Arc 1 - Beast of a Thousand Knives (Completed)

[Rain Yupa]

The paladin would rub the back of his neck with a gauntleted hand. "I must say, I find everyone's dependence on decapitation in this region of the land somewhat disturbing."

He would give Redford a curt wave. "I suspect the others will show up with said 'proof of dismemberment' tomorrow, whether I say anything or not. Hopefully, we'll be out of your hair as soon as possible so Lupa will have one less thing to worry about."

He would bow head head, before turning and making his way back to the inn. He wasn't sure if the fox druid girl person was going to follow him, or not.  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Gloom smiled, "Yup, they used fake names, but sounds like them. Red eyes is a bit bitchy, Blue eyes is cute in that childish sense. In fact you might catch them if you hurry, the beast that we were hired to kill was something that they were familiar with, they lef us to it and then tried to claim the remains. Said that they needed the meat for food, chitin for armor, and bones and teeth for daggers. The stupid paladin let them have it all too. They way I see it, we could have sold it. Coin in my pocket makes me happier than well equiped, well fed giants any day. If you leave through the other side of town and skirt the forest up a ways you will find a cave. They are probably still stripping the beast for the good parts."
He looked at the and said, "Go get 'em. Long live Aria."  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka gasped when the green haired witch girl vanished just like that. In truth, she had been holding the gasp in for a bit longer than she cared to...since the witch girl mentioned that the girls in the forest seemed to be who those soldiers were looking for. Hakka ran off away from the gate, quickly leaving Revenge behind, and as soon as she was surely out of sight of prying eyes, poofed back into her fox form. The girl ran back into the forest with as much haste as she could muster. She had to find her new friend. She had ti find her and warn her..  

[Kowsauni]

Nathaniel

((Gloom knows Aria is a large kingdom to the west that wields impressive power.))

Captain Nathaniel would chuckle. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but your directions are far too vague, and I would not chance entering Tapana Woods at night, even with a force such as mind. However..." Nathaniel would lean forward onto the table and look Gloom in directly in the eyes. His gaze is piercing. "Perhaps you would be willing to lead us to them at first light, when traversing the forest will be less hazardous for my men. I can assure you, if you help lead us successfully to their capture, you will practically be able to name your price."

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Revenge makes it back to The Fat Fox without incident. As he steps inside, he would find the place almost deserted from its earlier bustling activity. All that remains are seven soldiers from the Aria kingdom, two town guards, two of his party members and four locals with some employees. The Arian soldiers are all siting around one large table in the center of the room. Gloom is actively having a conversation with their leader. Kuori sits in one corner of the room with her macabre trophy while the two town guards sit in another, carefully watching the soldiers. The other four locals are randomly placed around the room and seemed to be minding their own business. Emberlyn would wave at Revenge and shout to him. "I have your bath all ready, Mr. Revenge! The tub is up in your room, but the water will get cold if you don't hurry!"

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It takes Hakka quite a bit of time to run from the front gate all the way back to the edge of the forest outside Hopkins Ranch. The night is fully upon her and the only source of light is a small glimmer coming from a sliver of moon. The forest looms before her as one large, impenetrable block of blackness with no light escaping it. To enter it would be to walk into pure darkness with little hope of ever finding her way. The little fox could take solace in that it would be next to impossible to navigate the forest in this state, but by morning those circumstances would change.

((Hakka can choose to press on through the forest, though to find her way to the cave through the pitch-black forest will require three successful nature/perception checks before one failure.))  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

As much as Hakka wanted to just plunge into the forest and find the girls, she was warded off by the overwhelming wall of darkness before her. She was smart enough to know that she would never find her way in that mess. So instead, she mentally vowed to start off just before dawn and rest until then. The fox found a patch of brush that was out of the way and curled up inside it, out of sight (Stealth Crit! 34).  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

"Well it just so happens that my friend in the corner there is an expert tracker. I am sure that she can be persuaded to navigate for you if your men arn't to afraid to enter the woods at night. After all, we wouldnt want them escaping."3  

[PupSage]

Perception: 24

Kuori shouts across the room, "Don't go name dropping on me a*****e. I need some damn sleep." With that she picked up her trophy and went to the bar. "Em, could you be a sweetheart and hook me up with a few beds or a hammock." Her voice gets really low, "Preferably next door to this lot." She looks around the bar and said, "And a bottle of something high proof. Grain alcohol if you have it."
She put a platinum on the table and said "This should cover it." And again got low pitched and said, "Plus the damages."  

[Rain Yupa]

Entering the inn, he would see Gloom, Kuori, a Razorclaw's head, and a bunch of Aria soldiers.

Yeeeaaahh, he would want no part of that, kthxbai.

"Thanks, Ms. Emberlyn. I am much appreciative of your consideration," he would respond, making it a point to avoid eye contact with anyone else.

If not stopped, he would finally, after 26 pages hours, he would finally get that bath he had been crossbowing for.  

[Kowsauni]

Emberlyn Rowntree

Emberlyn would wave at Revenge as he heads to his room and then turn to the Goliath that towers over her. She almost has to break her neck to look Kuori in the face. "Oh, I'm sorry, those soldiers bought out the rest of my rooms for the night. You can stay here in the common room for a mere 5 silver, though, and I have a cot specifically made for one of your size. The mayor himself tested it out!"

The halfling seems a little perplexed by Kuroi's next order but still responds cheerily. "Uh, yes, I can get you that, though I can also offer much better-tasting spirits!" By the time Kuori gets to her third line Emberlyn's eyes would narrow. All cheeriness drops from her voice and it becomes flat with a serious edge to it. It's like another personality took over her body. She would speak quietly enough for only Kuori to hear. "Whatever you're planning, don't do it here in my inn. I know these guys are jerks, but they paid me an honest sum to get a good night's rest in this place. As long as they stay in line, they are my guests. If they're dumb enough to try something, by all means have at them, but don't go stirring up trouble in my establishment. Once they're outside you can do whatever you want. "

The halfling would cross her little arms and stare up at the Goliath, though she would quickly add in her hushed voice, "I can set up your cot next to the stairwell. It's the only way down from the second floor. If anyone tries to leave their rooms and sneak out, you'll be the first one to know." Emberlyn would pick up the platinum piece. "I'll go see about getting your alcohol, but I expect to be refunding most of this to you in the morning."

Emberlyn dashes off to the cellar and comes back a short while later with Kuori's order. By the time she gets back she's back to her normal cheery self. "Here you go, Ma'am!"

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As Revenge reaches his room, he sees a bit of steam roll out from underneath the door frame. As he opens the door he is greeted by the sight of an enormous tub, probably built for a Goliath, filled with steaming water. It must have taken half the staff of halflings to get it up here and an entire tree to heat the water that had been poured into it. Beside it was a stool, a sponge and scrub brush and a roughly cut piece of soap that had a light scent to it. The paladin gets the feeling Emberlyn might have been an adventurer before becoming an innkeeper, for she knows exactly what someone needs after a long day of monster fighting

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The soldiers laugh a bit at the Goliath's response to Gloom volunteering her but Nathaniel would quiet them down. "It seems your companions are not quite on the same page as you, but perhaps it's time you got some new ones." Nathaniel would reach into his pocket and produce a platinum piece. He would then toss it at Gloom. "A token of appreciation for what you have told us. Now, my men and I are quite tired and must retire for the night. It was quite a march to get out to this little hovel of a town and we have to be up before daybreak. I look forward to seeing you in the morning. I'm sure we will have more business to discuss. If not, well, I have expert trackers of my own, and we'll apprehend them soon enough. The question is how much you want to profit off it."

The soldiers would all stand up from the table and make their way to the stairs. Emberlyn would cheerily wave them off to which they do not respond.  

[PupSage]

"Not planning anything, just anticipating." She would take the bottle of alcohol and remove some torn cloth from her bag. Dampening the rag and running it over the cuts in her arm.  

[Rain Yupa]

Revenge would, in fact, go to his room, finally take his armor off, and enjoy the long-awaited bath.

Afterwards, he would clean his armor, dress any wounds that weren't simply trample-related, and go to sleep.  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Gloom follows suit, curling up in the corner where Kuori had been.  

[Kowsauni]

Emberlyn sets up a cot for Kouri and within a few hours closes down the Inn for the night. Emberlyn retires to her own room and the inn falls silent. The night passes uneventfully. No soldiers leave their room and everyone benefits from an extended rest if they choose to.

As the morning light begins to creep through the shutters the whole in comes alive again. The voices of men, the clinking armor and the sound of heavy footsteps echo throughout the place. The soldiers begin to file downstairs back into the lobby. Emberyln was already up and had breakfast prepared for them, no doubt at a substantial fee. It was not long until the entire group of 20 was down stairs eating at the tables. They all looked ready for battle and their was no doubt it would not be long before they were plunging into the forest, under Gloom's advise.

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Hakka falls asleep to the chirping of crickets and is awoken by the songs of birds, singing as if to welcome the beginning of a new day. From her place hidden at the edge of the forest she could see the Hopkin sons come out of the house to begin their morning chores around the ranch. The forest remains as forbidding as ever but was at least now navigable as long as someone knew there way. Even then, their still was a chance of getting lost, such was the nature of Tapana Woods.  

[PupSage]

As morning comes, Kuori waits for the soldiers to come downstairs. When the leader arrives she walks over and looms above the table, hunching over as she says, "I might be persuaded to lead you into the forest if its worth my time. What are the sisters accused of?" If their crime fit this punishment, then she would indeed guide them.  

[Rain Yupa]

((Yes plz extended rest plz))

The dawn would come, and Revenge would rouse from his exhausted slumber.

He would begin the day with his prayers to Sehanine, and then mentally planning out what to do with himself.

He truly did not care about any reward money, he came here to help out a people, and he accomplished just that. The reward money would be nice as a way to maintain his expenses, but he always had his faith to fall back on if he had no other solutions.

Frankly, he was content simply leaving Lupa behind, at this point. Adrik could babysit Thava and Kuori, and Gloom could go be Gloom. Not his problem anymore. There was no sign of the Fox Druid girl, so she probably already returned to where ever she had come from. Maybe it was the best he moseyed on himself. Yes, that would what Sehanine would want.

As such, he decided to armor up for the long, solitary trek back to civilization. A process made more grueling by the ungodly racket Thava and the others must be making downstairs, the curs.

Then, it dawned on him; memories of the previous night. The soldiers from Aria. Poa disappearing. Fugitives?

A Dragonborn, a Goliath, and a Gloom being unruly, he was confident the town could deal with. But an entire... what, squad? Platoon?... of Aria soldiers was a different beast.

But even if, by divine providence, he could take out all the soldiers single-handedly if they got out of line... should he? Of course not. There would be crossfire. Innocents would be hurt. And there would be plenty of collateral damage...

Revenge could not leave yet. This would be a duty of diligence, watching and waiting, and acting only if no other action was viable. That would be best. It would mean for a long, boring day of standing around until the Aria soldiers left, but it was his Goddess's plan for him.

Securing the final buckle of his armor, the Paladin of Sehanine, armed and armored, would march down the stairs of the inn, doing his best to avoid eye contact with any soldiers. If possible, he would try to hail down one of the staff by the desk.