Arc 2 - Heart of a Monster (Completed)

[Kowsauni]

Petra would speak up. "Well... I sort of wanted to apologize to them and explain in person why they needed to keep seeing me a secret... but might be best if I'm not the first person they saw."

Abby would then chime in. "All right then, those who want to check out the houses should get off now and I'll take the rest of us to the garrison."  

[Rain Yupa]

Reflecting on the Valac/Basidia exchange, and did give Petra a glance. "Sounds like a plan," would be all he would say.

Choosing to quickly retreat from that situation, he would gesture with one arm. "No time like the present. Let's go, Abby, Twyla Rosanna." He would wait for an indicator from Abby of which way to go, before leading the way in that direction. Despite the injuries he had suffered, he had begun to heal up nicely, and he was a bit more ambulatory than he was a few days prior.

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After traveling a bit, he would look down towards Twyla and apologize to her. "I'm sorry I advocated another plan about splitting up the group."  

[Kowsauni]

Abby drops Petra, Valac and Kuori off on the main road before continuing on to the garrison. Petra led the group away from the main thoroughfare down the residential roads that the group had last visited when they first discovered her. Petra had her cape drawn tight around her to obscure her appearance. Her moody, aloof attitude seemed to melt into one of apprehension the closer they got to the house where she'd petrified the guard captain and his two men. She stopped outside and timidly looked up at the shut door of the house. "So this is where it went down. I-I'll also take us to my and Abby house once we're done looking around. It's just down the street from here, if you remember."

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As half the party left to examine the houses, Abby continued to drive the wagon down the main road until they had reached the opposite side of town. She brought the wagon to a stop before a large, cobblestone building. Revenge would recognize it as one of the few buildings that had been left standing from the event of five years before. However, instead of the stone walls being stained with ash, they were now covered in flowering vines. Abby would jump out and tie off the horse. Turning to the others, she asks, "Well, this is the town's garrison. Shall we go inside and explain ourselves? I'll let you guys do the talking. I think the less of an impression I make around here now the better."

By the front door into the building, a guard can be seen sitting in a chair next to a small table. He looks rather bored.  

[Rain Yupa]

Dismounting as well, Revenge would look to Abby, and nod. Then offer her a smile. "Everything will be fine."

Leaving his halberd and sword in the wagon, the armored paladin would approach the sitting guard. "Good morning," he would say, lifting one hand in greeting. "May we speak with whoever is in charge and currently on duty?"  

[PupSage]

Kuori knocked on the door before slowly opening it, "Hey, anyone here?" She listened for fleeing thieves or roaming guards.  

[Mongooseh]

Valac would barge past Kuori confidently as he remembered the house from when he was last here.

"It all happened on the bottom floor and kitchen right?" Asked Valac as he headed for where they first found Petra.  

[AlphabetFish]

Twyla hopped off the cart after Revenge and hailed the guard with a huge wave. "Hello, hello, hello!" she trilled. She came over to stand next to Revenge, a tiny, blonde wisp of a gnome who barely stood half of the paladin's height. "Sorry to bother! This won't take but a minute!"  

[Kowsauni]

The guard stands up as party approaches him. He looks rather bemusedly between Abby, Revenge and Twyla and for a moment looks as if he is going to ask some questions. Instead, he lets out a sigh and opens up the door to the garrison and shouts, "Lieutenant, there's some adventurer types who want to speak with ya." The guard then motions for everyone to go inside.

Once inside, everyone sees they are in a large room adorned with different guard equipment, most of which looks to be retired gear used now for decoration. A man sits behind a large desk poring over stacks of paper. He looks up from his work with a haggard look in his eye as the party enters the room. "Greetings, I am the lieutenant on duty for the day. What is it you have to report?"

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As Kuori listens at the door, she definitely hears people inside milling about and talking, as well as the clinking of silverware. At the sound of her knocking she hears someone stand up. As she opens the door she sees a human family of five eating lunch at a table. The man who looked to be the father had just gotten up and begun to approach the door. He looks a bit surprised to see his door suddenly opened and Kuori to be standing there. But his surprise turns to fear as the heavily armed and menacing-looking Valac bursts into the house. The children scream at the tiefling and the father angrily asks. "Who are you and what to do you want?" The mother tries to calm her children as she eyes the back door.  

[PupSage]

"Wait a sec-" Kuori went to grab the barbarian before he burst in, but he lack of strength failed her. Plan B ... talking ... she came here to avoid talking. "Erm, hi, sorry about me friend. We were here a few days ago track a ...." She looked at Petra and mouthed sorry, "Monster. And we believe that a thief actually started the whole mess. We thought that the crime scene would still be vacant and we're hoping to see if we could figure out why the thief came here."  

[AlphabetFish]

Twyla curtseyed low (which was quite low indeed) and then stood up straight and tall (which wasn't tall at all). "No report! Rather, we're here to help with a tricky little problem we know you have!"

She took a step forward and cleared her throat, relishing the impression she was sure she was about to make. "Mr. Lieutenant, I am the esteemed bard Twyla Rosanna Oxana Raphaella Marcella Honeysuckle Jane. This is my compatriot, Revenge, and my employer, Miss Abby. We come bearing a cure for petrification, which we know has afflicted some of your city's people. When the poor men were struck by this awful curse, we swore to the city that we would go out and find a cure for them--and find a cure we have! With just one application of this wand--" she indicated it at her side "--we can restore them to complete health! Please, sir, we want to help them. Might they be quartered here?"

((Diplomacy to make a good impression and convince him to immediately let us un-petrify the guards. 14 + 14 = 28 total!))  

[Rain Yupa]

"You ditched the 'shortstack'? I didn't realize it was just a phase," Revenge would whisper to Twyla, shielding his mouth with a slanted hand as he did so.

Clearing his throat, he would elaborate to the officer. "We were here in the city when we heard about what happened. Petrification isn't an easily cured ailment, and when it didn't seem like a cure had shown up, we decided to head to the manor of Archmage Araethos. We figured it was quicker to simply act rather than go through 'channels' to get permission. Being adventurers, and all."

Looking to Twyla, he would comment to her, "Is it normal that it still sounds weird referring to myself as that?"

Turning back to the Lieutenant, he would continue. "While part of me hopes that our help was needed, my heart says I hope our efforts were in vain because you've already restored your people."

Quote:

I could roll to assist if needed, but 28 seems pretty sufficient.

 

[Kowsauni]

The lieutenant raises his eyebrows at Revenge and Twyla but then lets out a sigh. "Well, I can't say no to help in such a situation as this, but I must first ask how you came to know about the... uh... incident. We had done a pretty good job of keeping this secret, or at least I thought."

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The middle aged man seemed to accept Kuori's explanation, but looked no less exasperated. "Look, I'll tell you the same thing as I've told everyone else about this matter. I know nothing! My family and I weren't even home when this thing took place. We were visiting friends across town. When we came back we weren't even allowed back into our own house until the next morning. Besides a few scratches on the floor, nothing changed or was taken. You should go bother the lady down the street whose house was also broken into; no one's seen her in days, though, so she probably has something to do with this." The middle aged man's eyes narrow a bit. "Who are you even with anyways? You're obviously not guards and you're not with those other people, so what's your business with all this?"  

[Rain Yupa]

"Well, I learned of the event at the Red Lion," Revenge would say. "Sort of, anyways. I heard some guards talking about it. Let's see..." Revenge would cross one arm across his chest, bringing his gauntlet up to his mouth in thought.

"Oh!" He moved his hand away, and continued. "I had gone to speak with my wife," he would turn slightly, gesturing towards Abby, looking at her and smiling to her briefly. "I hadn't learned the full details of what had transpired by that point, but I wanted to make sure she was safe. By the time I had made it to the area, everything was blocked off. Then..."

Turning and gesturing toward Twyla, he would finish by saying, "That's when I first met you," he would say to her, indicating she should continue.

((I can roll diplomacy if needed. No bluffs needed here!))  

[AlphabetFish]

"That's right! And I know about it from being in the area right after it happened--I tried to help, but it was too late to prevent it, so instead I'm trying to reverse it!" Her grip on the wand tightened, and her smile faltered. "Please, don't let us be too late to help now..."  

[PupSage]

"Just an adventurer trying to make some coin. Thanks for the advice, before I head out, could I see those scratches. " She reached into her coin purse for a gold piece and added, "And I appologize again for the interuption, I know how precious time with ones family can be."