Sun Hunters

[Archmage1]

Elariel nods, accepting the answer.
"Even if it isn't safe, it may be wise to inform us of the danger. If new creatures are appearing, we could encounter more."
She seems happy to learn that Noegle was leaving, and she nods.
"I'll head over to the church then, and wait for them to emerge. I imagine we'll be talking again in the future, so, until then."
With that, she turns, and departs, heading over to the church to await the new members.

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker accepts a biscuit readily, still watching both his 'host' and his new partner with unabashed curiosity. He eats the treat without manners, all but stuffing it in his mouth, though he at least has the decorum to chew with his mouth closed. Mostly. "So," he mumbles through biscuit. He swallows, clearing his mouth. "What's the biggest, nastiest thing a Sun's Hunter has had to fight around here? Or do we just let the 'Guise handle things that are above a certain weight class? Just curious as to what I'm allowed to run away from, generally."

Outside, a nondescript raven sits atop the steeple of the church. It watches the area around the building, occasionally taking wing to flit around the church.

Spoiler

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I realize that I didn't reserve a color. Is Dark Red okay?

EDIT- I nearly forgot about his raven. He can see anything it can see, and it's an extension of him.

[Rizban]

Haverdash scoffs at the boy's words as he politely refuses the biscuits.

"Ha! Run away? Never! A real man shows courage and charges into the face of danger, a battle cry upon his lips!"

He pats the halfling on the head, apparently convinced he's actually a human boy in his earliest teens.

"But don't you worry! Haverdasher here will train you up to have nerves of steel before too long.

Oh, but my only question be regarding any allies we might be having accompany us on whatever missions we endeavor upon."

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker frowns, but doesn't bother correcting the human. They have a racial tradition of underestimating halflings, which has led to another racial tradition: halflings taking advantage of humans. If the old man feels the need to put special effort into protecting and coddling Tucker, it's all for the better.

[dantiesilva]

As Seth is guided to the second bed he holds his hand up for a moment. Please give me a moment so I can let my friends know where I am. Seth says as he calls on his training as a story teller and whispers into the wind. Ovel I am with the sisters and worldspeaker, about to do a right of passage. This is where you can find me. Seth sends in the message directly to Ovel, trusting the shadow more then those he traveled with for something this important. Once finished he walks over to the second bed and smiles. I am ready to tell you the stories of my people now, if you are ready to listen. and so Seth sits patiently and awaits her answer.

Spoiler: If she says he can begin

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One of the first tales my people are taught from a very young age is about how we came to this world. Some think of us as an offshot of giants, however that would not be true. Seth says not doubting for a moment she had heard a similar story from the other goliaths she knew in the blood region. It was Kavaki, the Ram lord who first gave us life. He was the first chieftain and threw him the goliath people learned how to live their lives. Most importantly though he took three students under him it is said, and taught them the ways of a chieftain. My tribe hails from one of the original three students, and at our prime were no doubt one of the most proud people. That is one of the many reasons it pains us so much that we lost to the Sunguise. In my tribes war with him to expand our lands, we went threw many chieftains, and lost much of our past knowledge passed down to us from Kavaki. However the followers of Vanua, the bringer of Woe believe that he did this to test us and make us stronger. The old chiefs would have had the power to smite these heretics where they stood. However with all the lost knowledge no one could ever prove that the followers of Vanua were wrong. After all he was not an evil god, and only worked towards strengthen us through hardship. Seth says explain to her about the stories of the war, and how many of his tribes most powerful warriors had been lost trying to stop the Eye who always seemed to come back in a new body, until their were few of them left and were forced to surrender and be servants or be eliminated.

[Sliver]

"Had to fight?" 124 repeats the question. "Well, that's an odd question. Technically, you don't have to fight anything. How you go about achieving your goals and bringing fame to your name is up to you, mostly... In general, the nastiness of the foes varies, though Inevitables are a recurring theme..."

Elariel reaches the church after a few minutes, entering it. She finds the familiar priest talking to a man, probably a smith. The priest looks at you for a moment before giving you a nod and motioning to his chambers. Of course, it was not something that Tucker's raven missed.

Spoiler: Ellyrion

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If you wish, Skrat can happen to be nearby and notice the oddly still and observant Raven.

"As for your companions... They will be Elariel Fireborn, Ellyrion Shadowborn and Seth Stonesinger. Elariel will be joining us soon."

Seth:

Chornellia nods to Seth to begin his tale and seems to concentrate on his words to such extent that the rest of the world has stopped for her. She listens quietly, sometimes asking questions, but those are neither offensive nor intrusive. When Seth reaches the story of the battles with the Eye, she frowns slightly, but it quickly disappears and her concentration is not broken.

Finally, she nods once more. "You have honored your part of the deal, now I shall honor mine." She says simply as she opens a small chest. She lights the incense, giving the room a scent of burning redwood and ash, as she scatters flora in odd patterns. Between those patterns she arranges small animal bones. In the center, she creates a larger circle of bones, curved and carved with runes you find familiar. They aren't an exact match, but they do seem similar to those your own tribe uses in their rituals of worship and sacrifice.

Then she draws out a hollow bone, shaped like a horn with a stopper at its bottom. A quick slice of a knife, and her blood begins to drip into it as moves it slowly, letting the blood swirl at the bottom of the horn while she chants, calling your elders to respond.

Slowly, she motions for you to sit at the center of the bone circle, holding out both horn and knife to you, waiting for you to add your own share of blood into the mix, while other bloods of origins you do not know are added.

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker nods at the answer, acknowledging with the gesture that his question was vague. "Alright, I see your point. Though 'Inevitables' gives me a good ballpark. Lawful bastards just hate people who've figured out how to bypass the uglier parts of reality, like death. They just get in the way of progress."

When Elariel is mentioned, he smiles. "Would this Elariel Fireborn be an elf, red of hair and green of eye? Because if so, she's already in the building and drawing near."

[Archmage1]

Elariel nods, and heads into the priest's chambers, soon spotting the open passageway, and heading down it, calmly walking. As she rounds the final corner, and spots the odd pair, talking with the clone, she looks over them.

Heavy armor, and a heavy shield, on the big one, so some sort of warrior, and the halfling seems more lightly armored and armed, but he seems less confident. Some sort of bard, perhaps? But no instrument, but some sort of light caster, especially with all of those wands and scrolls, and other implements. Perhaps an artificer?

She continues to approach, and when she comes clearly into sight, she smiles, in a friendly fashion, and looks at the pair, after nodding to the clone. She has a rather strange looking sword on her hip, and wears white leather, with a silver band around her neck. She isn't ugly, but she isn't really pretty either, just sort of bland. A quiver of arrows pokes up to the left of her head, and she seems to have a bag on her waist, balancing the strange sword.
After a moment or two, she speaks, her voice sounding friendly.
"Hello! I'm Elariel, and welcome to the group! I'm sure you've got lots of questions, as it's not every day you become a Hunter."

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker is in the air before Elariel has even finished her sentence, floating towards her at eye level. He sweeps up her hand in his own, bowing in midair with a flourish. "They never told me the Hunters would include such ravishingly beautiful individuals. My name is Tucker, and it is a very fine pleasure to meet you."

He takes a 'step' or two back in midair, grinning widely. "As for questions, I suppose I should find out how much time your group spends killing things versus preparing to kill things. I'm good with items, but after an extended bout of blasting things I'll usually need a few days to restock. That gonna cause issue?"

[dantiesilva]

As Seth finishes with the many tales he had to tell he is happy to see Chornellia was indeed going to hold up her end of the bargain, as he remains quiet observing what she is doing carefully to make sure he doesn't get in her way. Perhaps with time he could recreate such an occurrence. What surprised him however were the runes he saw laid upon the bones, much like those of his own tribe meaning the tribe who taught her had to be one of the original three from the story, or a close branch from one of them. He thought as he watched patiently as she took out a hallow bone shaped like a horn and blade and cut herself, and begins calling his elders to respond.

Finally he sees it is time for him to enter the circle, and so he removes his sword and places it on the bed as he slowly makes his way into the circile of bones, using the practice he had been given all those years ago to not disturb anything that had been placed as he sat down. Must I use that knife? he asks as he pulls out his own ritual scaring knife and shows it to her. Either way when he is told his answer on what knife he must use he grabs it and lifts it up into his left hand first and carefully begins carving the symbol of Kavaki into his right hand, letting the blood drip into the horn as he does so. He hoped that the symbol would grant him his lords protection through this ordeal and enlighten him to the past. Next he switches hands, after all the blood has seeped from his wounds and begins carving the symbol of Vanua into his left, so that threw this ordeal he would become stronger, even if it took time. Again letting the blood seep into the horn.

[Archmage1]

Elariel allows her hand to be swept up by the halfling, and she even smiles, slightly, pleasantly surprised.
"I wasn't expecting such a gallant greeting. Still, it is a welcome change."
As he continues, she nods.
"On to business then. So far, there has been a chance to restock after each mission, although that might not always be the case. If it does become an issue, we'll address it then."

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker nods, his playful, boyish demeanor dissolving slightly. It isn't as if he was only pretending; it's more that he knows when to get down to business. He hovers a foot or two off of the ground, one hand thoughtfully on his chin. "Right, well. The next question's a little more complicated. I have a standing contract with a number of, er, extra-extra-planar beings."

He grins. "It's a pretty good deal; they give me a pile of powers, and I allow them to experience reality through me. Sometimes they can lean on my personality a bit, but I'll always let you know if that's the case. They can't ever control me; it's more like an influence."

He makes a brushing gesture, as if the disclaimer was insignificant. "But that's not important. What's important is that I can only draw on one of them at a time, and they all do different things. Of the ones I commonly form pacts with, one of them is a sort of huntress-healer, one of them makes me more skillful and silver-tongued, one of them lets me find hidden items and people's vitals..."

He vanishes from view abruptly. A few seconds later, he reappears. "And my current vestige gives me invisibility and a little spy-raven, along with a few other benefits. The point is, I'm flexible. Is your group weak at anything in particular?"

[Rizban]

Haverdasher stands from his chair and takes a knee as Elariel enters and introduces herself.

"Your lady, it is my pleasure to meet you. I am Sir Haverdasher."

He gently boxes Tucker on the ear.

"Manners, boy! Manners!"

He rises and offers her his chair.

"I was not aware that we were to serve as escorts, but I will gladly do my all too keep you safe from harm."

Haverdasher looks a little sick as Tucker describes his powers, but he holds his tongue for now. It wouldn't do to address the boy's shortcomings in front of a lady. He'll wait until a more opportune time to see to the boy's training.

[Archmage1]

Elariel thinks about Tuker's question for a moment or two before answering.
"My brother, Ellyrion, can hide, and Seth, the barbarian can fight, and Ellyrion and I can use magic, but we don't have a healer, or someone who can persuade people very well. It would seem that it's up to you, but if you can switch between them, perhaps you can be the one we need when we need it?"

At that point, Haverdasher reacts, and Elariel goggles at him.
"Greetings, Sir Haverdasher. I've never had such a polite greeting. It's certainly a change from the norm, but you aren't here as escorts. You're here to help us do what we do."

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker scratches his nose, thoughtful, before turning in midair to face the blustery man. "Actually, that reminds me; what do you do? You seem to be the brawny militant type, but looks can be deceiving. You'd never look at me and think 'that guy can blast through solid iron', but then you'd be wrong."

He brushes his knuckles on his vest, a casual gesture, and dark red and black sparks of magical power sputter down to the floor.

[Sliver]

You notice 124 not paying you much attention while you are talking, as it seems he is busy frowning and being generally annoyed at a very playful mouse. "Be careful with her in the city, you never know what a Worldspeaker can find out, even when shared in private." He tells the room.

Turning back to you, the clone speaks to Elariel. "You know, that paladin your brother spoke to? He went on investigating what happened to your village... He followed a lead regarding some cult and has vanished since. The church is mounting an expedition looking for him, but they are quite lost. Now, if I were them, I would start looking where he was last seen, but few people around warehouse 15, the one in the southern slums, are willing to talk to Pelorites..." He says with a shrug.

Seth

Chornellia tightens her lips as she pushes the knife into Seth's hands. She doesn't look happy regarding his tattoos, but she doesn't word an objection. When Seth is done, Chornellia takes the knife and holds the horn above Seth's head and begins dripping the warm blood over his shoulders, chanting. Then, she lowers it and wraps Seth's hands around it, lifting it to his mouth, motioning for him to drink. There is about half a horn left with the blood, and it seems like she wants Seth to drink it all.

[Archmage1]

Elariel frowns.
"Hm... that might be worth investigating. I was, in retrospect, a little harsh with him, and if he really was trying to help, then a rescue could be helpful. However, didn't they try asking their god? I thought gods were supposed to be aware of their followers actions? Unless that is blocked. Thank you for the information."

[Sliver]

"Gods are not supposed to get involved, and things are rarely straightforward when cults are involved... If a god or a sunguise get involved in the works of mortals, it sets a precedent for others." 124 says. "Of course, there is that the paladin went on his own and didn't involve his betters. I suspect he was afraid that your accusations might be true, so he did not wish to risk the chance that if there is corruption within, those responsible could hide their tracks. The clergy doesn't wish to invest many resources into the rescue, or it will be seen as though they condone their agents leaving off their own volition, which could break the hierarchy of the church quite quickly. Those who do try the rescue do it with their own resources and take the same risk, and this isn't condoned by the church either." The clone shrugs.

"That's what they say in public..." Mouse says, sitting up from her animal form. "The inquisition wing holds law above else, but it is not the true pelorite way. Behind the scenes, the church does has agents looking into it. They aren't as effective as a well aimed hunter, but not many things are."

The young woman, short and petite, with brown hair reaching just under her jawline and so barely kept she seems a little boyish, looks at the two new hunters. She smiles, "hey there, I'm Mouse." She introduces herself. "I'm one of the Eye's agents, espionage and coach driving is my game, but I know where to stick the pointy end of a knife. Though I'm not a shadow master like Ovel..." She giggles.

[Archmage1]

Elariel nods in agreement.
"Cults are often rather... strange. People getting togeather because they have no place in normal society, and trying to change things so they do are iffy. However, as a paladin is already the servant of a god, doesn't the mere act of choosing a paladin imply divine interference? Regardless, if my words set him on his path, than rescuing him does seem to be my responsibility."
She looks like she is about to comment on the law of the inquisition, but she chooses to forbear, not wanting to start a pointless argument. Instead, she chooses to go with a simple greeting.
"It's good to see you, Mouse."

[Rizban]

Haverdasher seems rather perturbed by all of this. Things just aren't going the way he thinks they should, and it's making his head hurt.

"Gods? Cultists? Churches? This..." he stumbles for a moment before his eyes light up with understanding.
"Ah! I understand! We are meant to be the first wave in a new crusade against the Infidel. Yes, a noble cause indeed."

It's only after considering her words that the mouse turning into a person actually registers in his mind. "Witchcraft!" Haverdasher grabs the hilt of his sword but doesn't draw it, looking to his allies for the moment to judge how to react. After all, he's a guest here, and he won't be the first to break the laws of hospitality, especially against a woman.

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker stays quiet as the clone and Elariel speak; he doesn't know what the heck they're going on about, but context clues are starting to fill him in. He's about to ask more when Mouse changes to her human form, at which point he has a far more interesting focal point. He flies over to her promptly, holding out a hand to help her rise to her feet.

"And a pleasure to meet you as well, Mouse. I have to ask, because I'm horribly curious; is this nature-magic, or are you a sorcerer, or a changeling with a lot more control than I've ever heard of, or a weremouse, or a..." He frowns, searching for the word. "Hengoyaku? Hengokoyu? Shapechanger race from the East, normally have small animals for their other form, sparrows and things like that."

It's at this point that he notices Haverdasher's reaction, which elicits a roll of his eyes. Tucker holds up a hand, and black and red bolts of energy crackles between his fingers; not a threat, just a demonstration. "I've got news for you, old man. You're pretty much surrounded by witchcraft. You noticed I'm flying, right?"

[Archmage1]

Elariel goggles at Haverdasher's reaction to Mouse's simple transformation.
"Ah, Sir Haverdasher... we tend to take on quests, I suppose you could say, rather than causes."

[Rizban]

Haverdasher just pats Tucker on the head a little rougher than necessary.

"Don't be silly boy. Trick of the light."

Turning to Elariel he waves a little dismissively, "Yes, but of course. Call it what you will. I would be pleased to take up arms in the vanguard. It's been too long since last we went to war."

[Archmage1]

Elariel seems rather surprised by the armored man's reaction.
"We aren't going to war. If we're lucky, we can simply find the paladin, be certain he is all right, and then leave. I'm hoping to avoid assaulting a stronghold of some sort."

[Rizban]

Haverdasher guffaws at Elariel's response but replies to her in a kindly, father-like voice.
"Squeamish, eh? As expected of a lady. It's quite alright. We'll take care of the heavy lifting."

[Archmage1]

Elariel continues to look quite baffeled, not quite able to believe Haverdasher's attitude.
"Well... if we get into that situation, I'm sure you'll be quite helpful."
I think he's looking for a glorious defeat, or something? Could be an issue, especially with his ability to hear what he wants to hear.

[RaggedAngel]

Tucker stares at Haverdasher for a moment, frowning. Then the light in his eyes flickers, and he grins broadly. He floats over to the burly man, clapping him on the armored shoulder cheerfully. "Right you are, just a trick of the light. And Mouse was just hiding in the corner, you know those sneaky types. It's dim in here, we must have missed her. But a proper sneak is good to have around, so we should be nice to her."

He winks at Mouse and Elariel. "As for our paladin friend, we should attempt to find and consult with the man before doing anything rash. He's a man of the cloth and the sword, so I'm sure he'll make good company. Until then we'll just keep our heads down and protect the womenfolk, which may mean listening to Elariel here. After all, she's been doing this longer. It would be improper to usurp her authority."

His grin is halfway between boyish and lupine. "Is that about right, Elariel?"

[Archmage1]

Elariel nods at the more reasonable halfling's words.
"That's the plan, although, as contact with him has been lost, I suspect that it'll end up being more complicated than that. It usually seems to."
On the subject of authority, you can see a twinkle in her eyes, before she continues.
"I try to give good advice, and I like to think that I can follow my own advice. I know quite a bit about a wide variety of creatures, which has proven to be useful in the past, and will, no doubt, be useful in the future. Of course, we generally decide what to do next as a group, more or less, but sometimes, well, there isn't time for that."

[Rizban]

"She was, was she? Ah, good. That makes far more sense. These tired old eyes do play tricks on me from time to time. It was a sad day indeed when my reading spectacles were broken by that foul orc.

Why, that reminds me of the time Sir Belendrake and myself were sent to retrieve the Holy Chalice of Eludranil from the clutches of orcish Infidels most foul. Why, we trekked for 40 days in the snow just to reach our destination! Ha! Now that was an adventure. Our horses died but a fortnight in, you see, and we had no other way to carry all of our supplies, what with the porter's guild being on strike at the time. Ah, but Sir Belendrake was a man who was good with his hands. Within a thrice blink of the eye, he had constructed a magnificent sled onto which he piled the many bags we had, though why we continued to carry the horse feed, I cannot say. It seemed wise at the time, you ken. Now, we had all this weight on the sled, what made it right heavy to pull and no animals to pull it. So, being the stronger and younger of the two, it fell to me to pull the burden for the first few hours. Ah, but what a chore that was, and nearly cost me my life later, to boot! Why, later that day..."

Sir Haverdasher will continue to drone on about his great adventure unless someone interrupts him. Of course, while he's talking, he's completely oblivious to the goings on around him, assuming his compatriots are listening in rapt awe.

[Archmage1]

Elariel leans over, and talks with Tucker.
"Do you think he's real? He seems a little odd..."