Arc 1 - Beast of a Thousand Knives (Completed)

[PupSage]

Kuori didn't want to lie to these people, but it wasn't her place. However, her keen perception saw Revenge trying to leave and an idea occurred to her. "Aye, I am one of them, but we would have been lost without our fearless leader and dear friend Revenge." He pointed down the road at the Tiefling. "I mean he single handedly defeated it for the most part. My arrows just bounced right off of its armor." She knocked on the skull and said, "He lobbed its head right off it two whacks with his halbred."


pirate  

[Kowsauni]

The townsfolk seem enraptured by Kuori's story as she singles out Revenge as the leader of the group. A portion of the crowd runs over to the paladin and begins to excitedly ask him questions about the battle against Razorclaw, completely oblivious to his sullen mood. They notice Gloom and Hakka as well. The trio is completely surrounded by the townsfolk who now hold them in great awe.

Kuori is similarly surrounded and asked questions of their battle and their time in the forest. Gone is the suspicion with which the adventures were regarded with before. Now they truly seem to be heroes in the eyes of Lupa's denizens.  

[Rain Yupa]

((To be fair, Hakka never told Revenge her name!))

Revenge would be halted by Gloom, but stare with half-exhausted, half-dead eyes back at him. "I..." He would look to Hakka, then back to Gloom, then back to Hakka. "Hakka, is it? I wasn't sure if that was you or not. Now I know what to call you. My apologies... I figure if someone doesn't want to give me their name, they have a good reason."

He would look down. "I can't... go back to her yet. Not yet." He would then look back at Gloom. "Despite my teachers' protests, I lost my old name and replaced it with my current name. I swore I would make those responsible for destroying so many lives, mine and Halima's included, pay. It was the... only thing that kept me going back then. I would have been lost otherwise. I've... grown since then, of course, but I haven't forgotten. But despite that, Sehanine still accepted me, forgave me. I think that..." A pause. "... it is my belief that, She and I feel the same way. I've tried to live up to the ideals of my fellow priests, that love and forgiveness was just as keen as the sharpest blade. But I can't be that, not when I finally know the face of my enemy. There can be no love, nor forgiveness for those responsible in Aria."

"That is why I'm not going to Halima. The sooner the evil in Aria is purged, the sooner I can make her safe once again."

He would shake his head. "I'm not entirely sure I trust Kuori, her judgement has been... as disputable as my own. But you're proven yourself as someone I can trust and count on, Gloom. And I thank you for that." If Hakka was sticking around, he would turn to her and add a "You as well."

"But I can't ask any of you to help me. It's become too personal for me. Hakka, if you've lost someone I can see you having a vested interest, but Gloom, this is probably a losing battle that you might not make it out of. I could never expect anyone to make such a decision. That's why I intend to head there alone, so none of you need get hurt."

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((Edit for Kowsauni's post when wasn't there before I started typing))

And then PEOPLE! To the point where the door to the inn was likely barred, and he really didn't have the strength to force his way through.

"Th-that's not..."
"Please, could you..."
"I'm just..."

He couldn't get a decent explanation, as it was all rather overwhelming and he was just too tired to deal with it.

"Gloom, you talk to them. You're more impressive than I." And he would take a step back (which would be back into the inn).  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

(Ah, my bad...I thought she had at some point)

Hakka tipped her head to the side slightly as the tin can guy addressed her again, as though they were just being introduced. She thought she had already said something, but she could be wrong, of course. It was kind of hard to keep track of...
She listened to him drone on and turned to head to the bar when a flood of people washed over her, breaking like a wave on the shore. She was surrounded and in no position to escape. So instead, the girl grit her teeth and just yelled, "HEY! Cut that out! Someone's grabbing my rump!!"  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Well .... here goes nothing. "You people are fools. Have you no hunters among you? That beast, as hideous as it may be is not your beast of 1000 knives, merely an unfortunately hideous giant insect." Now for the twist, "Your beast was a victim of Aria's cruelty. They have been turning people into monsters, but the brain remains intelligent. Your animals were taken for sustenance and when we confronted them about it they gladly offered up more than enough coin to compinsate for the animals. Mayor Redford will be given that sum when we see him, but you don't need to worry about them. We are all embarking to slay the real monsters soon. We march on Aria as soon as we save the other victims of their cruel expiriments, and for that we need your help. Poa is dying, soon you will need a new guardian, or Lupa will fall. It is not yet time to celebrate, it is time to dig in and plan for the future. We need to know where Aria is based out of, and we need directions to ( town that Halima is in ). Tomorrow is your chance to embrace a new guardian to assist Poa and help her regain her strength. But tonight we rest and wait for our wounds to seal."
With that he would walk I to the Fat Fox.
"Revenge, you are not going on a suicide mission to take down Aria. You are saving your wife. Aria will have soldiers after her just like they did with the sisters. You just got her back, don't lose her again and live with that guilt, knowing that you could have stopped it."
Now he waited for the angry dryad.  

[Kowsauni]

The townsfolk at the inn entrance regard Gloom's words with confusion and don't seem to put much stock in them. He hears no response from them before he walks away, but he does hear someone in the crowd shout, "For the Heroes who slayed the Beast, let's a throw a celebration!"--a cry which is readily and gladly taken up by all.

With a cheer, the townsfolk push into the inn and the drinks begin to flow. Someone produces a lute and the sound of music soon permeates the Fat Fox. The festive mood soon spreads to the streets and the townsfolk surrounding Kuori take notice. They head to the inn to join the celebration and encourage Kuori to come along.  

[PupSage]

Kuori enters the inn, shoving past people until she makes her way to Embrlyn. She begins the remove the items from the bag of holding and says, "I heard that you can appraise these and figure out what they are. If you could do that and hook me up with a room, preferably with a door, I would appreciate it." She removed a handful of coin from the bag.  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Apparently, Hakka's cry had been drowned out in the din because nobody seemed to notice or care. However, she was lucky enough to see Kuori wading through the sea of people, so she grabbed onto the big woman and let the goliath pull her out of the pickle she was in and over to the bar. "And a drink for me," she added, nodding at the little ginger.  

[Rain Yupa]

Revenge would back up against the wall as a non-adventuring party apparently broke out around him.

He wasn't in a partying mood, between the events of the day and then being denied an opportunity to vent his rage.

As time passed, the shock finally started to wane little by little, and the fire in his heart soon become a cold, heavy weight. He would be fairly antisocial concerning the sudden event and to anyone who tried to talk to him. He would attempt to simply vacate the inn to be by himself and reflect on everything that had transpired and what he had learned.

Quote:

STEALTH CHECK OF 9!!!!

But would probably not be able to slink away so easily.  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Gloom would come up to the bar beside Kuori and say, "Em, put Kuori's stuff on my tab. And might I say, the bar looks lovely when its filled with life, its a massive improvement over the drunk sailors and Arian soldiers."



Guttersnipe Background = 10% discount  

[Kowsauni]

Emberlyn Rowntree

((The price discount comes from the level 5 ability of the Guttersnipe theme; however, you are not level 5 yet and it only applies to items, not services such as identifying magic items))

Emberlyn would take the magic items from Kuori and look them over. "Well, normally I would charge for such services, but seeing as you all just helped the town and your paladin friend left me quite a sizable tip, I'll do it for free."

Emberlyn would chant a little spell and then look over each of the magic items. For the boots she would state, "These are Acrobat Boots, quite useful for getting back to your feet in a jiffy." For the gloves she would explain: "These are Gloves of Recovery. If you miss with a swing of your sword they are enchanted to let you strike out again in an instant." For the wand: "This is a wand of Inevitability. It gives ya extra luck for trying to hit that opponent again after you miss with an attack." And, lastly, for the bracers: "Why, these are Bracers of Archery. These are quite sought out by hunters. They make your shots all the more deadly. Where did ya get all this stuff?"

Hakka would find that the townsfolk in the inn are more than happy to buy her drink for her. In fact everyone seems to be trying to give the adventurers free drinks or food.

As Revenge tries to not so stealthily sneak out the door, he is easily spotted by the partying townsfolk. They try to encourage him to stay--but they do not stop him from trying to leave.  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka would be more than a little pleasantly surprised by the free drink, her mood much improved from the previous tangle of bodies she'd gotten stuck in. Maybe the townsfolk weren't so bad after all. She hugged the person who paid for her drink and then started to sip at it, enjoying the drink immensely. She didn't often indulge in human fare.  

[PupSage]

[Can I make a check to appraise price?]

Kuori smiles at Emberlyn and says, "It was our payment from Aria. We took it out of their flesh. Such kind folks they have, tried to kill us the second they got to their destination." She looked at Hakka and Gloom, "So Revenge doesn't want a cut, but I say we give him one anyways, even if it is just sloppy seconds. Obviously the bracers are mine, and Hakka wanted the bag, leaving three items. Gloom and I will each take another to balance out for the bag, since its more valuable ... I think ... Then the gold can be another cut."


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OOC:
Still Available: 5490 gold--4999 of which is in platinum
Acrobat Boots: 520 gp
Wand of Inevitability 680 gp
Gloves of Recovery: 1000gp

Revenge's Cut:
1 P

Kuori's Cut:
Bracers of Archery (Could only find +2) 1800gp

Hakka's Cut:
Bag of holding: 2500gp at the cheapest  

[Rain Yupa]

Revenge would not address any requests for him to remain, and indeed vacate the building.

He took a few minutes to catch his breath, before looking skyward. It wasn't quite moonrise yet, when Sehanine hears prayers the loudest. If he couldn't grieve, then he would find something else to pacify the tempest of his emotions in the meantime.

He would look for any structure within Lupa that appears to be a building of worship.