CH. 11: The Show Must Go On

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Room)
Bear chuckles sardonically. "Nothing." He shakes his head. "I was a fool. Told 'em I wasn't going to sell, that I didn't want their damned coin. So they just seized the damned thing instead. Instead of walking away rich enough to retire, I lost everything. Everything but a few ingots I smuggled out...and the worst part is...there's nobody in the city I can sell the ingots to except the army. So I have to take their money anyway in the end, just to make it through the winter."

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion)
"I'll put out the word to the soldiers and the temple to keep an eye out for someone matching that description," Tethys says. "Hopefully it will pan out. Perhaps I can interrogate some of the prisoners, see if they know anything about this, as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the rebels who made this attack were the same ones who set that fire in the slums earlier." He shakes his head. "I hope now you understand the danger I spoke to you of...the entire city could be in great danger if we don't find these rebels before they strike again."

Grubnick (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
"The only thing anyone is talking about was the attack in the square," Green Tears replies. "Not many actually saw it, and it's hard to sift through rumor and fact. From what I can tell, some kind of monster appeared in the square and attacked. The soldiers were able to put it down quickly, led by some golden-haired woman with enchanted swords. They say after it was destroyed, the prefect made his first public appearance, and on the back of his dragon, as well."

Shima Longfoot (300 Market Street, Gregeddin's House)
Shima returns to Gregeddin's house before curfew sets in. It had been an interesting day. He had walked out on the only job he had acquired since arriving here, likely alienating the two who hired him--and before he could get paid, at that. Well, at least he got a free meal out of it. And he conned that young elf into a couple of steel, as well. So at least today wasn't a total loss.

[HorizonsDream]

"While I agree that there could be a connection to this attack, and the fire in the slums, I don't think our prisoners had anything to do with it," Kendra said. "This performance happened after they were arrested, so they couldn't have been behind it," she pointed out.

[BishGada]

With the mention of the priestess Tulbas deformed ears perks, "Is it really possible the priestess will turn on the army soldiers?" he asks. "Is it possible to tell the difference of the origin of the spell, if it was a scroll, divine or arcane?" he wonders aloud. "If that's my first lead, then I should explore the area where it happened and maybe look for more witnesses to see if anyone noticed suspicious person. Will scroll usage leave marks?" 'And maybe I should visit the priestess.' he thinks to himself. His line of thought points that it might be Belzor but he doesn't want to raise his failure while conversing with Magnus. One time of humiliation was enough. "About the task, I thought on three possibilities, either in the current trend of finding renegade clerics or mages, if you need any assistance I may provide, second if there is anything that would help in The Test, for example acquiring some artifact, or indeed scroll or potion that would help in time. Third, if there is anything you need me to retrieve, information, ingredients or something else. These options can co-exists, since any task would help in training for The Test."

[Chris1234]

{OOC: to be clear, Shima walked off because the players hadn't been posting for a couple of weeks and Chris1234 was fed up with push, push, push on a task for someone else that they weren't doing anything about expect watch Shima take all the damage and the pay for Shima was nil. To put it another way, happy to help the players, but if they aren't available for extended periods then it's time to do something else.}
Shima cleans up at Gregeddins as best he can and tries to sleep.

[TristenC]

That's pretty much exactly how it happened. Do you know anyone named Kendra Greylock? She's the warrior. he murmurs quietly for Green Tears alone.

[JadedDM]

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion)
"We don't know how many rebels there are still out there," Tethys points out. "Indeed, as far as we know these attacks are designed to retaliate against us for taking the trade guild prisoner in the first place. Either way, we need more information before we can make a move."

Finishing his tea, he adds, "Until then, we can turn this unfortunate situation to our advantage. The rebels overplayed their hand. Unleashing an elemental in the market square was reckless. That thing was as much a danger to the citizens as anyone else. We were lucky you were on the scene and able to thwart it so quickly." He notes the bandage on her hand. "How are you after that, by the way?"

Continuing, he says, "In any case, the rebels have inadvertently made themselves look bad to the populace and made us look like heroes. The fact that the woman who slew the monster is a citizen is even better. We can really use this to bolster recruitment and get people on our side. We can make you the very pretty face of the army. 'Kendra the Hero of Haven wants you to join,' for instance. It could go far in boosting morale for the people and the soldiers."

Tulbas Erogund (Mageware Shop)
Magnus chuckles. "No, I doubt it was the high priestess. It is within her power, but...if she were really looking to attack the city, she could do much worse than that. She can summon demons and exert control over dragons."

He continues, "As far as I know, there isn't any direct way to know if it was summoned by spell or item, or divine or arcane. Perhaps there are divinations out there powerful enough to do so, but I've never heard of them." Magnus always had a low opinion of divination spells, seeing them as useless, so he has very few himself.

"When casting from a scroll, the spell vanishes from the scroll, the same way a spell in your mind vanishes when cast," he adds. "It would just become a blank piece of paper, or perhaps disintegrate into ash if it only had one spell on it."

Finally, he says, "I don't have any tasks right now, but I'll think on it and let you know in the morning."

Grubnick (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
"Greylock?" Green Tears repeats, a bit surprised. "Isn't that the name of the jeweler in the market district? I've never heard of anyone named Kendra, though." She adds, "Did you witness the attack? Do you have any details on what happened?"

Shima Longfoot (300 Market Street, Gregeddin's House)
Shima curls up on the floor with his blanket and tries to think up ways to earn enough coin to keep from losing this place in Gregeddin's absence before drifting off to sleep.

[TristenC]

Jewler's wife, yeah. I uh... I'll answer some questions for you, sure. I don't want to talk to any... officials, though. Enough soldiers were there anyway...

[HorizonsDream]

"The...very pretty face of the army," Kendra repeats softly. "Well, thank you for the compliment," she says in slight amusement. "But with making me the face of the army, and calling me the hero of Haven, that also makes me a target," she points out. She glances down at her bandaged hand once Tethys points it out, then shakes her head. "I'm fine. The fire elemental didn't even hit me. My sword was suddenly getting hot. I would have dropped it before it burned me, but the fire elemental was still a threat at the time."

[JadedDM]

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion)
Tethys chuckles. "Perhaps it would make you a target, but I think you proved today that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself. Still, if you feel the need of greater security, arrangements can be made. In any case, the sooner we find and squash this rebellion for good, the sooner things will be much safer for all of us."

Grubnick (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
"The soldiers aren't saying much yet," Green Tears states. "Probably waiting for orders on what they are allowed to say. Did you see how the monster got into the square? Some say it just appeared out of nowhere, while others claim it flew over the walls of the city and landed in the middle of the square."

[BishGada]

Tulbas eyes widens, "Control over Dragons?!? Wow... I always knew magic is the most powerful tool in the universe but never realized it could be THAT powerful." After Magnus tells Tulbas he will consider tasks for him he nods in acceptance, "Of course I won't let down our training, but do it in addition." Tulbas clears the table and clean the dishes and asks, "Is there anything else you would require this evening of me? If not I'll go browse the library. I'm looking for information about spell research. Maybe description of attempts done in the history or failed attempts I could analyze and try to overcome." For a moment he remembers his dinners and discussions with Raetmal. The spark in his wise gray eyes and his almost permanent smile on his face, well, at least until few weeks before he was murdered. With Magnus he enjoys the intellectual conversation, the riddles presented by Magnus he need to solve and the satisfaction when he learns new things, but there is always the sense of dominance and the feeling Magnus just waits to see him slips so he can rub it in his face. He really misses his uncle and can see him at every corner of the house, reading books, experimenting, talking to clients always with respect even though never with full trust, or napping at his big rocking chair. "Ahhh..." he breathes deeply and waits to Magnus reply.

[TristenC]

If the soldiers aren't saying, I wouldn't repwat any of this if i were you. Yes, I was there, it just appeared... as if 'by magic'... he says significantly.

[HorizonsDream]

"Rebels are good at hiding. The most we can really do is keep our ears open on anything odd that might be happening within the city," Kendra says. "I wouldn't even know where to begin when looking for rebels."

[djhyland]

"I heard the same sorts of things that Camilla heard," Arulia says. "I was working in the shop, but the man I was working for went out to look when we heard the commotion. He says that he didn't see it himself because the soldiers had blocked off the square. But what he heard and told me matches with what Camilla heard."

Arulia takes a bite of food and looks around nervously, hoping that nobody further questions Camilla's sources. "Nobody'd heard where it came from or why it attacked, at least not that the man told me. I imagine that there's probably dozens of rumors flying around by now, though."

[Haahque]

"Well didn't we all make a lot of mistakes around that time? I can just hope that we're able to recover eventually. I'm guessing that the army isn't going to send you aid for taking your mine from you, but maybe there's a chance that you could open up a new one? Mining really isn't my specialty, I wouldn't know." Haahqae's been unsure of a lot of things recently. Usually Haahqae's a fount of knowledge, just pouring out on those who are blessed to be nearby. But recently, it seems like Haahqae doesn't know everything. Too many things have gone wrong, and it can't all be because of horrible people working against him can it? Too many questions are unanswered. That damn old hobgoblin lied. But what did Haahqae expect? Of course he would have been way too lucky if all his questions had been answered.

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Room)
"That mine has been in my family for generations," Bear replies. "But even if I could find another one...which isn't as easy as you make it sound...what's stopping the army from seizing that one, too? Bah. If it weren't for winter coming, I'd just try and eek out a living in the mountains."

Kendra Greylock (Prefect's Mansion)
"Nor I, but if we continue to push the idea that the rebels were trying to harm people and you, a soldier, saved them, it should turn negative opinion against them. This will make it harder for them to hide and will encourage more people to report them if they are spotted," Tethys says. "I'll have the high priestess do some divinations and try to find this dwarf you saw. It's the only lead we have at the moment. In the meantime, I'm sure you'd appreciate some rest. It has been an eventful day."

Tulbas Erogund (Mageware Shop)
"No, we are done for the evening," Magnus states. "I will retire to my room for the night. Enjoy your research." He stands up and heads for his room, formerly Raetmal's, and leaves Tulbas to clean up.

Arulia Seroth (323 Three Forks, Seroth residence)
"How scary," Vera says, frowning. "With everything else going on, this is the last thing the city needs."

"It was clearly magic of some kind then," Niniva notes. "Some crazy wizard probably. Or maybe a spell that went bad."

"Maybe it was a fluke then," Cassilda offers hopefully. "A one time thing and we don't have to worry."

Grubnick (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
"Magic..," Green Tears repeats, frowning. "Thought the only mages left in the city were the ones loyal to the army. But maybe not." She shakes her head. "Damn wizards always ruin everything."