Gregeddin walks over to Trench and grasps his hand firmly, "I shan't forget you, until destiny has us meet again." Gregeddin says with a smile. It was taking some concentration and practise of stage face to keep the bard positive, trustworthy allies with good values seemed few and far between in these darkening days.

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra finally decides to get up, and stretches a bit. She winces as her wounds are still pretty fresh and sore. "I should get home," she says while pushing herself up to stand. "Good luck you too."

[djhyland]

Darga is hesitant to leave, even knowing that he has a place to call his own--at least, for the time being. But the comraderie, even friendship, that he's found here is something he hasn't had since leaving Xak Tsaroth, and he's none too eager to leave it, even for a while. Besides, with his wounds and injuries, he imagines that even getting to his feet might be difficult, so he stays and listens to the others talk well into the morning.

After Kendra and Haahqae leave, Darga leverages himself to his feet. Leaning heavily on his walking stick, he limps over to Tulbas. "My thanks to ya fer lettin' me stay th'night. Give my thanks ta yer uncle, too." Before he leaves, he stops one last time before Kynaston and Daxia and says, "Good luck on yer journeys. If'n ya come back this way, yer house'll be ready fer ya."

After stepping out into the chill autumn air, Darga makes his way towards the docks and finds an out-of-the-way place to stand. He stays for a while, keeping an eye out for the pickpocket boy and the warehouse he said he was staying at.

(OOC: Darga will wait maybe an hour or so. If he doesn't find Aaron, he'll make his way to Kynaston's house.)

[BishGada]

Even though not hurt, Tulbas was completely exhausted. He finds it hard to wake up early as usual, but knowing his guests should wake up soon he forces himself out of bed and study his own spells. To his amazement he feels he can memorize much more spells than he used to be. 'Working under the stress of the battle has sharpened my mind.' he thinks to himself. Hearing something stirs downstairs he goes to check on his guests.
He listens to Daxia talking to Gregeddin, looks at her but doesn't offer any words.
As Daxia and Kynaston talk about leaving he says somewhat frustrated "What are these nonsense about leaving? Haven't we agreed only yesterday you should wait for my uncle so he can transport you to Tower of Sorcery safely?" he shifts his gaze to Kynaston, "Besides, you are a mess. I know some herbs and healing prospects that might help you. All of you." he gestures to the other wounded as well.

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(OOC: Oh, my post is a little bit retrospective.
Tulbas has healing and herbalism skills. Can he use them? Should I roll something?
Another thing, if I'm not mistaken Tulbas has now 4 1st level spells and 5 cantrips and not 6 cantrips and 3 1st level spells, right?
Tulbas learns Sleep, Charm Person, Armor and Grease. He casts the Armor spell immediately after he finish studying. (AC 6 for the next 10hp he suffers)
BTW, I forgot to mention it in the OOC thread, but the Charm Person on the Cavalier didn't work so much as I hoped. I thought the Cavalier would be compelled to protect me from the 'wizard' and therefore would not engage in battle with the others, but seek that wizard.)

[JadedDM]

"Mmm... Your story is touching, Daxia, at both ends of the spectrum. The prejudice that has befallen you throughout your life is not enviable, though this is outshone by the happiness which now fills me to once again see you free. If you can call it freedom that is. Farewell Daxia."

"Thank you, for everything," Daxia says with a polite bow.

"I shan't forget you, until destiny has us meet again."

Kynaston returns the hand shake. "Nor I you. Good luck and good health, to you all."

"What are these nonsense about leaving? Haven't we agreed only yesterday you should wait for my uncle so he can transport you to Tower of Sorcery safely?"

"And your uncle is still not here," Daxia returns. "And I cannot afford to wait any longer. By now, the Ergothians waiting in New Ports have realized something is amiss. They will send men to investigate. I don't intend to be here when they arrive." She looks around at the group. "I'd suggest you all lay low for awhile. While it was dark, there were numerous witnesses to your battle. And the Ergothians will be looking to avenge the men you killed, especially the cavalier."

She pulls up the hood of her cloak, more to cover her face than anything. "Thank you all again, and good luck." She and Kynaston step outside, closing the door behind them.

Meanwhile, Darga heads to the docks and waits. With the sun's arrival, things have warmed up a little. But it's cloudy out, counteracting some of that. Thus, it's still rather cold out. The Aghar is forced to pull his cloak around him tightly to fight the chill.

There's little activity yet, but it is still early. As time passes, more people start to show up to work the docks. But there seem to be less refugees than one would expect. It's like most of them cleared out of the area for some reason. Surprisingly, a pair of Holy Guard approach. They are rarely seen in this area of the city. They walk right pass Darga, not giving the dwarf a second or even a first look. But he overhears them talking as they pass.

"Why are we even here?" asks one.

"Murder. Several murders, actually, last night," replies the other.

"So what? Refugees are murdered all the time, especially here in the harbor district. Good riddance, I say. Less mouths to feed," says the first.

"Not refugees," says the second. "Foreigners. Ergothians, actually. Including a high muckety muck nobleman. The Highseeker council is worried it might cause an international incident."

"Shit!" exclaims the first. "The Abyss were Ergothians doing in Haven anyway?"

The second one shrugs. "Don't know. But that's what we need to find out. We need to question any witnesses, find out what we can."

The two walk past and turn a corner, and Darga doesn't hear any more at that point. Before he can really digest what he's heard, he then hears something else--a child's laughter. Following the sound with his gaze, he spots a boy--no, Aaron, actually. He's wearing a heavy cloak and is bundled up for the cold, as opposed to the rags he was wearing yesterday. He's also eating a hot bun and speaking with a woman who is equally bundled up. Her back is to Darga, so he can't see her face. But he does recognize her voice as the woman who was part of that pair who robbed him two nights ago.

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(OOC: It will take Tulbas 40 minutes to memorize those spells; 10 minutes for each one.)

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra shakes her head at Tulbas as she takes her leave to go home to Norris. ~Oh, he is going to be pissed at me,~ she thought to herself.

[Haahque]

Haahqae wastes no time in getting out the door, with but a quick bow he's on his way back to the tankard. I never learned all of what these humans protocol is for sleeping together, but a habit is a habit for a reason, and one must not break a habit. He thinks to himself, fully intending to ignore his growling stomach and march strait past whatever wonderful aroma was coming from the kitchens when he makes his way to his room to memorize the spells Change Self and Grease for the day.

[BishGada]

Tulbas bolts after Kynaston and Daxia, "Stop this foolishness." he put his hand on Kynaston arm (especially since Kynaston's shoulder is almost at his head level). "If you really care for her safety, convince her to wait in my home at least this day. It will take the Ergothians much longer to arrive here, to figure out what happened, not to mention investigation and following our tracks. My Uncle should return today. You two out there are in much more danger. You are badly hurt and even without the Ergothians seeking revenge, even a group of refugees might attack and subdue you. Don't forget people might still think there is a reward on Daxia! The only sensible thing to do is get back in. Quickly." Tulbas says struggling to keep his voice low even that he feels outrage.

[mgbevan]

"whoa Tulbas calm yourself." Gregeddin says as he follows behind the elf, un pinning the black cloak despite the cold and stuffing it the sack with the rest of his possessions. "now that we have rescued daxia and restored her freedom we must respect the decisions she makes. For what is freedom without the liberty to think and act independently of any other?"

[djhyland]

Darga looks sharply at the passing guardsmen as they speak of last night's murders--murders that he was party to! Panic, guilt, and shame rush through him, but relief too: relief that these guardsmen don't give him a second look. Despite his instinct to run, he stays where he is until the guards are well past him.

But just when he thinks it's safe to flee, Darga sees the boy that he's been waiting for. He's happy to see that the boy is in better spirits, but his happiness turns to anger when he sees who the boy's companion is. Snarling under his breath, he debates for a moment on what to do--if the others haven't heard that the Seekers are looking for them, he'd better warn them...but the chance to reclaim his stolen belongings is too tempting. Before he can talk himself out of it, he hurries to catch up with them and grabs the woman's wrist, pulling her around to face him. "Where's my money, ya thief?" he snarls. "I want it back!"