The Years Have Not Been Well to Thee

[Deepblue706]

After a moment of hesitation, Puck helps Grauff in moving the body. From his facial expression, he does not enjoy being so close to a corpse.

[PolkaBear]

Ibrigil Mesto

Ibrigil stifled a sigh. That'll have to do, I guess.

He bent over to give a hand with the body and felt a twinge in his back. He decided that it wasn't worth tearing the recent wound open, despite the fact that the wand made him feel like he already had a week's worth of healing.

"I'll get his weapons. The constabulary might want to take a look at them." He followed the others.

[KIDS]

Relieved slightly that Grauff doesn't want to attack them too, Raven moves behind them with a darkening mood. He would have helped with the body with only a bit of reclutance but since others offered aid first he was spared that effort. "That captured man, Brak... is he being held alone, can we speak with him? Does this Sergeant holding him now usually operate around these parts or he just happened to be passing through?" he asks, trying to piece together some of the puzzle.

[EvilRoeSlade]

Between Miira's strength and Grauff's tireless determination, coupled with Ibrigil's helpful assistance, the rather heavy body is managed to the stables. There Grauff calmly packs the corpse with snow into a bale of hay and stacks it next to one of three similarly morbid packages (one of which is covered in a bloody cloth tarp).

At last he turns to Raven, frowning as he looks him up and down. Now why the hells would you want to do that? Beh, I don't care. Yeah I'll take you to him. Grauff steps over to a frozen bucket of water and punches a hole through its icy surface, rinsing his hands before casually wiping them on his leather breeches. He glances cautiously over his shoulder although the stables are as eerily silent as ever, and then turns to Raven with narrowed eyes. Lets get this straight. Lenna's no constable. She's not the law. She's a soldier, and you need to remember what that means. I'm the one holding Underly. And I'm the one with authority here. I've never seen her before, to answer your question. Talk to her yourself if you want to know more. Which reminds me, she said she wanted to speak with your lot. That's why I was looking for you in the first place.

The common rooms Grauff leads you through are deserted save a few employees of the outpost, skulking in the shadows and removing broken dishes and cleaning up unsavory stains. Below one of the double stairs leading to the guest rooms the dwarf unlocks a door which leads down to a chilly wine cellar. Here there is a door with a barred window. Oddly enough it appears to have been designed specifically to hold prisoners. Grauff releases the lock on this door and shoves it open, stepping inside and allowing you in as well.

The room is dank and unpleasant, furnished only by mossy stone benches that might also serve as uncomfortable beds, and a single chamberpot that seems to have been used recently judging from the foul smell.

The businessman making a fuss about the late magewright earlier is here, though he strikes an entirely different expression now. His expensive clothing is ripped and blood-stained in contrast to neatly combed hair. One of his eyes is swollen and black, the other is wide and frantic.

As Grauff enters Brak rises immediately from the stone bench he had been sitting on, raising a hand and opening his mouth in a half-begun plead. With the practiced ease of a skilled brawler, Grauff knocks him hard back against the stone wall, and not content to leave it there, punches the human hard across the cheek. Grauff Grauff have you gone mad? Stop this madness! You can't do this to me! You'll never get away with it!

Traitor, growls the dwarf. He looms over Brak, seeming to contemplate striking another blow before stalking over to the far wall and crossing his arms. By all appearances he has no intention of letting you ask your questions out of his presence.

So who are they? His eyes dart frantically over your group. My executioners?! I'll only say this once, if you don't get me out of this hole immediately you're going to pay dearly! I know people!

[KIDS]

Raven sniffs suspiciously at the room they enter, regretting is as the "fresh" smell washes over him. Besides, why was there a perfect room for holding prisoners in here? Either Grauff or this inn had a shade to them that they have not yet uncovered.

Stepping inside, he glances over Brak, passing him quickly, then offers the ravaged businessman a reassuring, solicitious gaze. "Hello there sir. I'm called Raven. Are you allright, can you tell me how this started?" he asks the man quietly, hoping that a "nice" approach will be the most successful. Others may deal with Brak if they will; Raven has no intentions of decieving their host and asking questions that he shouldn't hear, so the half-elf focuses on gaining more information first.

[Deepblue706]

Puck

""I know people"? Sheesh, this fella wants to scare Grauff instead of try to convince him he's innocent?" Puck ponders silently. Not really sure of what to ask the man, he stands back, letting Raven go about whatever business he had in mind.

[The_Snark]

Miira

"And maybe tell us why you did it?" Miira adds on to Raven's words, frowning coldly. She saw no reason whatsoever to be kind when this person had murdered people. He didn't even look as if he wanted forgiveness, or realized he needed it. A man that far astray from the Path was lost, or at least beyond the reach of the likes of her.

[EvilRoeSlade]

No! The man's shout is startling. I didn't do it! Isn't it obvious? What possible reason could I have to do such a thing? It was that black gremlin! A cackling figment! Everyone saw it! I killed them! I did it but it wasn't me!

[Deepblue706]

Puck

"Wha..."

Puck scratched his chin as he considered what Brak had to say. His pa used to talk about weird monsters all the time. Too bad he never really paid any attention...

Spoiler

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Bardic Knowledge check for having any idea of what he's talking about: (1d20)[12]

"You killed what? How? And who saw? Give us names - we can ask them."

[The_Snark]

Miira

Miira starts, hand drifting uneasily towards her sword before she stops it. Is he a madman? Well, he must be, if he killed someone and flayed them, but... "What do you mean, everyone saw it?" she asks suspiciously, turning to Grauff. "There wasn't anything, was there?" If there had been some sort of demon visible, surely Grauff would have said.

Even if there hadn't, though... two people had just attacked others for no apparent reason. She knew these lands suffered from dark spirits of all sorts, and when such things happened, it might be a sign of their presence.

[EvilRoeSlade]

The man's eyes narrow. Why should I tell you anything? I'm innocent, so you have no right to be questioning me. If you aren't going to get me out of here this instant, then this conversation is over, do you hear?

Grauff shakes his head at Miira. Nah, He's been spouting gibberish ever since we put him down. Though come to think of it, he's actin' awfully normal now. The dwarf gestures casually at Brak. This'd be about normal for Brak. His eyes narrow and he thinks out loud. What could have gotten into him? Poison?

[KIDS]

Raven blinks incredulously, unable to connect the babbled words into something coherent. He wishes that he would be able to see the world more as it truly is in the future, likely to his disappointment. But in this case it would be very useful.

When Grauff mentions his doubts, Raven's face grows into a heavy frown. wait....gotten into him.... "Posession?" he puts the idea forward. "Is he saying the truth about his connections? Maybe someone who was with him earlier can tell us why exactly he was here and if anything strange happened to him during the last few days..." he asks the dwarf.

OOC:

Spoiler

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In case it's not a passive reaction already...
sense motive - (1d20+0)[5]

[EvilRoeSlade]

Grauff stares at Raven with his customary hard, unblinking gaze. Mayhaps they could. After a pause it becomes clear that he isn't going to offer anything further on the subject. So, ye done here?

[Deepblue706]

Puck

"Yeah," Puck nods. "I think so." He turns to Raven. "Let's uh, go see what this Lenna wants, eh?"

[KIDS]

Curses and doom. Raven supresses a frown and returns Grauff the firm, unblinking gaze. Whose side is that dwarf on, anyway? Or is he simply bound to protect his tavern from further damage - again somewhat hard to believe seeing the circumstances here. "Just one more detail, actually" he says, turning back to the prisoner.

The elvin man turns looks at Brak, mimicking hypnotism though transmitting no real power between them. But what would any of those near him think of the silent exchange? If Brak believed that Raven could see into his spirit world too, even better. It was a very slim chance, but one where there was little to lose... and truth be told, there really was something in Raven's emerald eyes that could have very much been interpreted as otherwordly sight.

After several seconds, he breaks the eye contact and nods silently to Puck. "Done. Should we see Lenna now?"

OOC:

Spoiler

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Bluff - (1d20+5)[13]

[The_Snark]

Miira

Miira frowns, nodding slightly as Raven asks whether it might be possession. She takes a few moments to concentrate. He was normal now, so she didn't think she would find any taint, but if his outburst earlier meant an altavar was still lurking in his spirit, she might find it. And if she found nothing—it might only mean it had left already. She'd make sure to examine the others, in order that they not have a third person go mad and start killing.

[EvilRoeSlade]

Sulking on his bench, whatever Brak's reaction is to Raven's steady gaze is kept close inside him.

Miira's vision blurs and distorts while she seeks out supernatural evil, and then hones in on Brak, who now appears to have a fading, sickly red aura about him. Even as she spots it, it dissolves into nothing and is gone.

Yeah, I didn't figure ye'd care ta put up with him long. Grauff gives a shove to anyone who leaves the cell too slowly and locks the door up, leaving Brak to his sullen silence.

Back upstairs the mess has been cleaned up, though there are still no guests anywhere in sight, except for a heavily-armed hobgoblin sitting alone in the dining room, smoking a cigar in silence. Grauff knocks on the back room door on his way up the stairs where his clanking grows fainter. A moment later a plain-faced shoulder in the uniform of Breland's armed forces opens the door from the other side and peers around unhappily. When he spots you he assumes what could be a neutral expression. You there. Are you the survivors of the Lyrandar passenger ship, Fated? He fishes out a piece of paper and looks over it.

[The_Snark]

Miira

It was there! Maybe even while we were speaking to him. Tension floods through Miira; she'd been right. She gives a prayer for Brak's soul, hoping that he had not been too tarnished by this exposure, and wished one of her lords were here to help cleanse him and find the spirit. But they aren't here; I am. We must make do with what we are given.

She tries to maintain the sight as they leave, hoping to catch more traces of the spirit's presence, but Grauff's shove disrupts her, and she realizes the others are all moving faster than she. She hurries to catch up with them. "Raven," she begins as they re-enter the common room, forgetting to keep her voice low, "I think you're—"

The soldier's entrance and interruption surprises her, and she politely breaks off and listens. "Yes," she answers. "I think that was the name, wasn't it?" She glances at the others for confirmation.

[Deepblue706]

Puck

"uhh..." Puck scratches his head at the soldier's question, quite obviously not-too-sure about the name. "Sure, yeah. Why?" he then asks, followed by a glance to Miira.

[KIDS]

Raven looks over the hobgoblin briefly as the walk by, wondering what the creature thinks of all of this. Has it seen worse in its life? Judging by the relaxed posture, probably...

As they enter the back room he expects a woman - at least according to his first impression - and is somewhat surprised. Still, he manages to keep it in check and stop wondering who the particular person is or isn't. It would be of no help anyway. "Yes we are. Why is that of importance?" he asks politely, wanting to hear more from the soldier before knowing what to think of this. Has their group earned some notoriety or fame already? The half-elf returns a questioning gaze to Miira, wondering what she wanted to say. He wants to ask but it can wait until they are out of here anyway.

[PolkaBear]

Ibrigil Mesto

Ibrigil silently observed Brak's behavior and speech throughout. Frankly, he was puzzled. Something--more than one something--about this entire series of events bothered him. Of course, what sort of man would I be if it didn't bother me? As they were leaving the cell, he paused and turned back to Brak. "Innocent or not, you might consider helping those who aim to help you." He didn't wait for a reply before hurrying to catch up with the others.

When questioned by the soldier, Ibrigil glanced at Grauff to see if this was expected. "Is he one of Lenna's?"

[EvilRoeSlade]

When Ibrigil turns to look for Grauff after he speaks, he discovers the dwarf has already left. The soldier grunts and clears his throat. I am indeed stationed under Sergeant Lenna Haryl sir - all of us here are with her unit. He gestures into the open door leading to the private back room from which he had emerged. The Sergeant awaits you civilians.

Within the back room, men and women in blue and gold Breland uniforms sit around a circular wooden table. The room itself seems well-used and spartan, little more than an out of the way place where merchants can conduct their dealings in private.

The soldier's subdued conversations end and they all rise and step towards the wall, placing their backs fully against it, save for the youngest one, a short-haired and straight-backed woman with a puffy scar across her lip. After rising she greets you with a cordial nod and gestures for you to be seated.

How do you do? I'm Sergeant Haryl. My squad got stuck here in the storm along with everyone else before we could meet up with our company and begin our mission. She furrows her brow. Our mission... was the investigation and salvage of the Fated. I'm glad that there are survivors, but where can the others be found? Surely you aren't the only ones. She rubs her chin. Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened.

[PolkaBear]

Ibrigil Mesto

Ibrigil took the proffered seat and crossed his ankle over his knee. "If there are others, I don't know about them. I was thrown some distance from the main wreck when we crashed. Maybe I jumped out on the way down: I can't remember the last minutes just before we crashed. It was panic and confusion as we went down, then...waking up on the ground. I don't know why I wasn't injured more desperately from the landing; but all I got were a few scratches and bruises. One of the vagaries of fate, I guess. I blacked out, too--but that's no surprise."

"When I woke, I made my way toward the smoke to see if there were anyone else alive, someone I could help. Eventually, we all gathered. I suppose it's possible that someone else had been thrown from the wreck as I was. We didn't find anyone else alive, though. The captain was crushed, for certain. The mate...well, we found a body part that looked like it belonged to her, but none of us were in a condition to look too closely. There were some other crew-members that were obviously dead, too. Weren't there a few other passengers, though? I spent most of my time playing Stones with Hesiq and didn't get to meet everyone."

[Deepblue706]

Puck

Having been a stowaway, Puck is not too thrilled to be answering questions about what had occurred. He is a bit less nervous in dealing with a woman, but he still had to give his answers some thought, which wasn't the easiest for poor Peter. "I'm not too sure what happened either. I was in one of the holds - I like wandering around those things, you see - and then suddenly I felt the ship moving out-of-control, and there were some screams..." he trails off a bit for a moment. "We crashed, and I was sure I was dead. I was beat up pretty bad, but I was in what I think was one of the safer parts of the ship, so I guess that's why I made it through. Well, I owe it somewhat to these folks, too - I ended up a bit buried in wreckage, you see." He scratches his head as he offers a glance to a few members of the party. "After they got me out, we gave a good look around, but we didn't spot anyone else. I couldn't really do much of a count, I mostly kept to myself during the voyage. And, we couldn't look forever, since we were pretty desperate...apparently our instincts weren't that bad, since another night out there would probably mean we'd all be frozen in the snow, by now..."

[EvilRoeSlade]

Lenna's lips press into a disapproving line. Alright, so what I'm hearing is, you can't tell me whether or not you're the only survivors because you didn't do enough of a search to be sure. She sighs. I guess I can't blame you, it isn't your job, and you're lucky enough to be alive as it is.

Her gaze narrows on Puck. Puck, I believe Grauff told me your name was? I'm assuming that's a nickname, because it isn't on the copy of the passenger roster I have. Your full name, please?

[KIDS]

Raven first shakes his head as if fearing someone is going to convict them, but hearing Lenna's relaxing words transforms it into an empathic nod. "It was like a storm or such, as if something strong tore the ship off its path and down into a spiral; I was just on the way down from the main board when the ship started plunging down. I couldn't tell what was going on; though I was fortunate enough to not be seriously hurt in the landing, it was obvious others weren't so lucky.
But as you say... you are right, there could have been other survivors. Our search just didn't turn up any," he says a bit defensively. Thinking about the incident he shivers. His unnatural mark prevented him from killing himself back home, and it prevented him from being killed back at the airship. Would it give him a third chance if such a thing occured again?

[Deepblue706]

Puck

Puck's fears had come true. They had a copy of the roster, and he would not be found on it. The situation had become so desperate that he could cry.

"Yes," he hesitates a moment. "Puck's my nickname; my real na-" He suddenly pauses, holding up his right hand, and sticking his face into the elbow of his left arm. "ACHOOO!" he sneezes, and then looks back up. "Whew. Excuse me. My name is-" he holds his hand up again. "ACHOOO!" he sneezes again, but apparently forgot to cover his face. He sprays Lenna with a mist of saliva, contorting his face in a manner as if he is about to sneeze again. "I'm so sorry!" He cries, as he then turns back to his elbow. "AAAAACHHHOOOOO!" He turns away. "By the gods!" He sniffs. "Please excuse me - I need my medicine! I'll return in just a moment!" He turns toward the door, continuing to sneeze as he tries to leave the room.

Spoiler

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Bluff check to make the "sneezing" believable.

(1d20+5)[22]

[EvilRoeSlade]

Lenna stares at Puck in a state of shock, and when he rises she lurches from her seat. Puck is seated on the side of the table leading toward the door, but when he gets there it is only to discover that it is closed and a stocky soldier in his forties is leaning on the handle. Lenna comes up behind him.

Is there something you need to tell me?

[Deepblue706]

Puck

Just stick to it, Puck thought. A good plan never goes wrong if you see it all the way through.

"I HAVE THE DEVIL'S SNEEZE! YOU HAVE TO LET ME GET MY MEDICINE!" He begins screaming. "GYAAAHHHCHOO!" He hides his face again. "I could die! Get OUT of my WAY!" He sneezes again.

[PolkaBear]

Ibrigil Mesto

"Oh, no! His bag's probably up in the room where we stayed last night!" Ibrigil half-rose from his seat and looked concerned. "Please don't sneeze on me. I don't want to catch it!"