1st Adventure: The Fallout (Archive)

Posts : 7109 Join date : 2017-05-17

We continue where we left off after killing the oracle.

Zeiss wrote:: Your group leaves the fort, and the thieves decide to tag along.

Felix and Amelia help carry Saemon to the village, while Molly stay close to a distressed Calla. As for Fedler, she is carrying her niece in her arms, and neither of them have spoken a word since Velstar has put shackles on the little girl. The walk back to Waterglass is quiet, and just as you reach the plaza, you notice a big gathering on the plaza despite the rain. The villagers are scared.

At this moment, Bervlin, the female scout, comes back running at you. Her hands are shaking, and after a quick glance at Amelia, finds herself incapable of speaking. She needs a few seconds before she can tell the party what happened.

"They killed Alervan, the... the innkeeper," she starts, her voice quivering. "They also... they also killed a bard named Eralda, and... and Irving."

Amelia stands still with an expression of shock on her face.

Posts : 7109 Join date : 2017-05-17

K wrote:: Mihai's teeth clench with more force than would be healthy. His fists follow.

He takes a step forward, into the crowd, next to Amelia. Takes a breath. Two.

"The Oracle from Lofell did this. She gloated about it before she set her men on us. She was playing us against the Fort party all along, and moved in for the kill just when we'd agreed to solve things without blood."

His fists tremble. He fights back the anger in his voice, barely.

"Her burned corpse is rotting right now. We've killed her and her whole party."

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Zeiss wrote:: The villagers quiet down when Mihai starts to speak, and listen intently to him. Once he is done, they appear to have calmed down since the frenzied discussion has stopped. A few of them are openly crying. Igor suddenly steps forward, and calmly tells a few of his co-citizens to tend to the bodies of the deceased.

Listening to him, the party learns that Alervan and Eralda were killed at the inn, while Irving was ambushed at the city hall.

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Rory wrote:: Silent as the grave, his eyes would be glazed over if not for the rain. The questions come as quickly as the rain falls: why did she kill her? She knew nothing. To get at me? What was the point? Why were you still here? Why did you stay? He thinks back to the fight, remembers the blades of their enemies, still wet before the rain began to wash the blood away. Whoever might have been close to us, then. Make us angry enough to fight back instead of flee. Poor, sweet Eralda, gone. Wasteful and blind.

At last, he finds his voice. He sees a fire in Mihai's eyes, a flame barely stifled as he addresses the crowd. He has seen the intensity of such anger before, and knows how dangerous it can be. One has to keep it under guard, and choose to whom it will be dangerous. The thought of Mihai having such potent emotions fills him apprehension. Well, least Igor could be of some use before the end of this whole episode.

"Points for explaining that they don't need to be afraid, but I think they could have done without you painting a picture."

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K wrote:

"We don't deserve their appreciation, Konrad. Since we got here, their lives turned into this." - he mutters in a low voice - "But hey, job done, right?" - he adds bitterly.

ooc:

Posts : 7109 Join date : 2017-05-17

Zeiss wrote:: Amelia lets Cassius and Felix carry Saemon, and she goes to sit down on one of the benches that was used for the festival. After Igor has finished giving out instructions, he gently approaches her, then sits down beside her. He doesn't say anything.

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Rory wrote:

K wrote:: "We don't deserve their appreciation, Konrad. Since we got here, their lives turned into this." - he mutters in a low voice - "But hey, job done, right?" - he adds bitterly.

"It's not for their appreciation. If you can't spare the details, spare your breath. Besides, we're not to blame for what happened. I suppose we could have avoided all of this by just handing Breeze over to her on a platter the moment we found her, if you would have preferred that."

When Mihai walks away, he visits with Amelia to talk about returning to the scene with a cart to retrieve the bodies of the allies we left behind. He will also suggest retrieving Lloyd's body as well.

Posts : 7109 Join date : 2017-05-17

K wrote:

Mihai walks off without a word.

ooc:

Posts : 7109 Join date : 2017-05-17

Kolson wrote:: After Mihai does his thing Steve is feeling a bit more in control. The villager's weren't the only ones that needed that kind of comfort. Realizing that they are still outside in the rain after all of that, he approaches Velstar. "Vel, would it be okay if I took Fedler and Yen out of the rain? Maybe your place? So they can be out of the rain and have some privacy."

Posts : 7109 Join date : 2017-05-17

Zeiss wrote:: Velstar nods at Steve, and while pointing at a house south of where you are, she replies;

"Good idea. Bring them there, and- what the?"

She is looking down at the path leading to the main road.

Just as Mihai and Steve both walk towards Molly and Calla, they hear someone exclaim, "Who is that?" This attracts the attention of everyone, and they all turn towards where Velstar is looking. Four heavily armed horsemen—two men and two women—are riding at full speed towards the village, with no care for the rain slashing at their faces. They stop right in front of the party, and dismount their horses with unusual professionalism.

The man leading them is suited up in a splint mail armor and carries a long sword on his back. His plain appearance only accentuates the steadiness of his movements, and the austerity expressed by his blue eyes. His short black hair are cleanly kept, and his scraggly beard somehow adds to the image of consummate professional that radiates from him.

He addresses the party in a clear and concise manner. "Members of the 113th Adjunct. My name is Tom Blackcliff, and I am the Commander of the Coins within the Free Feathers. Where is Marie Lavoie?"

In my next post, it looks like I assumed I was there too, so let's say I dropped what I was doing when Tom showed up, and went to meet him with the others.

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K wrote:: Mihai approaches the man. Looks him in the eye, and answers in a tired but firm voice.

"Dead."

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Rory wrote:: Konrad: Deception
Does he expect her to be alive? Is he...concerned for her well-being at all?
Answer: there is urgency in his voice, even though he masking it with a cool attitude. He is very hard to read.

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Zeiss wrote:: His colleagues look at each other with surprise. The commander raises an eyebrow.

"Dead? How?"

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K wrote:: "She couldn't wait for us to bring the book to her. So she murdered everyone here she thought was a liability then tried to wipe us out, along with the people at the fort we'd convinced to surrender. It didn't work out for her."

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Rory wrote:: Still recovering from rage or exhaustion, Mihai abandoned the careful explanation for something more brusque, and Konrad feels the need to interject at what he feels is a crucial moment.

"Allow me to elaborate for my comrade, Commander. We were only doing our job, as ordered, when she came to the abandoned fort and demanded the book from us. There are several witnesses who can corroborate that she murdered three civilians in the town, and brought a young girl with her as a hostage for an exchange. She made it perfectly crystal that she would not negotiate for our lives. She attacked, and we defended ourselves."

Diplomacy
Konrad does his best to be convincing for the commander, and leave a good impression.

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Zeiss wrote:: He looks at Konrad's and Mihai's burned clothes, the unconscious chief, the journal in Steve's hands, and the black smoke rising into the distance.

"The veracity of these events is not in doubt, Konrad Granger. We'll speak more in private. For now, I see you have some injured to take care of, and-"

He spots Breeze who just stuck her head out of Steve's pocket. She immediately hides back when she realizes she was seen by someone she hasn't met beforehand. He is a little taken aback, but manages to smoothly complete his sentence.

"-I can see that you would rather tend to your allies. For now, we will bring our horses to the stables and wait for you at the inn."

Velstar shakes her head.

"...At the city hall then?"

She shakes her head again.

"We'll wait for you at the stables."

They leave with their horses.

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Kolson wrote:: Steve stays silent through the exchange. Not much to add. He returns to his current task as soon as the Commander is out of sight; time to get everyone out of the rain, starting with Fedler and Yen. "Fedler," he says kindly, "We need to get Yen out of the rain. Vel has volunteered her home."

He indicates the house, in case she's too out of it to remember that detail.

"Amelia. I need your help. Your brother needs to get out of this rain but he also needs to be guarded. Please take care of that. And the former thieves as well. Okay?"

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Zeiss wrote:: Amelia isn't even listening to Steve. Igor nods at him to show that he will take care of it, which he does immediately. He helps Amelia stand up, and guides her at a nearby home along with Saemon who is carried by Felix and Cassius.

Fedler turns towards the young mage, and her empty eyes make it difficult to know whether she understood or not. After a short moment, she replies, "Okay", then heads for Velstar's home with Yen in her arms.

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K wrote:: Mihai watches Fedler and Yen go. His body unconsciously starts to move in that direction, but he manages to stop himself after a few steps. He has to do that a few more times before he can really get a hold of himself again.

He looks down, grimaces, gathers his determination, looks to the stables, then walks toward them.

(to go talk to Tom)

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Rory wrote:: Amelia didn't seem up to talking, and when she would be, Steve had already gotten her along with the militia to mind an important task. Konrad will visit with the scout Bervlin before going to the stables to get her and her scout friends on an urgent task.

"Listen scout, we left bodies back there, and the rain can only break down their...form. Get a cart and some sheets ready while we report these events to Commander Blackcliff. We will need to return to retrieve the bodies of our allies, as a courtesy on behalf of the Coins toward the thieves who are alive and joining our company."

If the scout is up to taking some pals to handle this themselves, he'll tell her to take one of the guards who was there for the fight(or one of the thieves, if any of them are feeling up to it) to point out the people he means, and someone named Lloyd.

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Zeiss wrote:

OOC:

Bervlin agrees to follow Konrad's advice, and she gathers the necessary people to accomplish this task. A few thieves offer to help her, as they also desire to retrieve the bodies of their colleagues.

Mihai and Konrad (and maybe Steve?) walk into the stables where Tom and his subordinates are unsaddling their horses. He glances at them, then resumes his work.

"I have to admit; I'm surprised you've managed to eliminate the Oracle."

This conversation continues without Steve.

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K wrote:

"Sonlake of Dermold was surprised we'd been hired at all." - Mihai replies - "And he'd have been right, if it weren't for the people of this village and the Thieves's help. Or we'd all be dead, and Lavoie would be off with the Journal." - he shifts his tone from reminiscing to business - "I gave the Thieves' leader my word that i'd do right by his people. What's going to happen to them?"

soundtrack:

Posts : 7109 Join date : 2017-05-17

Zeiss wrote:

"Nothing at all," calmly states the commander as he takes the saddle away from his horse. "They were accused of stealing a journal on foreign land from Marie Lavoie, a woman who you tell me has murdered innocent citizens of the Waterglass circumscription. Furthermore, after a thorough investigation on the Coins' part, it has been determined that these so-called thieves had no journal in their possession. For these reasons, the only thing we can do is invalidate the contract the Coins and the Oracle had agreed on."

He takes a towel out of one of his bags to wipe his face clean, and stares at you with his rigid eyes.

"Don't you agree?"

OOC:

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K wrote:: "I do." - he replies, but then adds - "And as far as anyone else is concerned, that's all i'll ever know." - he gathers himself for the next part. The look on his face hardens - "But there are people involved, Commander. Some of them paid far too much already. I know enough about what happened here to know it's ten miles above my pay grade, but are we really walking away from this in ignorance?"

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Zeiss wrote:: "There's nothing that can be done for the dead," he says. "As for their friends and relatives who are still alive, the rest depends on them."

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