Dwaer Depths [IC]

[Gorgon_Heap]

The elf takes a pitcher and fills a goblet for Blackbeak. She smiles happliy. "I'm sure the temple of Abadar has a fascinating history."

[Goldfly]

Michiko enters the temple, arms laden with the treasure from their recent adventure. As she spies the feast, her eyes widen, and she turns to look at the paladin who cooked it, before bowing deeply. "Thank you very much for the food. It all looks quite delicious." She then walks towards the table, sets down the treasure carefully, and smiles at Toland, Blackbeak, and Jalaera. "Hey, all! I figured I'd wait for the others before I go into what all this- She gestures vaguely in the direction of the loot.- is. How've you been?"

[King Tius]

Kiernan shows up before too long, looking more than a bit annoyed. He helps himself to a medium-creature sized cup of wine and clambers up to sit on the table with is legs hanging down. When he speaks, he sounds slightly irritated...the first time you've heard him sound anything but cheery. Gulping down a hefty gulp of wine, he begins waving his cup about as he speaks, though he does not spill.

"Honestly, do you know how hard it is to find a Dwarf around here? Took me damn near half the afternoon to track a handful of them down, and none of them are from around here! They're all originally from leagues and leagues south of here. According to them there hasn't been a standing Dwarven presence in the Arrows for as long as any of them can remember. There are Dwarven settlements north of the Arrows and a whole bloomin' kingdom down south but apparently there's some superstition about them living around these parts. When I showed 'em the stone, they looked at me like I I was a three foot, two and a half inch tall Ettin." He drains his glass and moves to refill it.

[Gorgon_Heap]

"Superstitious about living nearby, hm?" the elf says in passing interest. "Rather seems less than likely this was the burial place of some great hero then."

[RaggedAngel]

Demos enters the room, clean shaven and freshly washed, moving with the same poise and vigor he had possessed the evening before. His clothes are still slightly rumpled, but an effort had clearly gone into cleaning and arranging them, and his pistol gleamed in a well-cleaned leather holster at his side.

"Right you are, Jalaera; that's exactly the feeling I had the entire time we were down there. It all felt far too hidden and forgotten to be an ancient dwarven temple or the tomb of a fallen hero; as we've noted, their people have a very long memory, and it seems strange indeed that they would allow an entire small city of people to grow and live right on top of it.

But the fact that they actually avoid this place is a new one to me, and it makes me wonder just how old that tomb is. The dwarves didn't give a reason for avoiding this area, after all, and that may mean that knowledge of this place has passed down through legend into mere lore and half-remembered superstition. For dwarves, that implies a long time indeed. And do not forget the sheer amount of magical power it would have taken to create that place; it was clearly a location of import."

Having said his piece, he settles down at the table beside Michiko, taking a modest portion of food and only a small splash of wine.

[mshady]

Toland

The Paladin greets everyone who arrives, waving and shaking their hands, doing the part to be a good host. He insists they sit and eat awhile, than share a drink before any discussion of business. Toland listens to the chatter and says little before Kiernan speaks about the dwarves.

"I'm not inclined to believe what they told you, but their words are what we are left with. The term "dwarf business" comes to mind. From the few I've met and what I know of them, they are dour and very little gets "lost to legend". I would expect this dwarf was some sort of villain, a man of infamy, and if they know nothing of him truly, he may have been struck from their tribe's records due to some manner of infamy. Which would make sense, as he or she was apparently a kind of necromancer and I doubt any dwarf would want an association with that. That none of them referred you to a cleric of their faith to consecrate that tomb's dead says a lot" Toland says and pauses long enough to take a long draught of brandy.

"We could always make a trip of it and walk out to the local clan holds and ask they what is going on. Someone knows something, they are a race that never forgets a grudge and I doubt they forget a fiend either. That said, I think WE know all we need to know. Let some scholars and priests turn the place over and learn some of the lore, sell some tour tickets, and so on. Some of you might want to press Lady Clinkscales for a portion of those proceeds. Not me, of course" Toland says, smiling in a sly fashion.

"So, what all did we find? Anything of use? Were those gilded blades and hammers brought up from the statues?"

[King Tius]

Kiernan points a finger excitedly at Toland, clearly already feeling the effects of the wine (or perhaps he had some before he arrived? He is a bit too low to the ground normally to smell his breath). "SEE, that's the rub of it! There ARE no clan holdings within at least a hundred leagues of here! Ever wonder why there are no Dwarves working the Echo Bend mines? Come to think of it, I didn't go looking for a priest of Torag. Not even sure there's one here."

Now that Toland thinks about it he doesn't recall ever seeing a priest of Torag out and about in the Temple District. Still, someone around the temple, particularly the old caretaker, might know where to find one.

As to the gold weapons (which I forgot about earlier), Susannah arrives just before Kiernan does, bearing the gilded items. She took the liberty of taking them to the Echo Bend Armory to have them looked at. The blacksmiths there were quite impressed by them. At first they appeared to be merely gold-enameled because they were so tough but after a closer examination by a skilled eye they appear to be some kind of gold-mithral alloy. They are still every bit as bright as normal gold but are tough as mithral (and can be treated as mithral weapons). They would each sell for 300g.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Blackbeak drums his talons on the table, absently pecking away at a piece of bread. He's getting crumbs everywhere, which stand out like snowflakes or dandruff on his black robes.
"So what, are we sitting on some dwarven lich's phylactery or somethin'? Sounds dangerous. Didn't really get a villain vibe from those animated statues, though. Fighting dragons and giants are the deeds of heroes, yeah? I didn't get to enjoy the Undead Extravaganza, but that area seemed more devious than the acid-statue-cylinder. Maybe a bad guy built that stuff around the tomb afterwards?"

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jalaera purses her lips and looks at Blackbeak. "Why?" Almost immediately she hold up a hand. "Never mind. I don't care.

"I appreciate the free meal, Ser Toland, but now that the danger's past, I've other things to do in town. I'll gladly pass the evening with you all, of course. If nobody objects, I'd like to make use of that magical blade and be on to my own business."

She doesn't seem to be in any rush to leave, but with onthing else to occupy her, her mind seems elsewhere.

[Goldfly]

Michiko gestures to the loot at Jalaera's words. "We should take of this first." She reaches over, and separates the objects into a few piles. She then pokes the first of then- the scrolls. "These scrolls are arcane- this one will identify magic items, this one will turn someone's hands to stone for a minute, this one will make a force to hold things, and this last one will make arrows heavier just before they hit their target." She pushes the scrolls to one side before continuing with the wands. "This one will slow down someone who's falling, and this one will conjure an invisible shield." Finally, she holds up the last wand-like object. "This will make spells last twice as long a few times per day." With that, she stretches, and leans back in her chair. "How do you think we should split it all up?"

[King Tius]

Michiko takes the various magical items and places them carefully in her pack and on her person for quick retrieval. She also takes the strange Stonewood Block and tosses that in her pack, figuring someone has to carry it, why not her? Toland collects the Stonewood Mail and takes it to his bunk along with the Mithral Hammer while Jalaera takes the Variblade. The remaining items are sold and split evenly among the group for 315g a piece. At some point the following day you report to Captain Dremel's office and are informally debriefed on what you found beneath the Stormscale household. You are given 300 additional gold each for your efforts, a combined sum from Lady Stormscale's gratitude and the town's coffers.

For assisting the Dwarven statues and finishing the exploration of the Dwarven Tomb you each receive 500 XP as well.

A week passes before you are all contacted by a town guardsman. The Captain of the guard urgently requests your aid. The couriers know little else other than that they were ordered to find you as quickly as possible. During your week long downtime, you are free to do as you like. Those of you who have leveled up should do so. Who is holding on to the strange magical stone?

I will try and respond to your posts about what your characters do during the week of downtime as quickly as possible. Once everyone has had a chance to post about their downtime we will advance to Dremel's office.

[mshady]

Toland:

As the meeting and dinner break up, Toland thanks everyone for meeting him here and invites them all to stop by for a service sometime. He also adds that they meet here again next month, if anyone had new information, things to discuss and, primarily, an excuse to get together for drinks again.

With the exception of Demos, that was about the extent of Toland's expectations for saying anyone again. The two men settle up accounts for using the smithy, which would amount to another 50 gp to the smith. Demos is invited to stay on in the barracks until he is rested and finds somewhere else to stay. Toland makes sure that he has access to the smithy still, in order to mold bullets, as well as any alchemy equipment he may need to make powder. He would have to pay for the supplies used, and using anything would have to be late into the night. If Demos decides to stay, the two probably spend at least a couple nights passing around a bottle of brandy as they works. Toland tries to learn everything he can about the other man, trying to determine if the have grounds for some sort of partnership, if any.

As for Toland himself, he mulls over if he even wants to use the Stonewood Banded Mail. He tries it, and while it is a heavier armor, it seems much lighter. Does he presume to wear something that old, though? Ultimately he decides yes, and he would use it in service of his faith, but only until he could commission a set of full plate armor. After that, it would be mounted on a wall for display.

Toland also asks that his Temple buy back the other gold-mithril weapons taken from the statues. Again, he decides to hold on to the warhammer until he can find something equivalent. His intent is that they be restored to the statues.

At some length, he explained all he knew about the dwarf tomb until Mrs. Clinkscales houses, to one of his Temple's scholars. He also sees what he can do about finding a Cleric of Torag. Failing in that, he drafts a letters to the two closest dwarf strongholds. He politely asks that they explain everything he knew about a tomb and request both someone to come see it and some sort of explanation for what it was. Toland sends two couriers to each stronghold to ensure that his letters are delivered. If needed, he pays for the delivery from his own funds.

One night, he visits Mrs. Clinkscales and asks to go down into the tomb again. Simply for the purposes of getting drunk in private, and possibly with paid companionship. He than checks that off his list of things to do...

For three other days, Toland attends to his duties at the Temple. These mainly consist of standing at the door, handing out prayer books, singing in the choir, and looking strong and dignified as a temple guard. One day, he visits a local temple school to talk to the children about the exciting opportunities in joining the clergy or becoming a paladin. He leaves out most of the relevant details...

At the end of each day, he either ends up drinking or gambling with others at the Temple, or one day at an Inn. He works in several hours of martial training as well with the Temple's weapon master. Many of the others ask him questions about his recent battle, and he probably tells the same story a dozen times. Not much actually happened around here, at least as far as the Temple Guard was concerned.

When a courier comes to the Temple requesting Toland specifically speak with the Captain of the local constabulary, his first thought is that he had done something. With little information, he grabs his gear and heads off with a smile and growing confidence.

Whatever it was, frankly it had to be more interesting than what he was doing before.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Blackbeak leaves that night happily enough, with several hundred gold pieces' worth of loot in tow. Not a bad payoff for the risk involved, he figures.

Over the next week, the tengu spends his time counting and re-counting his gold, and gambling in back alleys, inns, and taverns.

When the letter arrives summoning him, he finds it curious. Figuring it's worth a look at the very least, he sets off, talons clicking on the cobblestones.

Spoiler

Show

Blackbeak will earn some gold on the side through his gambling.
Profession (Gambler): (1d20+6)[19]
A pretty good week! He earns 9.5 gp.

[Goldfly]

Over the next week, when she is not performing her normal duties at her family's temple, she does research into the strange runes (and the glowing stone, if Susannah is not keeping possession of it). She sends copies of the runes out to both other temples of the church of Nethys and other allied temples, and seeks out anyone who may understand Dwarven (or anyone of a more Psionic nature, if possible) to see if they have any understanding of the runes. She also sends letters to the aforementioned temples with detailed drawings and descriptions of the stone.

She also aids in the arrangement of Lyrie's funeral, doing her best to locate any family members or people within the city who may know of any family or friends that she had.

Finally, in her off time, she discovers how to Detect Magic, and keeps up correspondence with the others.

[RaggedAngel]

Demos begins the week with money in his pocket, and for a man like him that means that nothing is outside his grasp.

The first thing he does upon being paid is return to the temple smithy, where he pays the brawny man in charge the amount that he owes in the finest, newest gold coins he has, making sure to include a few extra, though he makes no comment on them. Demos is pleased, though only a little surprised, when the smith gives the extra coins back, accepting only exactly what he is owed.

Demos then takes the first leap of his plan for the next several days, and he asks if the smith will allow him to continue working at night; he notes that he can pay up front and entire this time around, and that he will need no more than three nights to complete his work. He has Toland throw in a good word for him, with the promise to the paladin that he has a surprise in store that the warrior will not want to miss.

And so between his recommendation, and the impeccable state he left the workshop in the night before, Demos gained access to the forge and workshop for a series of sleepless but very productive nights.

His first order of business is to not cater to himself, but instead expand the resources he already has. Demos is eager to get back into the field and continue expanding his skills, but a gunslinger with no money is like a fencer with no blade; useless and doomed to failure. And so he sets to work on a simple, single-barrel iron pistol, making with rigorous attention, though not nearly the kind of razor focus he gave his ancestral pistol.

He finishes the weapon in a single night, and he leaves the barrel to cool while he sleeps through the morning. Once awake and refreshed, he assembles the stock, working, and barrel, and heads out to the market. After several hours of searching, talking, haggling, and a few cheerful brush-in's with a few of the ladies he had recently fought beside, he managed to find a buyer for his newly-forged weapon. Down five hundred, up a thousand, and Demos was ready to begin his real work.

After a long and hearty dinner with Toland, during which he told one of his few truly funny stories (regarding a mountain ogre, a boat carrying barrels of mead, and a circus) he went back to the forge, where he began a piece of significantly greater difficulty than the previous night's. The fine tools available and his own rapidly growing experience prevailed, however, and after a long night the beginnings of a rather special weapon were in place. It was not the task of a single night, however, and he left to sleep the morning away before heading out into the market and forest with Toland, beginning the preparations for what he promised the paladin would be quite the show.

They spent a few hours setting up several hay and stick training dummies, though what purpose they would serve Toland could only guess. Demos caught a little more rest after that, and then it was another long night, during which he managed to successfully complete his new personal weapon. It was a single-barreled pistol, unlike his original, but what it lacked in bulk it gained in complexity. The single barrel flared out along smooth, arcing line, and the entire design was longer and sturdier, as if meant for more explosive rounds. It was a dragon pistol, and it was beautiful.

Demos spent the rest of the evening working with alchemical reagents and black powder, making buckshot for his new pistol, three dozen alchemical rounds, and five very special rounds that used a hearty chunk of his remaining funds.

The next day, after resting, he went to market, where he purchased another powder horn and another many-pocketed belt, which he hung like a bandolier across his chest to carry the various cartridges and specialty rounds. A little time with a span of leather and he had a new holster, which he proudly attacked opposite his first holster. He was balanced, a gun in each hand, and that meant that it was time to make his second big leap.

Demos, through the purchase of fine liquor the night before, had convinced Toland to bring several of the men in charge of the temple's military and guard forces into the training grounds, where the seven wood and hay dummies were set up; Demos also made a note to mention to several of the younger paladins and warriors that there would be a demonstration, and so he had a healthy crowd ready as the sun began to crawl down in the sky.

Demos introduced himself formally to the leadership, and then he addressed the gathered members at large. "Good evening, gentlemen, ladies. My name is Demos, and I am what some call a gunslinger, or pistolero. I use firearms when I fight, and though I stand much closer to my targets than an archer might I also hit with more force, and with less effort."

Demos holds up his double barrel pistol in demonstration, before turning and firing on the seventh training dummy. The bullet strikes the dummy's torso, blasting a healthy chunk of hay out of it's framework. The flash and report of the pistol take a few men by surprise, but otherwise there is little reaction, and he continues as he reloads the chamber. "Pistols are unique in that they ignore most kinds of armor; this round will hurt a man in heavily enchanted platemail as well as it will a thief in thin leathers, due to the kinetics of the impact. Double-barrel guns, like this one, can fire twice before needing to be reloaded; or, they can be used like this."

Demos slides a step closer to the seventh dummy before gripping his pistol firmly. There is a massive report, and both barrels fire simultaneously, tearing the flimsy dummy to shreds. He waits a moment for the light and sound to fade before going on. "Of course, a bow or sword could do nearly as much, and you already have those. But there is something a pistol can do that most consider the purvey of wizards or other spellcasters; a pistol can affect an area."

Demos holsters his double-barrel and he pulls out a new gun, one Toland has not yet seen; his dragon pistol. He stands in front of the six other dummies, and with a grin he fires his gun for the first time. There is a flash, a bang, and then a cone of metal explodes out of the barrel, ripping pieces off of nearly every dummy in front of him. He turns, and begins loading a large red alchemical round into the gun. "That is the power of a dragon pistol; the ability to affect an area with a single shot, something that very few weapons can achieve. There is no magic here, no sorcery; just simple chemistry and physics. Any one of you could use this gun after a day's training, though they take several months or a year to become truly proficient with."

He looks to the leaders again, addressing them more formally. "I would like to work for you, gentlemen; either as a mercenary, or a teacher and smith, or preferably both. You are all good people, and it has been too long since I have worked for a noble cause and served a greater power than myself. I want to further your interests, to our mutual benefit. And I believe that I can offer you something that few others can."

And with that Demos stands, one arm akimbo, the other extended towards the dummies; and with a smile, he pulls the trigger.

There is a massive blast of fire and rush of head as a cone of flame tears out of the muzzle washing over the training dummies. They catch the flame like candlewicks, and after bare moments each one has crumbled to the ground in a smouldering pile. Demos turns to the crowd, the sun dying behind him and the light of the fire casting a long, dark shadow out over them all. "I can promise that."

[King Tius]

Toland spends his week drinking and serving his god, a series of actions that some might find conflicting but fit perfectly together in the paladin's heart. He consults with Ser Barthasan, the grizzled, one-legged, ancient paladin who runs the compound and conducts the majority of the services for the temple. Ser Barthasan is intrigued by what his young paladin has discovered but does not know of anything that might be useful. When Toland asks about a priest of Torag, Ser Barthasan knows that there used to be one that resided in Echo Bend but he left several years ago and no priest has come to replace him. Toland does convince him to purchase the gold-mithral weapons for the temple and pens a set of notes to be taken south to the Dwarven Kingdom of Kaladur. He also sends a letters north through the pass but is less than hopeful that he will hear anything.

Michiko sends out her own letters with copies of the runes, though it will take some time to hear back. She does find one person in Echo Bend who has psionic powers but they are hardly an expert on psionic items or of historical dwarven items and have nothing helpful to give to her. The magical stone is put under intense magical scrutiny by her family after Lyrie has been properly buried. As far as the Kitsune (that's plural too, right?) the stone radiate pure magical energy that hasn't been focused into a particular school. It feels incredibly....raw. Michiko's parents advise caution when handling the stone. Something with that much power could easily serve as a power source for some great and ancient magical device and, as such, could potentially unleash a devastating amount of magical energy if destroyed.

During her investigations Michiko, quite by chance, brings the magical stone into contact with the strange runed stone as she carried them. As the magic stone came into proximity of the stonewood block the runes began to glow. Suddenly the solid block of stone shifted slightly, become a book. It still emanates no magic but now has page upon page of similarly strange looking runes. Through trial and error Michiko learns that if she holds the stone to the back of the book it turns back into a single piece of stonewood.

Demos works like a dog for his downtime, crafting two weapons and putting on quite a show for the Paladins of Iomedae. The handful of Paladins and pair of clerics are quite impressed by his weapons demonstration. Being a particularly martial-oriented faith, there is some legitimate interest in incorporating firearms into their regimen. Ser Barthasan takes Demos's offer and politely differs him, saying that he has his Paladins to call on should he need them and does not have any assignments that he presently requires a mercenary for (a word he says with the slightest of scorn). That being said, he would be more than willing to pay for Demos to train his Paladins in the use of firearms and to fashion them a few weapons to train with, within the limits of his budget. He also assures the pistolero that if he ever has need of his services, he will contact him.

Not to be outdone by their busy companions, Blackbeak spends the week gambling while Susannah continues her work as a healer and medicine woman on the outskirts of town. Jalaera familiarizes herself with Echo Bend better, getting a feel for the city's soul. More than anything else it is a city of trade. The market district is where the city feels most alive, though at night the tavern street comes to life in quite a different way. Most of the people in the city are at least somewhat connected to the trade route in their profession. The docks are not only bustling with activity but there is also a sizable shipwright's guild and a whole warehouse district to store goods. Both lumber and ore are produced nearby in the arrows and are brought into town to be refined and put to use or sold on the trade route. Like any city it has its magical shops, brothels, and infrastructure of day to day business as well as surrounding farmland and small towns to supply it with food. Fishing and trading provide for a good portion of this, however, so the wilds are a good deal closer to the city walls than one might expect in a landlocked, non-trade city.

When you at last answer Captain Dremel's summons, you are let in as you arrive to his empty office. After a few minutes the lot of you have assembled, all save Kiernan. The Captain boasts quite a large office with a great mahogany desk and a beautiful view out of its large bay windows overlooking the small park just outside Echo Bend's town hall. The room is fairly sparsely decorated, mostly with maps and drapery but there is a sword and battered shield mounted behind the desk. There is adequate seating about the room for you all to comfortably sit and wait for the Captain to arrive to the meeting.

[RaggedAngel]

Demos seems to be brimming with industrious vigor, and he is more heavily armed than you remember him; on his left hip a second, single-barreled pistol has joined his shortsword, and he sports a leather bandolier that seems to be heavily laden with the fast-loading cartridges he had used against the skeletons. His shirt was new as well, reflecting a week of monetary gain, though of course you had all come into a sizable sum.

He greets everyone politely, asking about their weeks, aside from Toland; he instead inquires about how the paladin's head feels, with a friendly grin. After a moment or two he gives in to his pride, taking out his new gun to show around, mentioning that it works a bit differently from his other one.

"Now that I've bragged and flaunted, how have your weeks been? Did any of you discover anything about the ruins or the dwarves? I will admit, I was rather self-absorbed this week. Forging is taxing and time-consuming work."

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jalaera leans easily and languidly against a couch arm and door frame, but doesn't sit down. Her expression can best be described as "minimally curious" about the current circumstance.

"Honestly, I wasn't even certain I'd still be in the city after a week. I suppose it's agreeable enough to meet with you all again, though." She nods toward the girl and birdman, then turns to the priestess. "I wonder, though, that you haven't responsibilities keeping you busy. Unlike these sorts," she points at Toland and Demos, "who seem to thrive on dangerous escapades."

She considers her words for a moment and raises a hand to forestall an argument. "Wait, gentlemen. The only reason I don't include myself in that is you seem called to battle, whereas I fight only because it's necessary."

[RaggedAngel]

Demos flashes a bright smile, tipping an imaginary hat to Jalaera. "No arguments here, love. When a man is born in a storm and raised with a gun in his hand, there is little for him but action and conflict. Making that conflict as beneficial to oneself and the world as possible; now that's the true mark of one such as I. At least, I would hope so."

He gestures to Jalaera and Toland before continuing. "Battle sings in your blood, both of you; it's a romantic notion, perhaps, but my father managed to impart an unfortunate amount of romanticism in me before he passed. I cannot speak for the others with any surety, but I can say for certain that no one here is a coward or a homebody; we are all people of vigor and action, of one kind or another."

[Goldfly]

Michiko grins at Demos from her place on the couch. "Nothing wrong with a bit of romanticism." She stretches before responding to Demos. "Well, I discovered that holding the orb to the back of the stone turns it into a book. We've still got no clue what they mean, but I sent out copies to some other temples. Hopefully someone has a lead."

[RaggedAngel]

Demos raises his brow, clearly interested. "A book? Like a spellbook, or a history, or just a bound bundle of blank pages? And, if I may ask, did any of your family figure out what exactly the orb did? You spellcasters all seemed rather excited by it, so I figured it was more than a simple power source or key."

[Goldfly]

Michiko shakes her head. "It's just a whole bunch of the runes; it could be a cookbook, for all we know. As for the orb, all we know is that is tremendously powerful, and isn't focused towards any specific school of magic. Mom and dad recommended that we be careful when handling it, as it could be very dangerous."

[Gorgon_Heap]

The elf's interest in the conversation had seemed to wane for a moment. "Oh, yes? So wacking it against various materials would be out as a good test then? Pity, that. I thought we might accomplish something.

Can we perhaps let the bookish types plumb the depths of the magical mysteries? I'm wondering why we were brought here simply to wait. Where is this man?" She doesn't actually seem annoyed in the least.

[RaggedAngel]

Demos glances around, taking in the office with a more attentive eye. "If we were summoned by a wizard, I would assume that he was already here, taking in our measure before dramatically revealing himself."

He laughs, shaking his head. "But we're dealing with a busy man, a man who is in charge with many, many other people. He's simply late, mostly likely due to a mountain of work of varying importance."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Blackbeak fidgets on his chair, glancing out the large window wistfully. Apparently being in the office of an authority figure grates on him. He listens quietly to the conversation, drumming his claws on his crossed arms.

[mshady]

Toland

"Usually, if someone summons you with a courier for unspecified reasons, they are actually in their office when you get there. It's... almost like an invitation to look around. Not that I would, yet" Toland says, cracking a mischievous smile. "But, I think Demos is right on this one."

He had said little since coming in, and indeed seemed a bit apprehensive. Toland had looked around, and he actually seemed a bit tentative. This summons was not what he had expected.

"As for what you were saying earlier, Jalaera, I won't disagree about thriving in dangerous escapades, but I don't go looking for them either. Too hard, at any rate. As Demos said though, we are all people of action and vigor. We're the ones who went in and faced those skeletons and went down below into that tomb. I'm sure many men and women were offered the same coin before we got there, but we're the ones who went. The reward was nice, but I think we are all people who do what needs doing. Which, I suspect, is why we're here and not for... say, tea?"

Turning to Michiko, Toland asks her to repeat what she said about the orb and the stone wood block. He pauses and looks down at his own armor and wonders aloud.

"I'd like you to see what happens when you get this armor close to that orb we found. After that, I think that orb needs to be placed somewhere under the heaviest of guard. I'd volunteer the Paladins of Iomedae for that duty, only because we're the most heavily armed and trustworthy here that I know" Toland says, than he waves everyone in closer to him and speaks in a hushed voice.

"I am not the only one it occurred to that this orb might be dangerous in the wrong hands, or the right hands who can't protect it, am I?" he says and looks apologetically to Michiko.

"Of course, that orb could be the other reason why the Captain summoned us here. Not that he can exactly compel me to come, but I was curious. Anyways, we should be careful what we say about it from here on out"

It occurs to Toland he made a mistake by letting the most important find in the place out of his sight. However strong Michiko's family might hopefully be, which he doubted as he had hardly heard of them, a dozen armored fighters with bad intentions would go throw them like rice paper.

Toland suddenly felt like he had an ulcer. One that was glowing orb of problems.

[Goldfly]

Michiko rubs the back of head while she talks. "I think we should be able to handle it, but if you're really that worried, we can see about setting up some additional guard- from your temple or otherwise." She leans back against the couch before grinning at the paladin. "Come by the temple with the armor later, and we'll run some tests."

[Gorgon_Heap]

The elf listens to Toland and, deftly and absentmindedly reworking one of her small braids, inclines her head in admission of a good and thoughtful idea.

She opens the office door and speaks to the first person she sees. "Pardon me, young man? We've been waiting some time. Do bring us some tea, would you?"

[King Tius]

After several minutes of waiting the door opens and the Captain storms in, a particularly deep scowl on his face. He stomps into the office and brushes past you on the way to his desk. Without a word he sits down and pulls out a quill and parchment and begins to scribble furiously. So great is his ire, in fact, that he snaps the quill. The Captain closes his eyes and puts his hands on the desk, trying to contain his irritation. The lot of you are so caught up in watching in cautious silence that when a man speaks from the doorway it startles you.

Leaning in the doorway to the Captain's Office is a man who looks roughly the same age as Dremel. He has short cropped salt and pepper hair with an immaculately kept goatee. His clothes are modest in their appearance but are incredibly well made. Those of you who have an eye for such things quickly realize that his look of understated elegance is extremely well thought out and executed. From a distance he would blend into a crowd without so much as a wayward glance. Up close, however, his wealth and bearing is quietly obvious. The sword on his hip is of a similarly simple yet expensive design as are the two rings he wears. To any who are interested in older men, this guy is a total silver fox.

"Pay the old war hero no mind. The council has his knickers in a twist and he's just too decent of a man to relieve them of their heads."

"Shut your gods-damned mouth, Dirk, and shut the door."

The man in the doorway gives the Captain a sweet and unassuming smile as he closes the heavy door to the chamber and makes his way towards the nice couch near the bay windows. He pours himself a drink from a decanter on a shelf and takes a relaxed seat as he surveys you, the coy smile never leaving his face.

Dremel finally seems to have regained control of his emotions and puts away the broken quill and parchment. He takes a deep breath and addresses you in his gruff yet businesslike manner.

"Since the Council won't grow a spine and let me do my damned job, you'll have to do it for me. One of my...scouts...has gone missing, a man by the name of Avant. He keeps watch on the warring goblin tribes in the foothills of the Arrows and reports back any unusual activity. He was due to report in a week ago but we've heard nothing from him. He's the best stalker I know and a damned-useful asset to this city. I refuse to write him off as dead. I need you to find him...or his corpse...and bring him home. On his last report a month ago he noted an unusual amount of activity from the tribes in the area. He's too good to get caught by the raving little devils, so if he's gone missing there must be a good reason why. I've already put out feelers (at this he glances towards Dirk) to try and find out more about his whereabouts. Before I waste any more time...will you take this assignment?"

EDIT: Ninja-ed by a request for tea. Jalaera catches the attention of someone in the hallway who heads off to fetch her some tea.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Blackbeak blinks several times, marveling at the strangeness of humans.
"...Well, uh, Cap'n, sounds like you're in a bit of a pickle there, but I'm no enlisted man, and I certainly don't work pro bono. What I'm saying is, I don't volunteer. So before you waste any more of my time, are you planning on paying us?"